It was back onto the gigging horse tonight as we returned to The Globe in Cardiff.
After last year's excellent Genesish gig (the band now sadly disbanded)
it was the chance to see another of the current Genesis tribute acts currently playing the circuit - this time Genesis Visible Touch.
Now, when I see a Genesis tribute band with two drum kits set up on the stage it always sends a little shiver of anticipation down my spine. Tonight was one such night.
Genesis Visible Touch are currently comprised of
Chris O'Connell - Lead Vocals & Drums, Tony Turrell - Keyboards & Vocals
Martin Gordon - Bass, Guitar, Bass pedals & Vocals, Stuart Norman - Guitar, Bass, Bass Pedals & Vocals and Windsor Gilvray - Drums & Percussion
Basing their performance around the Phil Collins era Genesis is probably a great idea as there are some excellent Gabriel Era tribute acts out there at the moment including Canadians -The Musical Box and the UK's Re-Genesis.
It also gives the band a chance to reel out an almost Greatest Hits Show - that's all the Radio hits by the way.
The band are obviously fans of the Three Sides Live album and it gets a mention several times tonight.
They open the show with a great three song attack of the scene setting Behind The Lines which puts Chris behind the drum kit, and as the album (Duke) it morphed into a sensational performance of Duchess, complete with the drum machine pattern and then dropped into a lovely version of Guide Vocal. What a great way to start a show - they had the crowd on their side straight away with the, let's call them, Album Fans and Hits Fans singing away from the get go.
I'm glad to report that the band did NOT try to be a carbon copy of Genesis. They recreated as far a possile the authentic sounds and feel of the music. And in Liverpudlian Chris O'Connell they have a front man with enough charisma and humour to pull off the Phil Collins links, which he does with panache. It's interesting looking around the crowd tonight and see their reaction as phrases and actions of Collins are introduced into the set.
The Hits such as Misunderstanding and That's All are warmly received and the Cardiff crowd are not letting the side down in the vocal department as they're singing away with nearly every song. Warmly encouraged by the band.
We are treated to a lovely version of Ripples, from the A Trick Of The Tail album, among the tracks tonight.
Gabriel-Era Genesis makes an appearance with the mighty In The Cage and morphs beautifully into the stunning Afterglow. Always a highlight in any Genesis show.
All of the band played their part tonight and are obviously fine musicians in their own right and managed to play the most complex passages with ease.
It is a show split into two halves and the first half ends with a spirited version of Mama with Chris giving it the full suspense and menace with his vocal growls and sneers.
Part tow opens up with crowd pleaser and singalong Oh Oh Ohs, Land Of Confusion.
Highlights in Part Two also include an excellent Jesus He Knows Me with even more crowd interaction.
It must be some task just to pick songs from such a wealth of great material.
Squonk will always go down well in any Genesis gig and the band use this to lead into the finale of Los Endos which once again puts Chris behind the drum kit to recreate that great moment of Phil Collins and Chester Thompson having a drumming duel.
The band come back on stage after rapturous applause and give us the one song that finally ties up the evening. I Know What I Like.
This is Chris' chance to shine as he recreates the Phil Collins tambourine bash from the initial Trick Of The Tail Tour back in the 70s. And he did a great job too.
All in all a fine performance from a band who clearly love the source material and are adept at playing it. Hopefully they'll come back again as I'll never tire of hearing these songs live and judging by the crowd's reaction I think they'd like them back too.
Twitter - @genesis_vt
