July 14, 2007, early morning - after a shower and breakfast I got back to the Circus Maximus. There were still not too many people waiting there although the crowd was constantly growing. It all turned out to be more or less like on the other concerts before. Most people didn’t arrive before noon. So it was by far not the hysteria many people had expected. Good for us! Sleeping at the venue would’ve been unnecessary but it was part of the experience and still worth the effort. Throughout the morning we could watch the stage works being finalized. The workers still had to put up the video wall and a few other things. Quite interesting because you don’t often get the chance to see something like this.

The sun was being down all day. No cloud in the sky and temperatures rising with every minute. On the field there was almost no shadow at all and a big problem was the dry ground which produced dust clouds with every movement. I took care not to get burned this time and had my head covered all the time. I think in total I drank about 4-5 litres of water throughout the whole day. Actually the water supply was very well organized. There were tank trucks with drinking water where people could refill their bottles and in addition to that free mineral water was handed out to the waiting fans - well enough for everyone!

The only problem we encountered was to find the right spot were to queue. The place we had waited at all night turned out to be a “dead end” so we moved down the slope onto the field where we thought it was the shortest run to the front. In the morning they finally put up the barriers and I could see that there was a front-of-stage area with small entrances to both sides. That’s where I wanted to get in! All the time I had expected to not really get a chance to get to the front on this gigantic concert but as time moved on I realized that there would be a good chance to make it. The spot we finally waited at was really not far from the entrance to the front-of-stage area. So at least the run would be much shorter than the terrible one in Lyon.

During the wait we even had a chance to talk to Annie Callingham and Nick Davis who came to the waiting crowd. Not many people know what they look like so their presence usually doesn’t cause a turmoil. But nonetheless it was really nice that they chatted with us.

Security staff had told us that they would open the venue at 18.00 so it was still a terribly long wait ahead. But already before 15.00 I noticed something going on. The Italian security staff was suddenly joined by British colleagues. For some reason people got a little nervous and in the end it was about 15.15 when the ropes which had held people back were ripped off and everyone sprinted to the front! As I had noticed that we might have an early start I had already packed my stuff and prepared myself for the run to the front. The early opening seemed a bit unplanned to me but anyhow security was ready to stop us from entering the front-of-stage area. I ended up among the very top of the crowd right next to the entrace to that sector. A lot of people had opted to wait at the fence which surrounded the front-of-stage area. Some of the had obviously thought that this would be a VIP only area so they thought they would be in the best spots. Well, at least they didn’t get crushed by the masses behind them as we did. My impression was that especially the British security had prevented the worst but even they had problems to make people at our gate moved a step back and relax.

The good thing was that at some point I realized that there would only be one entrance to the front-of-stage area - ours! The one on the other side was not going to be used. In the end we had to wait about an hour in this constantly pushing crowd until we finally were let in one by one. The entry procedure itself went very relaxed and smooth. Usually I don’t like surreptitious advertising in a report like that but in this case I will make an exception: so a big THANK YOU to Rock Steady Security for doing an excellent job that day! They handled the crowd without compromise and (sadly despite other security staff I’ve seen on this tour and others) really knew what they were doing. As I walked inside I saw that two friends I had with and who were let inside before me had reserved a spot for me. So I ended up in first row right in front of Phil’s mic! I think it doesn’t get any better on a concert with an expected crowd of about half a million people!

So there we were inside the venue. Mission accomplished. But still was only 16.30 - another 5 hours to wait until showtime. Well, actually “just” 4.5 as Annie had told us that the start was scheduled for 21.00 (30 minutes earlier than expected). The good thing with our spot in first row was that thanks to the stage we waited in the shadow for most of the time. Looking back down the Circus Maximus was a really impressive sight. Every once in a while I had to take a look at the constantly growing crowd. One of the nicest experiences - again! - was meeting so many people from so many different countries. Actually I met again quite a lot of fans who I had already met elsewhere on the tour. Too many to mention here. A big hello to all of them. They know who I’m talking about.

