Posts by MoonlitKnight

Quote from thewatcher

Interested bystander here, I have no horse in the race as I don't live in the UK. Actually because of my immigration status, I can't even vote in the stupid country I live in for now.

My observation on the above discussion re no good candidates, is that this doesn't negate the value and importance of voting. Even if the candidates are all terrible, one is probably worse than the others, and preventing that person from being elected is worth doing. Fair enough if one believes there are absolutely no tie breakers and can't decide, but I think it would be pretty rare for a set of personal values and candidates' stated positions not to result in a "yes that's my guy/gal" or at least "oh dear God no, anyone but them".

Spot on. You just described the upcoming election in the US perfectly. For me Trump absolutely falls into the “ANYONE BUT HIM”category. Biden may be a semi-doddering old man but at least he has some moral compass, doesn’t perpetually lie morning noon and night, and can empathize with others.

Quote from WinstonWolf

I'll see them this Saturday and next Saturday, and I'm really looking forward to the shows. I'm glad they're getting booked in more venues so more folks can see them.

As for Supper's Ready, I've seen them play it a couple times. It's not a regular tune for them for many of the same reasons it wasn't for Genesis after a while; it's so long it means they can't play three or four other songs, plus it's quite a workout to play. Supper or no, I'm sure you'll enjoy the show. On these shows where they're the only band they usually play 2.5-3 hours solid, and hit a pretty wide variety of songs.

Excellent show last night by Abacab. Musically the band was superb (special kudos to the drummer and guitarist), and the vocalist was fantastic. One thing I appreciated and enjoyed was the fact that the band wasn’t afraid to get adventurous with certain arrangements. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to listen to Genesis’ versions of the song Abacab again and not think “Man, I wish they had arranged it like that tribute band.” The guitarist was freaking incredible at the end of the song, and went places with it that were really unique. My wife walked out of the theater saying that was the most fun she’s ever had at a Genesis tribute band concert. As she pointed out, some of the later stuff has great sing-along sections for the audience that the earlier stuff doesn’t have.

SPOILER ALERT!

As you predicted WinstonWolf, they played for close to 2 and 1/2 hours. The setlist was an eclectic mix of stuff from Genesis’ prog catalog, poppier stuff, and a few selections from PG’s and PC’s solo careers (They absolutely nailed Sledgehammer and Easy Lover, and did a good job with In the Air Tonight as well). The setlist was heavy on songs from Duke, starting (of course) with BTL and ending the show with DT/DE. It was nice to hear Tonight, Tonight, Tonight again in its entirety, though the keyboard player seemed to have a bit of trouble with his equipment during the first part of the instrumental section in the middle of TTT (no sound), something which ironically I saw happen to Tony Banks on the IT tour. As for the hardcore prog era stuff, there were a few songs sprinkled in, including Eleventh Earl, DWTMK, and Watcher of the Skies. Toward the end they performed an extended Lamb’s Stew. I have to admit about halfway through that I thought “if they are devoting 20 minutes to this, why not 23 minutes to Supper’s Ready instead?” I got the sense that half the audience was sitting there hearing about KKK serving hot soul food and a fluffy heart being ready for rape and wondering “Huh? WTF?” Still, the band did a great job with it, and I took pride in feeling like the hardest core fan there as I was the only person in my section singing along word for word throughout the entire Stew selection. I was surprised that we got nothing from ATOTT. And surprised that certain classic older tunes that usually get played by tribute bands were left out (In the Cage/Cinema Show/Afterglow; Carpet Crawlers). Overall, I’d highly recommend seeing these guys. One last compliment: it’s nice going to a concert like this and not knowing what the next song will be. That’s a big advantage over simply doing a single tour’s setlist.

Quote from WinstonWolf

I've seen Abacab play numerous times, and they really are top notch! They all love the music, and it really shows in how faithfully they play. They also play a really wide range of material, from the really early material, the big hits, a few solo songs, and some deep cuts Genesis never performed on stage.

The show I’m attending is tonight. I just watched a couple of their clips on YouTube and was very impressed. They did a great job with “Silver Rainbow” and really knocked Supper’s Ready out of the park. Speaking of the latter, I reached out to them a few months ago virtually pleading for them to play Supper’s Ready tonight. I got back a very friendly “we will see what we can do” type reply, which in all honestly I take as the equivalent of the dreaded “We’ll see” answer from my dad when we were kids. We quickly learned that “We’ll see” really meant “No, but I don’t want to listen to you complain so I’ll leave it at maybe” lol.

My Spotify Americana and Swamp Rock mix, featuring The Band and CCR

Just a heads up that the tribute band “Abacab” will be playing at The Milton Theater in Milton, Delaware on May 30th. This will be my first time seeing them live but their uploads on YouTube are very impressive. One upload is an entire Seconds Out concert. In another their setlist spans both the Peter and Phil eras as well solo works by PG and PC. They also have a separate clip of them performing Abacab featuring top flight guitar work at the end. Looking forward to the show!

I missed it! My wife and I have been dealing with Covid. They do put on a helluva concert. Looking forward to catching them next time they are in Philly.

Cinema Show/Aisles (I refuse to separate them! Lol)

Firth of Fifth

Dancing with the Moonlit Knight

That could be. Even so, it’s strange that it never emerged publicly in some form as a Genesis song in the 2 years between the Shapes album and the first M&TM albums.

