Genesis Boston Garden 2021 gig report

[ABECK]

I was lucky enough to have been given tickets to this show at the last minute (floor seats to boot!) Genesis was a huge part of my formative years, starting with my bro bringing home 3 Sides Live when I was a teen. Songs like Dodo and ABACAB were the reasons I took an interest in synthesizers in the first place (thank you for the addiction, Tony). Surprisingly, I've never seen them live, so this was a bucket list moment and I'm so glad I took the opportunity to go. I didn't sit the whole time and there was no opener or break - just a shit ton of awesome back to back performances.

Some key takeaways from the night:

Based on what I read, Phil has not been in good shape. While clearly struggling physically (walking only with a cane and a person to help, sitting the whole show, etc..), he appeared to put 100% into his performance. The backup singers did a great job of either hitting the notes out of his range, or sustaining notes that he started - it was impressive how well executed that was. Some tunes were lowered in key I believe, but for the most part I never winced or felt like the vocals were sub par. It is scary that he's 70, but looks easily 90. However, he's out there doing it and I'm grateful for that.

Tony was using a somewhat familiar layout. Korg Oasys up front, 88 key Roland underneath a 61 key Korg O1W of some sort. Both the Roland and Korg appeared to be used as controllers for Mainstage (macbook was to the right of the keys, clearly running Mainstage). There was a rack, but I could not pick out any modules, so I'm not sure what was in there. The sound was just....ok. Nothing that really cut through the mix or sat on top in any special way. Everything sounded very similar to the 2007 tour (based on the vids I've seen). I didn't hear anything that couldn't have been produced by any current workstation (insert Kronos, Fantom, etc...here). I'm sure I miss the Quadra, Electric Grand and Synclavier more than he does.

Nic Collin's drumming was the highlight of the night. The kid can hit hard and the kit sounded like cannons - super powerful. I watched an interview where he said they only use triggers on 2 songs, so kudos to the drum tech and the FOH crew, 'cause that kit was slammin. His youthful energy and power really made this show. It was so nice to see him there with his dad, making music (I took my son to the show who is close in age and it was a good moment).

It looked like Daryl Stuermer was using old school Taurus Bass Pedals (End of Second Home by the Sea and a few other tunes). Those things are bowel movers. Man, sooooo much low end. Loved it.

The visual production did not disappoint. Moving screens. Moving light rigs. Remote cameras all over the stage. The mixing board area was like a scene from Wargames. So many audio and visual engineers with screens and consoles everywhere! Well done!

As for tunes - they played pretty much what you would expect. It was great that they included a version of Lamb Lies down and ended the show with everyone singing along to Carpet Crawlers.

Def glad I went!

[Delaware Dave]

I saw some video of recent concerts and was surprised to see how poor of shape that Phil was in; it really took me by surprise. You're right, he looks closer to 90 than 70; and to think he did the millenium shows 20 years ago in Europe then planed it to the US and did the shows here. Makes me grateful to be in good health.

[johnchop]

My one and only opportunity was in '87, Invisible Touch tour, at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Sixteen years old, total fanboy. I was in the nosebleeds but didn't care.

 

When the lights went down and the percussion loop for Mama started, and the low E came in, the crowd energy was palpable. Then woman in front of me said "I hope they play Sussudio!" :-|

 

Anyway thanks for that report.

[ABECK]

My one and only opportunity was in '87, Invisible Touch tour, at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Sixteen years old, total fanboy. I was in the nosebleeds but didn't care.

 

When the lights went down and the percussion loop for Mama started, and the low E came in, the crowd energy was palpable.

 

I'd argue for gear-lust, that tour rig is hard to beat. Must have been a nightmare for the techs (at least there was no Mellotron).

[wd8dky]

Three Sides Live (or maybe Abacab) at Merriweather Post Pavillion in ~'82. Fantastic show!

[ABECK]

While Tony has never been the most animated guy, he definitely comes across like he's up there doing his taxes. Give me a head bob....a smile...a white man's overbite....anything!

