Artigos

Sat 22 Sep – Genesis



As I've mentioned in my prior review of Genesis, I'm slightly more than a casual fan, but the only reason I'm seeing them three times this year is because my best friend Mark is an uberfan and collector of all things Genesis (within reason, he can't seem to justify spending $850 for the Encore Series boxed set). I know he's going to read this (he's more of a lurker than a poster on the board, so mark, correct me if you feel I'm misrepresenting you here.

Exiting Nationwide Arena, we stopped at the t-shirt stand, where I watched Mark buy the white t-shirt (LOOK at your merch before buying..his shirt was misprinted -the front was not centered on the front of the shirt- luckily he can exchange it next weekend in Cleveland) and the US program. He laid down the seventy-odd-bucks and said, "They better never tour again."

I've still been holding out hope that a Lamb Lies Down On Broadway reunion tour would be in the works, but I understood what he meant. For a collector, this tour was quite a financial drain. If I recall correctly, Mark's tour purchases now include 2 European t-shirts, one American t-shirt, the US program, the European program, a hat, the pop-up book, and the Rome Encore Series CD. Not to mention the shipping and framing of the poster we swiped off of a wall in Rome, his wife's t-shirts, the tickets themselves, or the forthcoming DVD and live release. There are also the plane fare and hotel costs from staying in Rome.... A very expensive Genesis year indeed. (I limited my expenses to tickets, the Rome trip, and one single t-shirt. Plus, I'll be getting an Encore Series cd of either Columbus or Cleveland. I should know by next week which to get.)

To compare the Columbus Genesis concert to the one I saw in Rome would be unfair. A crowd of half a million brings an energy that no arena can even hold. But these are my two Genesis concert experiences, so comparisons will be made.

Mark and his wife arrived in Columbus Saturday afternoon, and my kids were pleased to see them. In Rome, the wives came to the concert, but in Columbus, our wives would entertain my kids and hang out and drink wine while us boys went to the concert. Mark had gotten a cold, and had totally lost his voice. I teased him that he was finally reaching puberty as his 39th birthday was fast approaching.

After a brief hangout with the kids on my back deck, me and the mute Mark headed downtown. We got decent parking for $5, and walked over to the Frog Bear & Wild Boar where the fans from the Genesis website were supposed to meet. Entering in front of us was a couple with a "2NDSOUT" Ohio license plate.

It was crowded, and the Buckeyes football game was on. This meant it was rather loud. I couldn't even hear Mark when he was talking when he spoke directly into my ear. So we decided to forego meeting any of the other fans, and headed over to see if O'Shaughnessy's Pup was any quieter.

It was still loud at O'Shaughnessy's, but instead of football blasting from the speakers, it was Peter Gabriel's Shock the Monkey (followed by Phil Collins' You Can't Hurry Love, and then, surprisingly, Genesis' Lilywhite Lilith.). So we stayed. I made the mistake of asking Mark to order the first beers while I used the facilities, forgetting that he had no voice. But the bartender got the order right.

We saw a couple standing out on the patio. The wife was wearing the green album cover t-shirt that had been available at the European dates, and she was holding a program. I suggested we talk to them so Mark could see if the US program looked any different than the one he already had.

We talked to them for a good while. They were from Dallas, and were enjoying the beautiful September weather that Columbus had offered up that night. Well, he was originally from Twickenham, and had gone back over to see the Genesis shows there and in Manchester (the wife couldn't get off work). This was her first show.

Mark would begin a story about our Rome experience and his voice would go out. So he would ask me to finish the story. About the third time he asked me to complete the story, he interrupted me to explain that he and I were NOT a couple. We had wives. We were straight. I brought up our wives a lot after that, just to clarify the point.

The conversation with the Dallas couple was a bit enlightening, however- since Mark and I had been asking rhetorically, "Who the heck would shell out $850 for the Encore Series box?" The answer was "these guys." That's a LOT of versions of "Hold on My Heart."

We then met three fans from Syracuse, of which Columbus was their fifth North American show of seven. I didn't think that my friend Mark was quit e as insane of a Genesis fan after meeting them.

