Went to see Steve and the band on Sunday in Birmingham and last night in Gateshead (Liverpool still to come).
Have to say they still manage to get better each tour, even though they already seem to playing at an almost perfect standard in terms of technique.
This tour works because it feels like a fifty fifty split solo/Genesis, even though with encores it’s more like 40/60.
The solo first half is brilliant, it is heavily weighted to early albums, which makes sense in terms of quality I suppose but I’d like to see a little more of the middle and later period. Foxtrot really works when played in its entirety and I hadn’t quite realised that would be the case. There’s much more light and shade then I’d realised as I still think in terms of album sides, but when played as a whole new aspects are revealed. The drama of Watcher is offset by the simple romance of Timetable, followed by a vaudeville GEOBF, then a mid set crescendo of Can Utility. A timely breather with Horizons and then the epic Supper. In this context the extended guitar solo at the end really made sense, before it finally has a live fade. Amazing stuff, science fiction, medieval romance, knockabout storytelling, historical narrative, Bach-like guitar and the apocalypse set to music.
Steve gives each musician a chance to shine and is very humble and selfless in treating them as a band. Nad is really shining now. The two venues might have the best sound of the tour, I don’t know, but his voice is now very strong and powerful and he is really occupying the songs and the stage. Don’t know how much longer the ride will go on but catch it if you can.