[johnchop]

Haha no doubt.

 

I suspect there are significantly high demands on your concentration to execute some pieces. Long tunes, sound changes, parts on two keyboards, and stuff that isn't always trivial to play well, even if it's not happening at Rudess/Emerson/Wakeman speeds.

[TommyRude]

Nice review Abeck!

[ABECK]

Haha no doubt.

 

I suspect there are significantly high demands on your concentration to execute some pieces. Long tunes, sound changes, parts on two keyboards, and stuff that isn't always trivial to play well, even if it's not happening at Rudess/Emerson/Wakeman speeds.

Ha - indeed. I'm just taking the piss out of him (as the Brits say). I imagine he's never phoned in a performance in his life.

[SteveCoscia]

Good summary, ABECK.

 

The YouTube videos of this tour are mostly smartphone footage with poor sound. Hopefully a high-rez DVD is in the works.

[tonybanksfan]

Saw them in Toronto on Nov 25th. Maybe I'm too hard on Phil or too harsh a critic but I cringed many times listening to him trying to hit notes. I'm a huge fan and realize the issues he has but it's sad to watch and hear. He was a great vocalist,drummer, and songwriter for 3 decades but it's time to pull the pin and he knows it. At least the band and show was top notch.

[ABECK]

Good summary, ABECK.

 

The YouTube videos of this tour are mostly smartphone footage with poor sound. Hopefully a high-rez DVD is in the works.

Based on the amount of cameras, They certainly have the footage to assemble a good vid. There are some tour rehearsal vids out there with high quality audio and the keys sound good. I'm curious to hear how authentic the virtual instruments will sound to the originals in a studio mix.

 

[video:youtube]

[video:youtube]

[Rod S]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

Been seeing the videos on youtube. His heatth situation is shocking, but I'm stoked that they are keeping at it. Banks/ Rutherford seem to be in really good shape, and seeing Phil's son rock is pretty amazing. Not the same, but reminds of Ringo's son playing in the Who (with Ringo and Keith having been close). Had the chance to see the Who here in Brazil 2-3 years ago and that was a treat

 

Had the opportunity to see them live in the "We Can't Dance Tour" . Definitely in Syracuse, NY; summer '92 I think. I don't think they came to Brazil often, so I'm glad I caught them while I was living in the US.

[SteveCoscia]

Nic's snare during Land Of Confusion is a killer.

[Tusker]

ABECK, I really enjoyed your excellent write-up!!

 

I really dig the sound of the band this year. To my ears Tony's instruments are sounding better than they did in the 2007 tour: Turn it On Again. That may just be a factor of who did the programming for him in 2007 and perhaps the sound he was going for with the CAS tour. Most of Tony's sounds have been digital for a few decades and easily emulated in digital hardware or software.

 

He is still getting some sounds out of the Oasys on the current tour according to Dave Kerzner (who re-created a lot of these types of sounds for Sonic Reality and IK and plays with Simon Collins) at the time of rehearsals ...

 

https://www.genesis-news.com/forum/index.php?thread/1116-dave-kerzner-about-tony-banks-equipment-for-the-genesis-tour/

 

BTW, Simon Collins sounds quite a bit like his dad. Sign of things to come?

 

[video:youtube]

[ABECK]

The apples didn't fall far from the tree.

[stoken6]

BTW, Simon Collins sounds quite a bit like his dad. Sign of things to come?

Yeah, Simon definitely has his dad's voice - and eyes. And his dad's guitarist's facial hair...

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Justin Havu]

One of my friends was at the show and she was wondering about Mike's double-neck and how he couldn't possibly be playing through the same amp with both the 12-string and the bass. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd imagine it has two separate jacks, going to two separate rigs, by means of two wireless packs.