After grabbing some food, we went back to Nationwide and headed for our seats. I was slightly worried that they wouldn't let me in with my camera tucked away in one of my cargo pockets. But it wasn't a problem.

We went down to the floor and got to our seats. Floor 1, Row W, near the center aisle. Good seats. The stage looked puny compared to the stadium setup. To compare the two, it'd be like watching a movie on IMAX vs. watching the same movie on DVD on a 19" screen.

As the music from American Beauty started, I got my camera ready. I wanted a picture of the map on the screen behind the stage with the word COLUMBUS on it.

The lights went down, everyone stood up, and I started snapping pictures. "Behind the Lines" and "Turn It On Again" came and went without me really paying attention to the music. I was so enamored with how well the pictures were turning out. A guy on the Genesis fan site had posted guidelines as to how to take decent concert photos with digital cameras, and his suggestions proved to be excellent. I spent much of the night taking pictures (187 of them.)

But around the third song (No Son Of Mine) I was also able to pay attention and enjoy the show as well. The sound was good. I could feel my hair vibrate with every kick of the bass drums. It was loud, but not as insanely loud as many of the arena rock shows of the 80s had been (I'm looking at you, KISS.). The sound was good. You could hear all of the parts.

Actually, Mike Rutherford's bass was a bit to warm of a sound all night, and his bass playing sounded a bit muddy and lost in the acoustics provided by being in a giant cement enclosed space. When Darryl Streumer played bass, however, he used a brighter setting and those bass parts popped right out and could be heard easily.

The band was tighter than they had been in Rome. Darryl's solos felt more relaxed, and it felt like he was comfortable really letting loose on some of his solos.

The drumming was, as always, excellent. Kudos to the drum techs. I hadn't noticed in Rome how Chester Thompson's or Phil Collins' drum sounds changed from song to song. Sometimes they were gated, sometimes they just sounded like drums. Obviously, there were drum machines used here and there, but I could watch Chester hitting his snare and get a different sound out of it than he did on the last song. So, the songs from the 80s sounded like 80s drums, and the older stuff had a lot less of a processed sound to it.


Phil on drums

"Firth of Fifth" started, and the band members got through the beginning without flubbing it up like they had in Rome. Mark and I gave each other a "thumbs up."

Phil humored the crowed by starting the Ohio State Buckeyes football cheer of "O. H.....I. O!" Three times during the night. The first time he said he was only going to do it once, but then repeated it during "I Know What I Like" and one more time toward the end. He even donned an OSU baseball cap for a moment. We'll see if he mentions the Indians next week in Cleveland. Or if he'll badmouth the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Time will tell.

I know a lot of Genesis fans get emotional during "Ripples," but for me - both times that I've now seen them - the only point where I got at all emotional was at the end of "I Know What I Like" where Collins' sings "You know that it's your show." Which always sounds personal, like he's telling ME that they're putting on this concert specifically for my benefit.

We were sitting on Tony Banks' side of the stage, which meant that we only saw the side of Tony's head all night. The side of his head looks as stoic as the front of it does.

I had been looking forward to "Ripples." It had been amazing in Rome, hearing several hundred thousand sing along to the chorus in Italian accents ("Reeples never come back...."). Anyone that was singing along in Columbus, however, wasn't nearly as loud. Maybe it was because Mark had lost his voice. Maybe it was because a decent portion of the crowd didn't know the song and were bored during it.

"Now I want everyone to yell 'Domino,!'" urged Phil.
"DOMINO!!!"
"Now it's a coincidence that you should yell 'Domino,' because we have a song called 'Domino.'"
I know Phil was trying to be humorous, but all I could think of was "What coincidence? You just told us to do that." I thought it'd be funnier if, on one night of the show, he said something else - like:
"Now I want everyone to yell 'Supper's Ready!"
"SUPPER'S READY."
"Now it's a coincidence that you should yell 'Supper's Ready," because we have a song called that, but we're not going to play it tonight."

Of course, it'd be mean to dash the hope of the uberfans with a tease like that.

Phil did his "Domino theory" audience participation bit. It wasn't as amusing as it had been in Rome. One, because I'd heard it before; and two, because the "very very very tiny people in the back...very tiny" at Rome was now just "The tiny people in the back."