All waiting comes to an end, so around 21.15 we finally heard the well-known sounds of “Dead Already” (from the American Beauty soundtrack) foreshadowing the main event. From the first tunes of the concert on I knew that a special feeling was in the air. On the sing-along parts the crowd was extremely loud and sang very well by the way. During the concert there were several moments when I saw Mike and Daryl looking at each other with a very impressed expression on their faces. As I had expected the band was a bit more concentrated and not as relaxed as on the last two shows obviously due to the fact that the Rome show was being recorded for the official DVD release. But still they played extremely powerful. Parts like Duke’s Travels were among the most powerful performances I’ve seen on the tour. For the introductions Phil talked a bit of Italian but always mixed it with some English sentences. Unfortunately some introductions were a bit shorter than on most of the other shows. One of which being the transition between Mama and Ripples (”from the red-light district to a place of innocence…”). The only major mistake that night happened during Firth Of Fifth. The show so far had went absolutely brilliant but somehow suddenly “Tony left planet earth for a few seconds during Firth of Fifth” (this is quote from Nick Davis posted on the official Genesis Forum). He got the wrong speed, Phil on the drums maybe tried to adjust it and it all sounded really bad for a few seconds. When I first heard this I even thought they might have to stop and restart the song. But as they all are absolute professionals they manage to get into the correct speed again. Me and my fellows around me were looking at each other with a puzzled expression a bit like “what the heck was that?”. During the following song I Know What I Like it seemed like Phil was trying to make up for this mistake. I think the Tarantella was the most dynamic I’ve seen on the tour!

That night I really enjoyed the show, didn’t take too many photos (as the show will be on DVD anyway) but just concentrated on whole performance. I looked back onto the crowd several times though from my spot it was hard to really see the whole field. But as far as I could see there were people all over the place. I didn’t see a free spot anywhere. I think it was during the break before the encores that the crowd started to sing the Stagnation bit again.

To my surprise I didn’t get as emotional as I feared during Carpet Crawlers (well, honestly I had had “my moment” during Afterglow already) but maybe this will come in Hollywood when I realize that it will not only be the last show for 2 month…

It was amazing how fast people got out of the place after the concert. This enormous crowd left pretty fast considering that according to Italian newspapers there were 500,000 people. The Circus Maximus looked like planet Mars after the show. Litter all over the place and the whole field was covered in dust raised by the masses on their way home.

It was an unbelieveable and amazing experience. Can’t wait to see the DVD and relive the whole night again. I hope it can give a proper impression of what this show was like - even for people who weren’t there. For me it will always remain a special night to remember!

After the show I really need a drink and most of all something to eat. So I joined a bunch of fellow fans on a pizza and a beer. After this very late dinner I was really wiped out. The result of only 3 hours of sleep in the night before and such an exhausting day. Though it was hard to say goodbye to the other I finally went to bed at around 3.00.

The next morning I slept until 10.00 and did some sightseeing after breakfast. But it turned out to be too hot in the city. I went to Piazza Navona, the Collosseum, the Vatican and of course Circus Maximus again. At that time the stage was almost torn down already!

So in the afternoon I took the Leonardo Express from Termini station to Fiumicino Airport for my evening flight back home. A month of following Genesis across Europe all the way down from Helsinki to Rome was about to come to an end. My flight was expected to be on time but we already boarded the plane with a slight delay and once the passengers were on board the ground staff was still unloading the luggage from the inbound flight. After waiting about an hour we were finally being pushed back for departure to Düsseldorf. The flight went smooth and we arrived about 30 minutes late at 23.15. Unfortunately there was some technical trouble which delayed the baggage claim until after midnight! It was almost 1.00 when I finally got back home. 5 hours later my alarm-clock would wake me up again and welcome me back to “real life”…

So much for the European leg of my personal selection of shows. So many impressions, memories and experiences. Too many to mention them all. I hope the diary has given you a little impression of my travels. But my tour isn’t over yet! It will continue with the show in Hartford, Connecticut on September 16 and I will fly to Boston the day before. About 6 weeks to go. For sure UK76’s TRAVELS will continue. Hope you will pop in again…

Thanks for reading and for all the comments so far!

