SO I saw The Musical Box last night for the fourth time. This time was the "Genesis Extravaganza Volume 2", where they do three sets: the first is from the four-man incarnation, songs from A Trick Of The Tail and Wind And Wuthering. Since W&W is my favorite Genesis album, this was killer. At at least two points I had goosebumps on my arm. Sebastian ("Mike") and Denis ("Peter"/"Phil") are the back bone of the band, but last night Antoine Baril ("Phil" (drums)) and Ian ("Tony") were the real standouts. There were probably four or five moments where Antoine was just CRUSHING it and Sebastian and Ian (on either side of him) just smiled at him. They were having real fun, and it showed. Denis actually looks and sounds like Peter, and he's cultivated that (with some of the mannerisms) over the years, but he slips into the Phil role well, and his voice REALLY shines on songs like Ripples (not so much on Dance On A Volcano or 11th Earl Of Mar, but that's not to say it wasn't very good, just not "evocative" like, say, Supper's Ready, where you can really lose yourself.)
I get it, it's a cover band, but these guys are the real deal, and are giving us something we can't see anywhere else. Plus, watching the ending of Cinema Show, with just Sebastian, Antoine and Ian on stage (like the real band did it) is so special. I've long written that the In The Cage Medley from Three Sides Live is my favorite piece of recorded music, and the bulk of that was performed last night and it was so good. I've been under a fair amount of stress lately, and basically went by myself, and sat in the very front row; it was a wonderful, escapist two and a half hours. Really needed that. (Though the guy next to me had seen them something like 45 times and had seen the original Genesis on the Selling England tour, so that was a treat to talk to him).