The fireworks on 'Invisible Touch' were, from the perspective of having seen the show before outdoors, cute.

On the plus side, seeing the show with the smaller stage seemed more intimate. I've never called a show at an arena "intimate" before, but the tighter configuration of the band, the lower lights, and our closer proximity to the stage made it seem that way. The video screens weren't as mesmerizing, but I was concentrating on not paying attention to it this time, since I barely remember anything but the video screens from the Rome show. But I will say that during "Follow You, Follow Me" where the animated character turns on the one light - it didn't work quite as effectively with the small stage as it had with the stadium setup.

Between the final song and the encores, the crowd stood and cheered. The Columbus crowd proved they were worthy of such a great performance. It wasn't the same has hearing several hundred thousand Italians begin to spontaneously sing a cappella the main riff of "Stagnation," but it was a good crowd.


The Columbus crowd didn't sing very loudly on the "Carpet Crawlers" chorus, which allowed me to hear that the band was singing three-part harmony on it. I even stopped singing so I could listen.

Technically, the band sounded better than they had in Rome. The closest to flubs that I heard were a few points where a guitar pick would accidentally mute a string on a guitar solo - extremely minor stuff. Phil's voice sounded strong all the way through. I heard that it sounded a bit weak on "Hold On My Heart," but I was in the men's room for that.

As we were driving back to my house, Mark commented on how gutsy the set list was for an audience that, half of which would have been better entertained by a Phil Collins concert. All of those long instrumentals...It wasn't as apparent in Rome, where The Way We Walk: The Longs was the biggest charting Genesis album, but from the blank faces of many in the Columbus audience, I had to agree. The Dispatch's review even commented on what a difficult juggling act Genesis has to do to appeal to all of their fanbase.

We'll see what they do next week in Cleveland. Hopefully, Mark will have his voice back. If so, we'll be the guys on the floor singing "Reeples never come back."


The rest of my pictures can be found here:http://picasaweb.google.com/treynor/GenesisColumbus92207

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Article: Sunday Times 16 Sept 07 - star-studded pop video highlighting crisis in Darfur

News about the single on Globe For Darfur


If the idea of a pop video about mass genocide is horrific, that many people weren't even aware of the situation in Darfur till George Clooney took it on is even worse. The argument for celebrities taking on causes is right there. Forget global news and its 'news values': you'll learn more about the world following your favourite conscientious A-list celeb, particularly now it seems they've raised their game and have transcended promoting causes as a career move to actually making a bit of a difference.

Mick Jagger paid £25,000 for the first pop video to be shot in a refugee camp.

*feels sick*

Other stars involved: Kanye West, will.i.am from The Black Eyed Peas, Scarlett Johansson (who is also an Ambassador for Oxfam and chose to be in India over the Oscars), Matt Damon (who knew he had a page in Last.fm?!), Elle MacPherson, and more.

Anyway, let's watch the video together, shall we? This is my first viewing too:

Mattafix - Living Darfur, released today, 16 Sept, to coincide with ‘Global day for Darfur'.




Ok, it's safe to come out from behind your sofas, I'm not so angry now. The song's got 'big budget' written all over it but it's not bad, in a generic, radio-friendly kind of way. I must have found the original version of the video before the stars muscled in. I don't mind this one - it's an affirmation of life. If you know anything about Darfur, you'll get it. If you don't, all you'll see is another pretty promo vid. Surprisingly good-looking for a refugee camp.

Let's find the stars! brb...

... : (

Nothing to be found anywhere. Maybe it'll be available later this week. If you find it, please do post it here. Thanks.

Writing this journal ended up being therapeutic. I've worked through my feelings and have now decided I support the video. If this is how it is: that in today's celeb-culture it takes A-listers to raise awareness because the news is full of crap like what Paris Hilton did today, then I have to support the renegade stars. Maybe it is a cynical career move, but to be honest, they're household names already and have been for years. I don't know. At least one thing's for sure, if an A-lister is bringing our attention to something, there is more likely to truth in their report than most items in your daily evening news show, where reporters sit on their desks and have a little laugh to camera. At least A-listers have the decency to get earnest!