Ulli

The next to last “Warm Up” concert was to be a very special show, and it was … in more than one aspect. First of all, it took place during the 25th WoMAD festival which Gabriel had founded in 1982, and it was the reason why there was a Warm Up tour in the first place. In the beginning it was just this concert that had been planned for 2007.
Secondly, continuous rain had turned Charlton Park, which hosted the festival for the first place, into a giant mud plain. It seems that the organizers had no “plan B”, and so many guests left in a huff (cf the WoMAD forum). Those who stayed were compensated with a brief show that featured a number of prominent guests:

The Rhythm Of The Heat (feat. The Zawose Family)
On The Air
Intruder
Blood Of Eden (feat. Flute Player)
No Self Control
Solsbury Hill
Sledgehammer
Family Snapshot
Lay Your Hands On Me (feat. Daara J)
Mother Of Violence
Signal To Noise (feat. Kong Nay)
Secret World

In Your Eyes (feat. Daby Touré)

There are also plans for a DVD about the WoMAD festival.

A new opener, besides that - nothing spectacular

The Feeling Begins
The Rhythm Of The Heat
On The Air
Intruder
D.I.Y.
Blood Of Eden
No Self Control
Lovetown
Family Snapshot
Steam
Mother Of Violence
Big Time
Lay Your Hands On Me
Secret World
Solsbury Hill
Signal To Noise

Biko

Time and again Genesis have said a couple of words about just how Genesis have arrived at the setlist they performed without changes at all European concerts. They aimed to strike a balance by pleasing the pop audience with the hits while also delighting both band and hardcore fans by playing some old classics. I have not asked Tony, Mike and Phil about it, but I have thought a bit about the dramaturgy of the shows… subjective evaluations and opinions about how they really did it included. Dividing the audience into prog fans and pop fans means obviously painting a black and white picture. Since your mileage may vary you are very welcome to object and/or comment!

Behind The Lines / Duke’s End and Turn It On Again

A triumphant instrumental beginning with flourishing chords and heavy-duty double drumming. Full of self-confidence Genesis make a statement with this strong beginning: We are back. We take the stage again, and we do it with a musical exclamation mark. Powerful sound right from the first note lets the audience (at least that in the field) know that they will get their money’s worth in sound quality. By opening with an instrumental and having Phil behind the drums they also make it clear which way this show will turn: Lots of old songs, many instrumentals, a lot of Phil behind the drumkit. And a hazard, too: Many of today’s fans are not too familiar with the band’s back catalogue so they do not know BTL/DE at all. The adepts are pleasantly surprised: BTL had been a frequent topic of speculation for a show opener but fans did not feel certain that it would make the set list.
The beginning is extended into a “mini-Duke suite” that states the motto of this tour with the corresponding song. We get the hit machine running again – Turn It On Again, Genesis. They also free the song from the exile of the eternal encore. In previous tours they had rid the number of the folly of a medley of songs from the 60’s. Now they place the song near the beginning of the set again. It brings the show up to speed, loosens the mood and together with the opening song extends the bow to the album Duke.

No Son Of Mine and Land Of Confusion
The next two songs cater for those members of the audience who have come to hear the big hits. No Son Of Mine is a song a lot of prog fans are quite happy with. Many describe it as Genesis’ best single release, and the emotional intensity with which Phil sings this song makes shivers run down one’s spine. Land Of Confusion is an old acquaintance as a live song – it is a song many thirty- to fourty-somethings really groove on – memories from their youth when they would watch MTV are freshened up by the three Spitting Image puppets at the beginning…
Both songs were near the beginning of the set of the 1992 tour, and it is a good place for them. They are midtempo numbers, everybody knows the lyrics – at least the chorus – and the pop audience feel safe because “I know what I have come here for tonight”.

