Genesis: The Biggest Tour That You Haven’t Heard Much About

The Genesis reunion tour has been somewhat lost amongst a sea of Van Halens and Police on the road this fall: Pulling up to the venue I was somewhat concerned I’d be the only one there. But as far as I could tell every seat in the 16,000-person arena was taken — in Hartford, Connecticut, no less. And as the band burst into a show closing “Carpet Crawlers” — a Peter Gabriel-era track that you don’t hear on the radio every day — I was further shocked to hear the whole place singing along. Did I miss something? Was every Genesis fan on the entire East Coast at this concert, or is Genesis sorta, kinda, somewhat cooler than they used to be? Has their long absence deemphasized their weaker moments (i.e. “Hold On My Heart”) and left only what’s great (i.e. “Los Endos”)? Whatever it is, they’re playing three nights in Philadelphia this week and Giants Stadium next week. I’m clearly not the only one out there digging this. Last night, as Genesis played their 1973 quasi-hit “I Know What I Like” at the Hartford Civic Center, images from the group’s past appeared on a giant screen. We saw a young, rail-thin Peter Gabriel dressed in a ridiculous flower costume; an even more ridiculous Slipperman costume from the 1975 Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour; and former guitarist Steve Hackett playing alongside a tambourine-wielding Phil Collins (looking like an Ewok crossed with an elf) shortly after Collins took over for Gabriel on vocals in 1976. It’s a past that the band has come to terms with: On recent tours, the band’s proggy Seventies songs were relegated to a few lines in a medley, if not dropped entirely to make room for latterday pop tunes like “That’s All” and “In Too Deep.” That was not the case last night, their first tour with Collins in fifteen years. Collins, who has been critical of the band’s early work over the years, performed the ancient numbers with the gusto of his counterpart on the screen, albeit with much less hair and a little more paun
	Published: 2007-09-18 Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News, Live Shows