*gets off soap-box, dusts it down ready for the next person*


MySpace - Mattafix
Globe For Darfur

Sat 14 Jul – Genesis
Well, it's been a while since the concert, and I feel the need to get this review out there before I forget certain aspects of it..so here goes.


The crowd at Circus Maximus, around 11 a.m.


Cast of Characters
Me
Shannon (my wife)
Mark (my best friend and über-Genesis fan)
Sarah (Mark's wife)
Stefan (guy we met at show, from Nice, France)

---
Let's start with me
I've been a casual fan of Genesis since high school. I owned several of their albums on vinyl back then. I had Trespass, Foxtrot, Wind & Wuthering, Selling England by the Pound, A Trick of the Tail, Duke, And Then There Were Three, Abacab, and Seconds Out.
So, I had quite a few of their albums, but was missing a few crucial pieces back then. I had a tape of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, but most of the top-40 stuff from the 80s didn't appeal to me back then. I never listened to my Duke album, and really disliked their use of drum machines, considering how good of a drummer Phil Collins was.
Also, by the time Invisible Touch was released, I really despised their omnipresence on Cleveland radio.
Mark, my best friend since that era, however, was a huge Genesis fan. He has 3 copies of "Selling England" on vinyl (his first copy, one with a lyric sheet, and a gatefold copy with the lyrics in Italian), perhaps every book, solo project album, video, a dozen bootlegs, etc. In fact, his dining room wall now graces a signed lithograph of the three Abacab covers. So, having him as a best friend meant that even if I didn't own any album after 1982, I was still very familiar with what the band was up to.

So last fall, when Genesis announced that it would reunite for a tour, Mark called me and said, "I'm getting you to see this band this time. You've never seen them before, but you're going."
I agreed. My opinions had mellowed over time, and while I still hated some of their singles (Invisible Touch, Illegal Alien, chiefly.) I did enjoy a large portion of their anthology, including many of the 80s hits.
So, a few days after he got me to agree to go to one of the concerts, Genesis announced their European tour dates. He called me up and said, "You want to see Genesis in Rome?"
I said, "Haha. No."
I told Shannon, and she asked me what the date of the concert was. It turned out to be 3 days before we were supposed to fly to Vienna for a tour of Austria with Shan's choir. We figured it wouldn't be too much of a pain to fly into Rome first and meet up with the choir after the concert. I called my parents to see if they had any problem watching the kids a few days earlier, and they were game.
So I called Mark and said, "Sure. We'd love to go with you guys to the Rome Genesis concert."

At that point, it was supposed to be in front of the Colosseum. So we researched and found a hotel room that could house 4 as close to the Colosseum as possible. It was close to $300 a night, but split two ways wouldn't be too bad, and being at the Hotel Richmond meant we were less than 300 yards away from the concert. So we booked that.

Then, Genesis moved the concert to Circus Maximus (a wise move, to be sure). I Google Earthed the distance from the hotel and figured our hotel was still a good choice. It was less than a 2 mile walk.

Over the winter, I picked up Nursery Cryme, Genesis, and The Platinum Collection (the last of which I highly recommend as an overview). Genesis slowly moved into the top 10 of my scrobbles.

More was learned about the concert: They were fliming it for a DVD release. And, most hopefully, Peter Gabriel would be touring Italy at the same time, but did not have a gig scheduled for the 14th.

Mark figured that if former members Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel would show up anywhere on the tour, it'd be at the Rome show. Especially since Gabriel is practically royalty in Italy. Plus, if it was being filmed, it may just happen to be a reunion of Six Of The Best

A side note: I've always been a big fan of Gabriel's, and have seen him live 4 times. However, I think Genesis was at their best right after he left. "Trick of the Tail" has always been my favorite album of theirs.

Summer arrived, Mark bought the box set, and I bought the remastered version of Duke. Mark made me a mix cd (4, actually) of Genesis live, using stuff from their previous box sets and live albums. They were great..and "Duke" began vying for the "favorite Genesis record" spot in my mind.