In The Cage / The Cinema Show / Duke’s Travels / Afterglow
This safe knowledge vanishes into thin air during the next eighteen minutes, at least if you have never heard of the following songs before. The band fulfills Tony’s promise that they were going to play many longtracks to showcase a side to Genesis that was overshadowed by the radio hits. A tough ordeal for those who do not know the material. Changing rhythms, extensive solos and instrumentals by the whole band and lyrics you cannot comprehend even if you understand the words unless you know the background, too. Duke’s Travels is a new element in the well-known ITC medley. It springs a nice surprise for those who know the classical ITC-Cinema Show-Slippermen medley from previous tours. Tony probably rediscovered his love for Duke while he was busy with the SACD/5.1 mixes. Perhaps this is the reason why they used instrumentals from this album in several places during the show.
Playing the ITC medley has become self-referential across the years: Just like Peter did it in 1974/5 Phil sings the lines that begin “Outside the cage I see my brother John” from an elevated position while the smoke machine runs at full power. This tour’s version has moved away from the early 80’s version and grown much closer to the original Lamb version as far as speed, flair and the vocals are concerned. The version on Three Sides Live was much faster and rougher from the first chords; this time the intensity grows slowly and much more effectively until it culminates in the fast “out of this pain” passage.
The staging of Afterglow quotes previous arrangements: Massive wafts of mist and the usage of lights behind and just below the stage create a spheric effect that we know from back when or at least from Armando Gallo’s photos. This self-referentiality is not at all a bad thing: It lets the “old” Genesis fans know why they have come here tonight. Big shivers down your spine.
Hold On My Heart
Though many fans of the 70’s Genesis will frown, this is the song that wins back the pop audience. It is also a resting point after a tour de force. In freely sung end even those who despise it may feel a bit milder towards the song. It is a time to catch your breath before the next longtrack, …

Home By The Sea / Second Home By The Sea
… which manages to please both fans of complex music and fans of pop Genesis at the same time. Tony Banks’ most catchy synthie riff is an 80’s classic that is still in everybody’s ears. Second Home By The Sea makes it clear, though, that the long version is the definitive form. Lots of oomph, lots of bass, for the second time after In The Cage a massive wall of sound builds. The second half in particular is not easy listening.

Follow You Follow Me
The first real surprise. It has been a great many tours since the song was played in this version (’92 saw a snippet of it in the Old Medley, ’98 had a brief acoustic version). Again the statement of “Phil the singing drummer” is underlined as he sings into his headset while he plays the drums. It is also a friendly nod towards their own beginnings as a hit band that is the more conciliatory for most since Tony’s brief synth solo adds a little touch of prog to this simple yet enchanting song. The images on the backdrop play with the characters from previous album covers – just like the design for the Platinum Collection and the tour poster. They bring back memories of The Musical Box, but most of all of We Can’t Dance, Duke and A Trick Of The Tail, the three albums most heavily featured here. The visual presentation of the song takes up the motto of the ’98 tour that fits the TIOA tour very good either: Genesis Through The Ages…

Firth Of Fifth / I Know What I Like
More drums! Phil remains behind his drum kit and the band presents an instrumental show-piece from the Genesis catalogue. Tony and Daryl’s solos are delightful, mellotron sounds and the bass-pedal rebuild the wall of sound so that the whole stadium begins to quake. Was there ever another stadium show in which I have a Moog bass pedal so strongly physically? IKWIL follows with the same transition as in the ’92 Old Medley, but it is – relief! – played in full. The nostalgic slideshow and the obligatory uttering of the ‘lawnmower’ sentences at the beginning and the end of the song are a discreet bow to Peter’s qualities as a showman in his time with Genesis. The tambourine tarantella is another instance of Genesis quoting themselves, but it no less fun for that. Phil’s playing with the crowd – it still is a (self-)ironic satire on rock star poses.

Mama
The lighting and the video presentation really spread the mood of this eerie song (it would be getting dark during this song on most shows) as well as Phil whose vocal performance peaks here at one of the dramatic climaxes of the evening – pathos, cries for help and a manic, threatening mood. Again, the friends of both pop and prog are happy: They all enjoy the dirty laugh and the massive drum sound. This song is neither pop nor prog. The lighting and the video bits pick up on the theme of the promo video for the song (remember the red lights?), but they do not just copy it but update it to the visual status of 2007.