[jerrythek]

Tony was using a somewhat familiar layout. Korg Oasys up front, 88 key Roland underneath a 61 key Korg O1W of some sort. Both the Roland and Korg appeared to be used as controllers for Mainstage (macbook was to the right of the keys, clearly running Mainstage). There was a rack, but I could not pick out any modules, so I'm not sure what was in there. The sound was just....ok. Nothing that really cut through the mix or sat on top in any special way. Everything sounded very similar to the 2007 tour (based on the vids I've seen). I didn't hear anything that couldn't have been produced by any current workstation (insert Kronos, Fantom, etc...here). I'm sure I miss the Quadra, Electric Grand and Synclavier more than he does.

 

I got to tour Tony's rig back in 2007 and talk to his tech. I know that in his rack he has some Emu Proteus modules with custom sounds burned into the ROM especially for him. This is so he could easily keep all of his favorites E-series samples and such alive, and it was simpler for him than resampling them all. Because he could just get Emu to do the work for him.

 

 

Jerry

[ABECK]

 

I got to tour Tony's rig back in 2007 and talk to his tech. I know that in his rack he has some Emu Proteus modules with custom sounds burned into the ROM especially for him. This is so he could easily keep all of his favorites E-series samples and such alive, and it was simpler for him than resampling them all. Because he could just get Emu to do the work for him.

 

Jerry

 

I saw a closeup vid and there are what appear to be a couple of Roland modules in the rig. Wouldn't be surprised if the Proteus were tucked in there too. I only saw one laptop - curious what the backup strategy is. I assume there's some kind of redundancy option. Maybe the hardware is for a backup contingency. IIRC David Rosenthal had 2 mainstage systems running in tandem in case everything went down. Then he had an option to use the audio from his many boards if both computers crapped out. Then...the failsafe, his Hammond clone in the event of a complete meltdown wasn't midi'd to anything. Lol - that's what I call belt and suspenders.

[Tusker]

 

I only saw one laptop - curious what the backup strategy is. I assume there's some kind of redundancy option. Maybe the hardware is for a backup contingency. IIRC David Rosenthal had 2 mainstage systems running in tandem in case everything went down. Then he had an option to use the audio from his many boards if both computers crapped out. Then...the failsafe, his Hammond clone in the event of a complete meltdown wasn't midi'd to anything. Lol - that's what I call belt and suspenders.

 

LOL. I loved that vid too. Trying to infer an answer to your question, I would lean on two observations. I agree, Tony"s always got the Oasys, which can pull off the soundset at a pinch. The world of laptop reliability has changed dramatically, since DR was skating on the bleeding edge.

 

I know that doesn"t answer the question directly. It would fun to have interview with his tech. He might have another rig under the stage like a lot of these shows.

[David Emm]

jerrythek: "I got to tour Tony's rig back in 2007 and talk to his tech. I know that in his rack he has some Emu Proteus modules with custom sounds burned into the ROM especially for him. This is so he could easily keep all of his favorites E-series samples and such alive, and it was simpler for him than resampling them all. Because he could just get Emu to do the work for him."

 

Mmm, E-mu. While other things came and went, my various Proteii persisted as THE very best blending partners for making somewhat muffled instruments suddenly stand out nicely. The modulation matrix inside any one of them was far ahead of its time, but the sound! It was amazingly crisp. I still see the earlier models here and there. The Proteus 2000 series brought it all into its own. The Xtreme Lead in particular has a space in many e-musician's racks.

 

I can easily see why Tony would prefer the direction he took to wrestling with floppies. I could use some of those custom ROMs for my 8 tons of favorite Korg samples.

[o0Ampy0o]

While Tony has never been the most animated guy, he definitely comes across like he's up there doing his taxes. Give me a head bob....a smile...a white man's overbite....anything!

I am not sure what you are saying but it sounds like Tony was not animated enough? I saw footage from this tour where Tony was just playing. I thought that was far classier than his double time head bop I have seen him doing in many of their live videos. It may be subjective but I prefer the sound/playing to command the show. There are animated musicians who are in sync with the performance but there are far more out there trying to drum up excitement from the crown or look like they are "rockin' out the performance" but the sound/playing is lacking. Not that Tony was ever trying to rouse the crowd. It was just an inferior tick kind of thing like moving lips while reading. (I know not really but sort of really).

