UncleRemus
12-16-2005, 01:43 AM
http://themusicalbox.net/main/images/photo_page_lamb.jpg
First a little backstory...
"The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" is a concept album released by Genesis more than 30 years ago. It was the last album Genesis released before Peter Gabriel left the band to pursue a solo career, and is regarded by many to be both his and their greatest work. Few shows were performed before Gabriel and the band parted ways, and I don't believe any of them were captured on video.
Enter band "The Musical Box".
The Musical Box is a "cover band" that was formed to recreate the concerts from Gabriel-Era-Genesis. To quote their biography:
[ QUOTE ]
The reconstruction of this ambitious project was based on hundreds of photos and slides of the original concerts, videos, amateur films, articles from papers and magazines, as well as information offered by numerous people who either worked on or attended the Genesis shows between 1972 and 1975. All these sources allowed for the masks, costumes, make-up, accessories, sets, lighting design, special effects, choreography and musical presentation to be meticulously duplicated.
[/ QUOTE ]
While these guys have apparently been restaging "The Lamb" since it's 25th aniversary, I just recently heard about them, and tonight was the first time I'd ever seen them. I was extremely pleased that the show was at the Berklee Performance Center, as every show I've ever seen there (Jean Luc Ponty w/ African Band, The Trio, Porcupine Tree) has been absolutely phenominal, and the acoustics are fantastic. While $40 seemed a bit steep to see a "cover band", it turned out to be the best $40 I've ever spent.
From everything I've read about the original performances of The Lamb, it was done to a T, down to the costumes, slides, and narration. Even the vintage instruments originally used by Genesis were brought in; there's not many things in life better than seeing a Moog synth used in a live performance. This show is SO well done, that the band was actually granted a license to perform it by Peter Gabriel and the other original Genesis members.
At 8:00, the lights dimmed, and the opening piano notes to the title track were played. The hairs on my neck leaped out, as you must understand, I never thought I'd be able to see this album performed in it's entirety in my lifetime, especially with the detail it deserved. Looking around, I could tell there were many people in the theater who felt the same as myself. Almost 2 hours later, the performance of The Lamb came to an end with the closing notes of "It", and the hairs on my neck still stood, as did everyone in the near-sold-out theater, giving a 10 minute long standing ovation that my hands still ache from. They could have taken a bow after the 2 hour brilliant performance, but opted instead to give us their renditions of "The Musical Box" and "Watcher of the Skies".
I woke up at 3am this morning, and probably should be sleeping, but the adrenaline is still flowing. I attend somewhere around two dozen concerts a year, and this was not only the best show I saw in 2005, but possibly my lifetime. While I don't have any friends who are Genesis fans, I did manage to drag a buddy along, and even he mentioned it being one of the greatest live experiences he's ever had. There are, unfortunately, only two more shows in the US on this tour (NYC tomorrow and saturday -- thinking about taking a train down for the second show), and then they are off to Europe for 3 months, but if anyone has the opportunity to see these guys, DON'T PASS IT UP!
First a little backstory...
"The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" is a concept album released by Genesis more than 30 years ago. It was the last album Genesis released before Peter Gabriel left the band to pursue a solo career, and is regarded by many to be both his and their greatest work. Few shows were performed before Gabriel and the band parted ways, and I don't believe any of them were captured on video.
Enter band "The Musical Box".
The Musical Box is a "cover band" that was formed to recreate the concerts from Gabriel-Era-Genesis. To quote their biography:
[ QUOTE ]
The reconstruction of this ambitious project was based on hundreds of photos and slides of the original concerts, videos, amateur films, articles from papers and magazines, as well as information offered by numerous people who either worked on or attended the Genesis shows between 1972 and 1975. All these sources allowed for the masks, costumes, make-up, accessories, sets, lighting design, special effects, choreography and musical presentation to be meticulously duplicated.
[/ QUOTE ]
While these guys have apparently been restaging "The Lamb" since it's 25th aniversary, I just recently heard about them, and tonight was the first time I'd ever seen them. I was extremely pleased that the show was at the Berklee Performance Center, as every show I've ever seen there (Jean Luc Ponty w/ African Band, The Trio, Porcupine Tree) has been absolutely phenominal, and the acoustics are fantastic. While $40 seemed a bit steep to see a "cover band", it turned out to be the best $40 I've ever spent.
From everything I've read about the original performances of The Lamb, it was done to a T, down to the costumes, slides, and narration. Even the vintage instruments originally used by Genesis were brought in; there's not many things in life better than seeing a Moog synth used in a live performance. This show is SO well done, that the band was actually granted a license to perform it by Peter Gabriel and the other original Genesis members.
At 8:00, the lights dimmed, and the opening piano notes to the title track were played. The hairs on my neck leaped out, as you must understand, I never thought I'd be able to see this album performed in it's entirety in my lifetime, especially with the detail it deserved. Looking around, I could tell there were many people in the theater who felt the same as myself. Almost 2 hours later, the performance of The Lamb came to an end with the closing notes of "It", and the hairs on my neck still stood, as did everyone in the near-sold-out theater, giving a 10 minute long standing ovation that my hands still ache from. They could have taken a bow after the 2 hour brilliant performance, but opted instead to give us their renditions of "The Musical Box" and "Watcher of the Skies".
I woke up at 3am this morning, and probably should be sleeping, but the adrenaline is still flowing. I attend somewhere around two dozen concerts a year, and this was not only the best show I saw in 2005, but possibly my lifetime. While I don't have any friends who are Genesis fans, I did manage to drag a buddy along, and even he mentioned it being one of the greatest live experiences he's ever had. There are, unfortunately, only two more shows in the US on this tour (NYC tomorrow and saturday -- thinking about taking a train down for the second show), and then they are off to Europe for 3 months, but if anyone has the opportunity to see these guys, DON'T PASS IT UP!