Ripples
The second big surprise in the set and a brave choice at this point in the set – it is not really stadium rock, is it? A tender, pastoral mood spreads and everybody wallows in nostalgia. So do Genesis as they play the whole instrumental part and a closing section that grows longer the longer they have been on tour. A rediscovered pearl and probably the song the “hit audience” know least of. Its balladesque character makes it attractive to anyone who wants to open up to it. The end could go on and on. If Phil has stated his ambivalent feelings towards the early Genesis eras before he must have put them aside because he is really into the song. A longing spreads when Phil keeps singing “sail away, away … they never come back”…

Throwing It All Away
Time to give the hit audience their dues – the mood swing is a bit strong, though. There could have been a better place for this song. Genesis play a big offering from the Invisible Touch album near the end of the main set. Incidentally, Invisible Touch has more songs on this set than e.g. We Can’t Dance…

Domino
The audience participation time that began during TIAA now reaches a peak with the illustration of the domino principle. It also triggers general merriness. A single hit is followed by a sophisticated longtrack full of different moods – it is an emotional rollercoaster ride. Phil’s performance as well as the light show bring out the brooding atmosphere of the lyrics – but necks crane when he cannot be seen on stage during the “blood on the windows”. Genesis show once more how important complex longer pieces are to them and how great and full of variation they are able to perform them live. Domino, as HTBS, is not necessarily a household name. With time, Genesis have turned from an album band into a single band. This is a moment when Tony Banks’ statement that this tour was like “preaching to a converted audience” is not really valid. For many, a track like Domino is another lesson on the subject of “this, too, is Genesis”.

Drum duet / Los Endos
The drum duet is a Genesis classic. When they played it on the ’92 tour it felt lost and artificial because it was not attached to a song. This time they had the great idea of beginning the drum duet on two bar stools which excited everyone – a simple yet clever idea. The duet slowly builds which not only leads to the discovery of the whole drum kit but also carefully prepares the way for the giant explosion that is the beginning of Los Endos. A powerful presentation of the capabilities of each musician and at the same time a true band effort. This song proves that next to Duke A Trick Of The Tail is the second album that dominates the renovation of the set list for the tour – probably again because of the work on the remasters and the box set … With Los Endos they also do the clever trick of waking memories of the songs that are quoted in this piece, Squonk and Dance On A Volcano most of all. Los Endos is a live classic that has come alive again, shining as brightly as the white light at the end of the piece.

Tonight Tonight Tonight / Invisible Touch
Strange to play another songs. In earlier years they left the stage after Los Endos, but this time they decided not to. So they open the old IT chest of tricks and play the 1992 double-pack. Pity they do not play TTT in full, but time is running out. Invisible Touch and its happy-party-mood raise the roof of the stadium and leave the audience wanting more even before the band leave the stage after the fireworks. Some may consider it superfluous, but it crowns this fulminant stage show. Check the watch: Wow, it’s been 2 and a half hours already!

I Can’t Dance
The encore block is short, but perhaps it is better that way. It might be difficult to sustain the mood much longer. It would have to be Genesis’ most unusual hit now, and another opportunity for Phil to take the mickey at himself and please the fans of this era. It is the song almost everybody sings along to, but with mixed feelings: What was quirky and funny in 1992 seems strangely dated in 2007 – is it a period piece after all…?

The Carpet Crawlers
… Well, you cannot say that about the timeless final song. The encores are split fifty-fifty, half pop era, half prog(Gabriel) era; everybody finds something pleasing here. The song is introduced in an uncharacteristically emotional way, it is “a song that is true to Genesis, which is very special to us.” A tiny digression, just a small break played by Chester on the toms, points at the ’99 version. It is a wonderfully calm and atmospheric finale that sends everybody home happy and content.