The tour started, and Mark kept away from Genesis' website because he wanted to be surprised by the set list. I had no reservations, and actually created an iTunes playlist of the songs the band was to perform. Genesis shot to the #3 spot in my scrobbles.

I was really hopeful when I learned the last encore was Carpet Crawlers - it seemed perfect for the band to introduce their former members, especially since they all had reunited in 1999 to re-record the song. The slim chance that Gabriel would join them seemed stronger.

Mark bought a tent. I bought a little LED lantern and some rain ponchos. We were ready for the trip.

Shannon & I arrived in Rome on Friday morning, and Mark & Sarah arrived a few hours later. We were pretty exhausted from the flight, but we took off for Circus Maximus with a tent to see what was up.

We made the mistake of walking through the forums to get there. We knew that we weren't sure whether we *could* get there through the forums, but they were intriguing. We could get some sight-seeing done on the way. Of course, the bag with the tent, blankets, light, games, etc became pretty heavy, and we all switched off from carrying it.

We got to Circus Maximus, realized that most of the close spots were roped off, and there was not a soul camping out. I was happy to learn that we all could sleep in the hotel that night. Mark & I decided that we'd go back after breakfast and stake out a spot while Shannon & Sarah shopped for purses. They would join us later.

We walked back to the hotel, dropped off the tent bag, and had dinner. We then walked to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, then headed back and fell asleep in short order.

The next morning, Mark & I awoke first and went to our rooftop terrace for breakfast. We had walkie-talkies, and the ladies took one of em. They proved to be pretty much useless. Oh well.

We got to Circus Maximus, and realized that the grounds were still mostly roped off. Less than 100 other people were camped out. We did see some tents, and soon learned that a handful had camped overnight for the show. But we were better off than they were. We were well rested, showered and fed, and just as close to the ropes as them.

Honestly, we could have gotten to Circus Maximus at 2 pm and would have had just as good of a spot as we eventually got, but we had no way of knowing that in advance.

Mark and I sort of decided on a spot to go for: It was right next to the center camera bay. It was about 50 yards away from the stage, which was close enough to see the band members clearly, yet far enough to be able to see the entire stage. We knew we'd be closer than this at the Cleveland & Columbus shows (we'd bought tix for those shows in the meantime), and wanted to get a full effect of the stage. Especially since it was the outdoor stage, and the two Ohio shows were inside arenas.

The morning passed quickly. I met a guy from Dublin by the public water fountain. This would be his 4th show of the tour. I told him I had tickets for sale for the Columbus show and he asked for my email. A guy from Denver had camped overnight and heard us talking in English. We chatted with him several times during the morning. He sprung the idea of a Rome trip on his wife just 4 days prior to the concert. I don't know if he told her they'd be sleeping outside, however.

We sat in front of a guy from San Paulo, who had been to every European show. And there was a crazy woman who had the Genesis logo (the "Greatest Hits" version) tattooed on her inner arm.

Sarah and Shannon arrived around noon, with new Italian leather handbags, and Sarah & Mark took off for lunch and a shower. It had been a hot morning, in the mid-90s.


My mom found this photo online by someone named Phlopez. You can make me out (yellow shirt, blue cap) on the far left edge. I probably have a photo of Phlopez somewhere as well.

Soon, the concert coordinators were passing out red hats that said "Telecomcerto 14 Juglio 2007" on them. We grabbed four. Water trucks came around and sprayed down the audience.

While Mark & Sarah were were gone, around 2 p.m., the ropes came down, and the crowd, which had grown considerably all morning, made a mad dash for the front. We had our blankets packed and water bottles and stuff all picked up. Shannon and I ran among the crowd. I knew the destination, Shannon didn't. I had to yell over the maddening crowd for her to find and follow me. We parked ourselves about 20 feet back from everyone else, just to the left of the camera bay - where Mark and I discussed.

Everybody in front of us were jamming themselves as close to the stage as possible, but there was no way in hell I was going to spend the next 7 hours before the concert standing up in a tight crowd. Our spot was just behind the crowd, and Shannon & I rushed to unfold our blanket all the way and sit back down.

