SEBTP & Black Show - Worth Seeing Both?

[netwerkingyuppie]

i was just introduced to the musical box and and psyched to see they have 2 shows coming up in chicago...the first night is the selling england show, the 2nd night is the black show...i see the setlist is almost identical minus horizon for the selling show...
anyways, i was originally going to buy tickets to both nights, but $40 is a lot to pay for the same show 2 nights in a row. is the difference in the 2 shows that great that it would be worth seeing both? i can't imagine they would play 2 nearly identical shows in the same city...
if not, which one would you suggest i check out, the selling show or the black show? first and probably only time seeing the musical box...thanks in advance

[Christian]

Tough question. For us here in Europe, the black show was never performed by Genesis and TMB performed it only once so far in Europe (in Germany 2004).

But everybody I talk to (about the upcoming black show tour) has already seen the "normal" version. It's a completely different atmosphere, from what we've been told, and slightly different costumes.

by the way - ticket prices are € 50 here in Germany ($ 70), so you're VERY lucky with $ 40 (I won't start talking about Genesis tickets here...)

[netwerkingyuppie]

thanks for your response christian. so i guess its not a night and day difference anyways...i'll probably end up seeing only one. buying my tickets friday, so i will see what my mood is that day, but i'm leaning towards going with the "original" SEBTP show, tried and true...
have no problem paying $40 to see the musical box tho, even if it is a lot to pay for essentially a cover band...but from the very little i've seen of their stage set up and theatrics, it looks well worth it. also, considering i'm not paying the $130+ for genesis this tour (sorry, really only a gabriel fan), more money to spend. how long does the SEBTP show usually last?

[Squonkman]

considering that it might be the last time they do these shows ever, I would go to both if you can. And since Martin Levac, (the Phil Collins) is leaving, I just hope they don't cancel this tour. I have seen the regular SEBTP show twice and its amazing. Quite frankly, its worth seeing twice at least to catch all the nuances (the slides, the instruments, the stories, the mannerisms etc). Its about an hour and a half show, just like the real concerts. If you have an old bootleg, ie the Rainbow show, that is pretty much the blueprint.

[doctordiper]

Yes, not to forget TMB have nearly 20 people per gig who work regulary on every show, Foxtrot, Selling, Black Show or Lamb, that can explain the high price.

And unlike the original Genesis shows that were played back in the 70's, TMB is almost a high definition version of the original ones - in both audio and visual aspects.

Even if TMB choose strictly to play the recorded studio versions instead of the live ones, they have plenty choice amongst different multi-tracks that weren't available even a few years ago, neither on the albums (LP's and CD remasters - until we have to wait for the 5.1 remixes to discover one of them)

Therefore it's even possible that you will hear different arrangements from one show to the other.

The black show seems to me very thrilling, Peter Gabriel played in a very dark environement only lit by black and low lights so there's a whole work done on PG' visible aspects (only a few parts of the body were visible) which allowed him to give an unexpected expression and effect to some of his movements and presence on stage.

Remember, the black shows preceded the Lamb shows performed a few month later.

[MartinC]

Originally Posted by netwerkingyuppie

thanks for your response christian. so i guess its not a night and day difference anyways...

Well... it actually *is* a night and day difference as far as lights are concerned, hence the name...

Musically it is virtually identical, but visually it is extremely different. The "Black" stage is technically very close to the "Lamb" stage and subsequently the look & feel of the entire concert is a radical change to the bright and colourful "White" version.

It raises an interesting question: Did Gabriel use the "Black Show" to try out ideas for the "Lamb" that were already in his mind, or did he rather want to try out "something new" for "Selling" and then *developed* the "Lamb" look & feel out of that experience? Either way, the "Black Show" certainly is the missing link between the playful and wonderland-ish "Selling" and the much darker "Lamb".

If you only ever see one "Selling" show in your life I would recommend the "white" concert (simply because there is a bit more to watch at), but if you can afford to see both then it will be a very impressive experience to witness this "fast forward" jump in Gabriel/Genesis stage show history.

[Danlaw83]

Actually the actual reason for the set change is because the very elaborate "white" stage was to delicate and fragile to ship around the world, thus switching to the more simple "black" stage. I am pretty sure though, when coming up with the stage design for TLLDOB, he used inspiration from the "black" stage show

[TheTayMan]

I am going to see the Black show for a change, I have seen the white show twice, would be interesting to see a different set.

[Danlaw83]

Ok fans, and friends. I will be attending BOTH TMB shows this coming weekend, hope to see some of you there.!!