The tension grows and lessens in various places, but the frequency in which the intensity grows becomes ever shorter. There is just a brief HOMH between the ITC medley and HBTS, FoF brings in the next complex part just after FYFM. Towards the end the dramatic and emotional climaxes follow ever faster: Mama, Ripples, Domino, Los Endos, IT with the fireworks. The end is calmer again. Neither I Can’t Dance nor CC are songs that really get you going, even if you like them they are nothing do dance or clap along to. Bottom line: The setlist Genesis performed unchanged on their European tour is a perfect textbook example for the dramaturgy of a rock concert. The fact that they do not have to advertise a new album permitted the band to come up with such a well-balanced set list. One notes that there is quite a focus on melancholy and dramatic songs that, as Mike has often said, are an integral part of Genesis. If this was the final Genesis tour the band have said farewell to their fans with a carefully chosen cross-section of their oeuvre.

But as all three of them keep saying, “Never say never” and “We’ll see.”

Author: Jan Hecker-Stampehl (Earl)
Translator: Martin Klinkhardt (martinus)

According to first reports, the venue was very small, rougly 1,000 people atteneded the show. Melanie Gabriel was back in the band.

The Rhythm Of The Heat
On The Air
Intruder
D.I.Y.
Steam
Blood Of Eden
Lovetown
No Self Control
Solsbury Hill
Mother Of Violence
Family Snapshot
Lay Your Hands On Me
Big Time
Secret World
Signal To Noise

Sledgehammer
In Your Eyes
Biko

… a set without big surprises, except for the fact that Melanie was not there:

The Rhythm Of The Heat
On The Air
Intruder
D.I.Y.
Steam
Blood Of Eden
Lovetown
No Self Control
Solsbury Hill
Family Snapshot
Lay Your Hands On Me
Big Time
Signal To Noise
Sledgehammer

In Your Eyes
Biko

The concert day in Lyon started early as usual. I took the metro to the final destination Stade Gerland. There was a designated front-of-stage area which I had a ticket for. After talking a walk halfway around the stadium I found a marathon gate leading to one side of the stage which was labelled “acces devant scene” (i.e. front-of-stage access). So we started waiting there - the first fans that morning. It was a bit strange that no-one joined us and after a few hours we got the reason: a security guard told us that the actual entrance would be about 250-300 meters down the road! As we arrived there we joined a few dozen of others who were queueing there since the early morning. We told them that we had queued at the wrong entrance since the early morning as well so we didn’t have to go to the very end of the queue.

At our “gate” there were single fences with about half a meter in between. Down the (long) road there were more fences about every 100 meters. According to the tickets doors were to open at 17.30. During all the waiting there was only one security guard standing at our entrance. His main duty was to open the fence to let cars pass by. Right next to our gate there was the entrance to the rest of the field. At 17.30 (still just one steward at our gate!) the door for the “rest” of the field was opened. People at our gate got anxious and my worst fears became reality: One security instructor shouted to the single steward at our gate that he should let people in now! So completely uncontrolled the whole horde of people stormed the fences! I was in row three at our “entrance” and by the time I passed the first fence it was already about to fall down. I really don’t want to know what happened to people behind me. I hope no-one got injured! Total disorder and panic! So far so bad - the next problem was that we had to run all the way down these 300 meters to the entrance to the field. A long way if you’re sprinting! By the time we reached the marathon gate me and the others could barely run but rather walked the last few meters. If you think that was about it with the bad organization you’re wrong… When we got inside the stadium we weren’t allowed to enter the field directly but had to walk around half the front-of-stage area. Across that area there were security guards lined up. We had to wait in front of them and their plan was to move slowly towards the end of this area. After all the fuss so far people were already uneasy and so this plan couldn’t really work. In the end the guards tried to hold us back but at one point every one tried to sneak through and so we finally got to the front row. What a piece of work!!! After the first bunch of people had passed uncontrolled the guards lined up again and did that until the front-of-stage area was nearly full. Unbelieveable! What an unnecessary procedure. The guards wasted here inside the stadium should better have been at the first gate and make people enter one by one!