Mark & Sarah returned around 3:30, and Mark was pleased with our location. He had bought two t-shirts and a hat from the concessions stand. Sarah bought a t-shirt as well. Shannon & I left them and headed back to the hotel for a shower and some food. I bought a t-shirt as well, with the European tour dates on the back.

I ended up washing the t-shirt I was wearing as well. The combination of sunblock and the dusty Circus made the collar and sleeves almost black. I put the shirt on, sopping wet, knowing it would dry within about 5 minutes of being outside.

I uploaded a picture of where we were sitting to my blog before heading back. I forgot to grab spare batteries. And alas, I only was able to take about 3 more pictures that night. All of which were done with before the show started.

As we left, we grabbed a handful of paninis, a couple of bottles of wine, and a handful of plastic cups. I drank a beer on the walk back, which was a mistake after sitting in the sun all day. I really felt tipsy for the walk back.

We got back, and the crowd had now reached about 50 feet back from our spot. We weaved our way through the crowd until we found the little divet made by our mini campsite. There were several other groups that had put down blankets right next to ours, which made it easier for Mark & Sarah to maintain the spot. But the blankets were surrounded by people standing, doing their best not to step on our blankets.


Mark in his new hat and old shirt, as the crowd begins to close in around our blanket.


RIght next to us was a guy named Stefan who had flown in the night before from Nice. He was alone, and was another big Genesis fan. We shared our sandwiches and wine with him. He spoke disparaging about his country, and kept any negative thoughts he may have had about America to himself. So we were sure to speak disparagingly about our home country as well.

The sun had gotten low enough in the sky that we were now in shade, thanks to everyone standing around us. We were in the one shady spot on the grounds. The problem with this was that I now had to pee. That beer I had drunk didn't have the opportunity to sweat itself out of me. (All morning and afternoon, while drinking water all day, we never had to pee). We were about an hour and a half away from the start of the show and I said that I was going to try to make it to the porta-johns set up across the street from the Circus. I stood up, took one step off the blanket, and realized now that the crowd had filled in so much that there was absolutely no way that I'd be able to get back to the group before the show started. So I decided I didn't have to pee after all, and sat back down.

More people pressed into the area surrounding our blanket. But we were able to hold our position until about 8:45. We then packed it up and stood for the next 20 or so minutes until the concert began. Our space shrunk considerably the moment we decided to do so, but the crowd was sober and polite. And surprisingly, the only smoke I smelled was tobacco.

A younger couple from California stood near us. Mark asked him where he was from. "Orange County" he said. Mark asked if he was planning on going to the Genesis show at the Hollywood Bowl, but he said no. Mark had assumed that this guy was like us - had made the pilgrimage to Rome expressly for the concert. In actuality, he had just learned of the concert that afternoon, and he and his woman had just decided "what the hell?"

The sun set, and the show began.

I had read that the first song was Behind the Lines, but that wasn't quite right. It was actually Duke's End, but the Behind The Lines segment was stretched out a bit. But the song remained an instrumental. I had also read in a few places that Duchess was the second song, but realized this was a mistake by the time I recognized that they were doing Duke's End instead. Hearing the two drummers, Chester & Phil, live was amazing. The set, primarily made up of hundreds upon hundreds of 7-inch flat panel tv screens, was quite mesmerizing to watch.

Phil came out from the drum set and sang "Turn it On Again." I was taken aback at how old he looked. But he sang well.

Then came "No Son of Mine" - which they had transposed down a few keys for Phil's sake. This, however, meant that the tempo had to be slowed, so that growl-guitar sample could remain in key and tempo. It kinda dragged a bit.

I think a highlight was Follow You, Follow Me for me. First of all, it was one of Shannon's favorite songs by the band. Also, Phil played drums while singing. And the animation behind the stage was great - It showed the images from their recent box-set albums all walking.



Genesis doing "Follow You, Follow Me" photo by Phlopez


Other highlights include the portion of Firth of Fifth where Mike & Phil lose the tempo that Tony had established (conversely, I've read that it was Tony that lost the tempo, but I don't think so), "Home By The Sea," and "In The Cage / The Cinema Show / Duke's Travels/ Afterglow"
"I Know What I Like" was fun, with old photos of the band in their younger days - plus video of Phil dancing with a tambourine circa 1977 while a 30-year-older Phil did the same dance on the stage below.