A superb track list, though I do wish more live performances of songs from the W&W album had been included. My main issue with this album is Dave Henschel’s production. It feels like he sucked a lot of the edginess out of the live performances. The background babbling before the beginning of Squonk is bizarre, and it would help the live feel of the performances if the cuts that begin some of the other sides (i.e. Firth of Fifth and Cinema Show) have audience noise (as in cheering!) before the music begins.

It has some very good tracks that I genuinely enjoy, including all of Side One and It’s Gonna Get Better as the album closer. Overall, however, it feels to me like an album that was driven in part by a desire to continue to build the band’s popular momentum after the success of Phil’s solo albums. To me the fact that it is the only Genesis album that produced no b-sides is telling. It seems like the band did just enough to be able to release an album.

“Safety in Numbers,” by Crack the Sky. They were Baltimore’s proggy champs back in the late 70s-early 80s.

Quote from panopticom

Among the most famous:

OutKast (yes, them!) sampling Dancing with the Moonlit Knight

Prodigy (the rapper, not the band) sampling Firth of Fifth in a song called Genesis!

I think Enigma sampled some Genesis beats.

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So I admit to being completely clueless about these styles of music. It’s easy to hear Firth of Fifth in the one song. Where is DWTMK sampled in the other song? Is it the drums?

My favorite album by Tony. My favorite tracks include This Is Love, And the Wheels Keep Turning, and Charm. I also quite like TB’s voice. To me it’s got a sort of Al Stewart vibe to it. To my American ear it’s a very “British” style of singing. From what I’ve read Phil suggested that Tony sing the lead on Silver Rainbow, but Tony declined. Given the sound of Tony’s voice on The Fugitive I think singing lead on Silver Rainbow would have worked well.

Quote from FeelItComing

I've been listening to my Van Morrison albums in the car. He just is not a 'car' artist. Some of the later albums with tracks that go on forever with his self-indulgent vocalising have not aged well. He is best when he keeps it simple (which tells you that yes, I prefer Moondance to Astral Weeks). His recent anti vaxxer political stance has not helped my opinion of him.

I have the live version of “Caravan” from The Last Waltz on the playlist I listen to while mowing the lawn. It’s freakin’ awesome. And for some reason it just occurred to me I probably should have “I Know What I Like” on that playlist too. I guess it’s so on the nose I forgot about it lol.

Quote from Backdrifter

And as I think you and I said before, there's that ludicrous opening sound of people chatting - terrible start to a live album. Did the crowd have to duplicate that on the Hackett SO tour?!

What do we think of the Archive 1 Lamb show version? Obviously there's the vocal overdub to bear in mind. It bothers me a little that the 'lamb' of "And the lamb...." lead line is so much shorter than on the album. Anyone know of any other good recordings of it from the Lamb tour?

I wonder what folks think of the rearranged version they played on the 1982 tour as an encore that transitioned directly into Watcher of the Skies? Personally I liked it, but I know the rearranged jazz-rock intro and outro to The Lamb may be off-putting to some.

Quote from Backdrifter

(Which bit counts as spoken word?)

In addition to the above notes on piano and vocal I'd add in the crunchy growling bass which I love and is among my favourite of Rutherford's work. I've heard others say that's something they don't like! Always interesting how fans differ - eg I'll never understand the preference some have for the lighter, skippier Seconds Out version which I find too fey and way inferior to the chunky slightly menacing original.

I also like the vocal harmonies on the title phrase, and the solid drumming. Hackett seems distant on this track but his characteristic subtle touch is there in the mid section.

I suppose you could say this track gives the album a much better opening than the ending. Its 'looming' feel seems to preface the arrival of the huge cloud soon to engulf Rael and start his strange adventure. It's a nice scene-setter, giving us a picture of NYC into which the protagonist steps and we immediately get a sense of who he is with his spraypaint can. Whereas it leaves us hanging somewhat.

I like that it was such a frequent feature of their live set and was surprised and pleased with the 'lounge' version on the final tour.

Banks said it was the last song he and Gabriel sat down to write together. In that sense it marks the closing of the key partnership they established at school, so it was fitting it featured in the band's final outing.

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I think the Seconds Out version suffers from DH's propensity as a producer to take all the sharp edges off. The whole album (Seconds Out) sounds to me like it was recorded in a giant empty room, rather than a full arena.

Glad you clarified on Don McLean. You know you're getting old when your first thought is "Wait . . . what? The guy who did "Miss American Pie" is playing keyboards for Peter?

Good song, but I'd have liked it more if the album version ended like the live version. The fade out in this song just doesn't work for me.

Quote from dodo

I've seen their SEBTP and Black Shows a few times before! I'd been hoping they'd eventually do another "Lamb" show... so glad I was able to see it!

Hopefully they aren't really fully retiring The Lamb tour. It's a fantastic show and keeps a good variety going in terms of their rotation of tours. Take the Lamb out of the touring mix and they're basically reduced to SEBTP and Foxtrot, along with the occasional Extravaganza tour. Actually the first time I saw them they were doing the Nursery Cryme Tour at Upper Darby. They were excellent but the show was very short (a little under 90 minutes). I probably would not pay to see that show again.