LJStrata and I had a great evening watching the return of one of the best bands of all time: Genesis. As we were entertained with powerful songs from every era of Genesis (their art spans 2 decades and numerous classic and top selling albums) I realized I have been seeing them play live on and off again for over 30 years. 34 years to be exact. When I first saw them the band included the esteemed Peter Gabriel as lead singer and the incredible Steve Hackett on guitar, including the dedicated core of Mike Rutherford (from Mike and the Mechanics), Tony Banks and, of course, Phil Collins. The year was 1974 and they played in the Baltimore civic center and were so new to American that they cut the center in half with a massive curtain to (I guess) make the place feel full. It just happens a live album was released the year before that covered the international tour, so I can go back and listen to much of that concert (the show was much longer than the one LP disc of course).

That was my awakening to a band I just can never get enough of. I was 14 and 33 years later I still just immerse myself (and our family) into the unbelievable story telling that is the music of Genesis. In 1977 I saw my second Genesis concert, but the band now did not include Peter Gabriel. He had gone solo by this time so Phil Collins was at the front and the band added Chester Thompson on drums to fill in for Phil (replacing Bill Buford who had stepped in initially. Thompson had played for Zappa who I had seen earlier, again in Baltimore, and was an amazing addition. The “Seconds Out” tour was the last with Steve Hackett, and again I was lucky to see Genesis at a time a live album was being recorded. One of the songs (can’t remember which now) I believe was recorded at our DC concert. The album is known in some cirlces as one of the best live albums ever produced – and given the era that says a lot.

The next year (1978) was a nail biter for Genesis fans. Now that Gabrielle and Hackett had left the band it we wondered how they could continue. But with Chester Thompson in it really was not as bad as it seemed from the outside. The band added Daryl Stuermer to replace Hackett and let Rutherford switch off between bass and guitar. It was the final formation of a great band. That year I actually got to meet the band at Peach Tree Records near White Flint Mall in Rockville, MD. I still have their autographs on a record divider I copped from the store. Genesis was on the rocks, but their “And Then There Were Three…” tour put everyone at ease. They could perform the old songs to perfection and their new work was just as good – if not sprinkled here and there with a more commercial title. This was the album that brought the world “Follow You, Follow Me”, which lifted them into the mainstream for good.

After this intense, near-cult following of Genesis every time they came around I was off to college, and on my way to getting married a few years after that. LJStrata and I saw our first Genesis concert together in 1987 when we saw the Invisible Touch Tour. LJStrata was more of a CA hard rock fan (since she is from CA and was seeing concerts in San Fran stadium that headlined Peter Frampton, Foghat, Led Zeppelin and many others), but Genesis attracts a wide audience (as we could tell when the tickets for the concert last night sold out in the first day of sale). The Invisible Touch tour, which drew heavily from the “Genesis” (Momma) and Abacab. It was when Genesis, in my mind, was at their peak. Our family can’t get enough of Genesis, we have nearly all their albums (I need to replace a few early ones like “Foxtrot” and “Nursery Cryme”. They have always been in our home.

We did not know when we saw Genesis in 1987 that Genesis was going to start slowing down and eventually ending. We had a 2 year old and were going to have a son 2 years later, so we too were going to slow down in our concert attendance. In 1991 the band released “We Can’t Dance”, Collins left the band in 1996 and it went dormant. In 1999 we had twins and the world is a bit of a blank until 9-11, to be honest. We have been heads down keeping afloat since then.

It all changed last night. This year Genesis re-united and I can tell you they play as good, or better, than when they we pounding it out in the late 70’s and through the 80’s. The concert was a stunning as “Seconds Out” was. It was well worth the money. They have a CD release to go with the tour (no new songs that I am aware of) – and each concert is recorded and available for purchase individually (we, of course, will buy our DC version). Last night was a time warp, where the lads of Genesis took me and many others back 2-3 decades into Rock and Roll music history. Wish you all could have been there! Hopefully we will see the HD Concert Series sometime soon! Thanks Genesis, we had a wonderful night. Right now the house is rocking to Genesis again as LJStrata starts blasting Invisible Touch! And life is good.