About the only two things that I could have done without were "Hold On My Heart" - which was pretty, but it kind of killed the energy they had just established. And Domino - which I never was that big of a fan of.

I still dislike "Invisible Touch," but it closed the show well, and the fireworks were fun and surprising.

After a very brief break, they came back for the encores. By this point I had convinced myself that Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett were not in attendance. They did "I Can't Dance." as they marched around the stage.


Genesis performing "I Can't Dance." Photo found online


Then it was time for the final encore. And Phil said, "Before we go, I'd like two introduce to very special people that I think you all know...."
I turned around to look at Mark, wide-eyed. And we high-fived each other. He was about introduce Peter and Steve! I KNEW it!
Then, he introduced Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson, their supporting musicians that had been performing on stage all night.

I was crestfallen.

But then they did a kick-ass version of one of my all-time favorites (Carpet Crawlers), and to tell the truth, I always liked the way Phil sang it better than Peter did.

Then the show was over, and the press of the crowd began and we attempted to join in the mass exodus. First we attempted to head toward our hotel, but discovered that the scrum was just too dense that way (we later learned that the crowd was over 500,000 strong). We decided to go the other way and back-track. It made the walk about a 3-mile one, but it felt good to be walking after standing in one spot for 3 hours.

We headed back to the same place where Shannon & I had bought the paninis, and I excused myself, finally reaching a restroom about 5 and a half hours after realizing I had to go.


Me at the show.


(you can find the rest of my pics from my afternoon at Circus Maximus here. Once I get Mark's pics from the actual concert, I'll add those to that page as well.)

Adrian Belew, member of King Crimson, has so many styles. Writing On The Wall... well that's kind of an awesome bassline and crazy singing. Really strong track imo.

The Momur, funny lyrics, great vocalmelodies at the chorus. I would say this is a great song to party with. It has this great tempo.

..and speaking of King Crimson, bassist player Tony Levin, probably one of the greatest bassplayers ever. I mean listen to Sleepless, that song has the same sound as Depeche Mode from the 90's even though the song is from early 80's. Tony Levin has even played with artists like Pink Floyd, Yes, David Bowie. I saw him 2003 playing with Peter Gabriel and if I'm not mistaken it was by playing on P.G.'s second album 2 together with Robert Fripp that made him join King Crimson later.
Even though Red is my favourite K.C. album I think Levin is a far better than John Wetton. Wettons later work with Asia is so mainstream and his vocals too, no good I say. However the progressive stuff is great. U.K. is one of my favourite albums. By the way, isn't U.K. (the group) the same group that made Red by K.C. I meen both Wetton and Bill Bruford is playing and I think both records quite alike. The only player missing i Fripp, which I think is way overrated as a composer. Just becouse he's the only player that stayed in King Crimson doesn't meen he's the reason why King Crimson is great. I think there's some similaritys to the way that Roger Waters were labeled genious of Pink Floyd and the way Chris Squire were stubborn at being Yes while four of the other members formed Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe. It was also Squire's stubborness that made Bruford leave Yes.

It would be great seeing a band one day consist of Squire, Waters, Fripp, Mike Oldfield and Tony Banks (of Genesis). They would probably fight all the time :).
Suiteble name for this band would probably be "the stubbords" or something.

Sorry fo rbad grammar and bad spelling, thanks for reading.

Got there at 9 this morning to secure a spot. Got a decent one.

Right now, I'm back at the hotel for a quick shower, while my friends Mark & Sarah hold the fort.

Now we head back. 4 more hours until the show.

Today's Tuesday. We leave for Cleveland In the Morning Tomorrow to drop off the kids with their Dear Grandma and Grandpa.
Thursday, we'll be Taking Off from Hopkins Airport and heading to Rome (via Dulles).

We'll then be Camping out for the Genesis concert for a Couple of Days.

Then, up to Verona and then to Points: Austria.

We'll end the trip in Vienna (or is it Vienna?)