 

Their most recent live album had a very cheap sound in the lower end. It reminded me of the cheesy DSP in boom boxes. The setlist was identical to the previous tour's all but two songs, maybe three. They did a version of the medley of older songs on both tours. The amazing bass pedals were lost in that crappy sound. Speaking of the booming drums, Phil may be the all time master with a kit. Is there anyone whose kit sounds as good as his? I imagine Phil has not held back and he wants his Simon to shine so he could be using all of the enhancements Phil would have been using.

 

So there are no more dates on their website. Is the tour finished?

[ABECK]

While Tony has never been the most animated guy, he definitely comes across like he's up there doing his taxes. Give me a head bob....a smile...a white man's overbite....anything!

I am not sure what you are saying but it sounds like Tony was not animated enough?

 

So there are no more dates on their website. Is the tour finished?

 

Yeah, I was being kind of sarcastic in stating the obvious. Tony's style has always been subdued.

Good question - I assume there'll be additions to the tour as that is fairly common.

[Tusker]

Yeah, I was being kind of sarcastic in stating the obvious. Tony's style has always been subdued.

 

Yeah we all love Tony Banks. I quite enjoyed your affectionate snark, ABECK.

 

It brought to mind some of the humor Peter Gabriel used when paying tribute to the man he described as his best friend (and worst enemy) ...

 

'One of the things we would argue about was the length of the keyboard solos. They would start in prehistoric times and move swiftly into the future. How long can a singer be expected to wiggle his bum and shake a tambourine? You have to think of the suffering involved. '

 

'And we differed on how we should present ourselves. While I was trying to dress up as a flower and a sexually transmitted disease, Tony would be very bold and move from one pastel shade to another in his sweater department.'

 

[jverghese]

[video:youtube]

 

Favourite quote (in reference to the 2021 set list): "Obviously there's no new music in the set, which, for most people in the audience is something of a relief, actually. (laughs)" -- Tony Banks

[o0Ampy0o]

I saw Peter Gabriel when he bounced around the stage inside that big beach ball. The Blind Boys of Alabama opened for him. He came out on stage to introduce them but he took some time to address all of the people who were late for the show. Half the place was empty at showtime. The man was so eloquent.

While Tony has never been the most animated guy, he definitely comes across like he's up there doing his taxes. Give me a head bob....a smile...a white man's overbite....anything!

I am not sure what you are saying but it sounds like Tony was not animated enough?

 

So there are no more dates on their website. Is the tour finished?

 

Yeah, I was being kind of sarcastic in stating the obvious. Tony's style has always been subdued.

Good question - I assume there'll be additions to the tour as that is fairly common.

 

Sorry I didn't comprehend your post last night. I see "the obvious" today. I didn't have my full attention of reading and maybe I needed to see your response. IDK

 

Usually they add dates before they run out unless the tour is not selling enough tickets or making money. They still have the West Coast of North America to include.

[Jim Alfredson]

According to Dave Kerzner on FB, a lot of the sounds Tony is using are IK Multimedia stuff from Sample Tank 4 and Syntronik. Dave helped program a lot of them.

[ksoper]

[linked video]

 

Favourite quote (in reference to the 2021 set list): "Obviously there's no new music in the set, which, for most people in the audience is something of a relief, actually. (laughs)" -- Tony Banks

 

Thanks for posting this video. I wouldn't have gone looking for it. About 35 min in and I'm really enjoying it. Phil scared the crap out of me in the first 15 min as it appeared that there was more going on with him than musculoskeletal issues. But he pulled it together for the dress rehearsal and made creative, sensible choices with his parts. Nic is an absolute monster. It's one thing cover the parts and another to nail the feel. It's scary to think where he'll go from here.

[The Real MC]

Bottom line is the two irreplaceable members of Genesis are Phil and Tony. Sad to see Phil with his health issues but happy that he still able to perform.