The weather in Lyon was great. Partly cloudy, but dry with a lot of sunshine. I even got a bad sunburn. For the first time since Düsseldorf (indoors!) I saw the rain cover of the stage being removed for the stage. The show was maybe the most powerful performance I’ve seen on the tour. The band really seemed to let loose. There were the usual mistakes but I didn’t care at all. The drum duet was maybe the longest on the whole tour with parts I had never heard before. It simply didn’t seem to stop! Some songs like Duke’s Travels were extremely powerful and during Firth Of Fifth Phil drummed like hell. All in all memorable evening! Even a little better than Munich which had been very good already.

The next morning I had to fly on to Rome - my final destination on the European tour. EasyJet took me across the Alps and during the approach into Ciampino Airport I had a perfect view on the city center including Circus Maximus! Weather in Rome was as good as it gets. Temperatures high in the 30s and sunny. I took the bus to Termini station and walked past the Colosseum to Circus Maximus to see how the situation was 1 1/2 days before the show. As I arrived there the steel structure of the stage was almost ready. The video walls, a lot of lights and the actual stage the band plays on were still on the trucks on their way to Rome. Around Circus Maximus there were about 50 people sitting or standing. No sign of anyone queueing yet. So it seemed that the rumours about fans camping & queueing one or more days before the show were nonsense. I spent the afternoon with a bunch of friends and in the evening we had a very nice dinner with about a dozen of other fans. After midnight we were heading back to the hotel (a lot of us stayed in the same place). But me and 2 others were a bit restless and wanted to know how the situation at the venue was. When we arrived there at around 1.00 there were a few tents and some people sleeping on a slope at one side of Circus Maximus. All in all there were about 15-20 people waiting at that time. In the end we decided to start waiting as well. So I laid down on the grass and took a first nap. But as it was quite chilly above the ground with the humidity hovering over the still pretty warm ground. So I walked back to the hotel and got myself some warmer clothes. All in all I could sleep about 2-3 hours that night which I think isn’t that bad considering that I’m really not used to sleep open-air. Shortly before sunrise the trucks had arrived from Lyon. While they were waiting for the load-in I took a shower at the hotel and had breakfast.

More about the concert day in Rome and a show to remember in my next entry.

Ulli

A personal commentary by udo:

The 2007 European tour is over. We all will remember different things about this tour, because some of us have seen Genesis live for the first time while other have seen them in past years or decades. Many have only attended one show, some saw several, few (almost) all of them.
This is the time to say “thank you”. Thank you to messieurs Collins, Rutherford, Banks and their fellow musicians for a tour many, including the author, had ceased to believe in. These concerts were a wonderful experience. Thank you also to our four headmasters and moderators. The tour must have been almost as stressful for them as for the musicians and the crew themselves. What you have achieved here is worthy of high praise. Thank you! And thank you to everybody who provided us with photos and reports almost in real time. We could follow the whole tour through Europe in your words and images.
And then there is hope. Hope for a tour with all five of them. Hope for many old songs. Then we shall all be back, I think. Hope also for some calm to return to the forum and hope that certain people who came in here with the flood may leave when the ebb sets in. Hope that the fans stay and that those who are not really interested leave and take care of more important things in their lives.

After an eleven day hiatus the final part of the tour kicked off with this brief festival set:

The Rhythm Of The Heat
On The Air
Intruder
Blood Of Eden
No Self Control
Family Snapshot
Big Time
Solsbury Hill (verse 2 was repeated instead of verse 3)
Sledgehammer
Signal To Noise
Secret World

In Your Eyes (feat. Daby Touré)

(Thanks to Steffen)

Ever wondered what the North America indoor stage looks like? Well, this is it:

This photo shows the pop-up stage design (indoor shows) that you can see in the Anatomy Of A Tour Book/DVD Set, that is now available. As you can see, the screen is not as big and there are also some elements of the light show a bit different.

>> Go here to read the full review about the book/DVD set!