So, for the Vacation, I'll unveil my latest Avatar: ROMAN HOLLIDAY



I hope to upload pictures while I'm there. If you want to see what I'm up to (I'm not sure how much scrobbling I'll do there), you can check out my Picasa vacation page

I'm psyched to hear this song at the Genesis show. One of my favorites from my favorite album.
Ripples

Here's a bootleg video from the Denmark show on the Turn It On Again tour.



Pretty cool. I'm not looking forward to the chatting crowd, though

Cleveland's NewsNet5 put together this slide show of the top 20 bands that have been forgotten by the Rock Hall of Fame.

We'll be talking about several of these bands, plus more, here.

Now while I take little issue with the bands that have been inducted so far, (inductee list), I will say that I do not understand why some bands, and entire genres, are overlooked.

Progressive Rock (formerly known as pretentious British rock)
Bands inducted in this category: Pink Floyd
Bands overlooked in this category: Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, King Crimson, Rush, Supertramp, Mike Oldfield, Jethro Tull and Peter Gabriel

Now, I understand that many rock critics hate hate HATE this kind of music. The idea of a 10 minute instrumental in multiple key signatures about a mythical gnome in the land of Estranglia causes many rock critics to want to drive railroad spikes through their foreheads. They'd sooner give Britney Spears an entire wing of the Rock Hall than to even consider a Styx nomination.

Which would be fine, if they didn't already induct Frank Zappa, Allman Brothers, The Grateful Dead, The Who, and Steve Wonder. All of these artists have had more than their share of moments of pomposity, with 25 minute guitar solos and concept albums and goofy lyrics.

I think it is high time that another prog rock group found its way into the rock hall. Genesis would be the best first choice from the above list. While they started writing the kind of music the rock hall seems to hate, they *did* transform into one of the most popular and mainstream groups of the 80s and 90s.

I don't think there's any hope for Yes, however. Even with their pop success with Owner Of A Lonely Heart in the 80s, I think they'll never overcome the memory of keyboardist Rick Wakeman and his failed "6 Wives Of Henry the VIII On Ice" tour.

But the argument that only one band needs to represent the entire long-lasting genre makes no sense. If that's the case, then what did Bob Seger contribute to rock & roll that Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel didn't already accomplish? If only one band needs to represent a genre, why is practically EVERY laurel canyon artist in the hall of fame (The Byrds, The Mamas and The Papas, Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills and Nash, The Eagles, etc)?

Other overlooked artists:
Now, while I'm kind of happy that KISS has been passed by for a number of years- there's no excuse to ALSO overlook Alice Cooper, The Stooges and The New York Dolls. All were early innovators in shock rock, and multiple subgenres have started with these artists.

In 1997, the rock hall finally had to admit that The Bee Gees were already destined for the Rock Hall even before they popularized the disco genre that many claimed killed rock and roll. I'm happy about that. Now, they have to admit that Electric Light Orchestra was also a great band before Jeff Lynne & Co went disco. Of course, early ELO sounded very progressive rock, so ELO's chances of ever getting in are slimmer than Kate Moss after purging.

Now the slideshow linked above ends with The Replacements. And they ideed deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame. But I'm not worried. They'll get in soon enough. They're the kind of rock and roll that the hall tends to like. They'll be inducted in the same class as Green Day, I imagine.

Rockers Peter Frampton and Meatloaf, however, may never get in - depsite having two of the best selling albums of the 70s, er..of all-time. And I guess that Chicago and Toto will never be forgiven for teaming up with the likes of David Foster in the 80s (or the soundtrack to Dune).

There's plenty of others that are well deserving, but I'd like to put in one more plug: Now that Grandmaster Flash has been inducted as the grandfather of hip-hop, I'd like to see other innovators of subgenres get in. Primarily, I'd like to see Kraftwerk and/or Devo get inducted. Both bands did much for making electronica more than just music to dance to. They brought a quirky sensibility and weird stage presence to a genre of music that at the time was dominated with songs about sex sung by people wearing gold chains and satin stretch pants. They warped disco and did their best to kill it in the process. For this they should be rewarded.

Over for now.
-Rob