This was a strange week all round, uncertainty if the show would go ahead as a result of events in Scotland and my regular chauffeur pulling out. The gig was given the go ahead and I decided to take my 23 year old son ( thus ensuring I wouldn’t be the youngest in the audience). I have been accused of “child abuse” for making him listen to Angelwitch albums on the school run, now I was going to subject this pop punk loving drummer to prog epics over twenty minutes long.

I could see him enjoying the second half even if he didn’t know this Genesis album the vocals would keep him interested but the first hour of mostly instrumental Hackett highlights would be a tougher sell. My saving grace was as a musician he could marvel at the band and boy what a band. Ace of Wands opened the show then it got dark with the Devil’s Cathedral with Nad Sylvan singing the tale of the rogue understudy, Everyday sounded more Genesis style then A Tower Struck Down with its ominous doom brought us back down to earth. Camino Royal was a highlight then the musical section from Shadow Of The Hierophant brought the first half to a close. A thumbs up from my Green Day boy so things are looking up for the second half.

A half-hour interval for us older gentlemen with dodgy prostates was welcome then the main event begins. Like many mid fifty-year-olds my introduction to Genesis came via Marillion and I know it has been said a million times the clues are there. As an avid listener of Tommy Vance, his end-of-year list regularly featured Suppers Ready in the top three but it took me a few years of Grendel before I was ready to tackle it.

New backdrop lots of dry ice and Nad like an overlooking angel resplendent in a long black coat and red eyes( a simple but effective trick of two penlights with red bulbs ) heralded Watcher Of The Skies, swiftly followed by the I’ve always thought underrated Time Table which was one of the many highlights.

Get Em Out By Friday as always was masterful but Can Utility and the Coastliners I’ve always not taken to and tonight was no exception. Steve was left alone with an acoustic for the sublimely beautiful Horizons then it was time for the behemoth that is Suppers Ready. It was everything it should be overblown, pretentious, and a lot of fun I must admit I had something in my eye at the end of it.

Set list FM is my go-to cheat and the opening night of the tour in my fellow Welsh City of Swansea had Firth of Fifth and The Knife as encores, we got the former which with its sweeping keys and Steve’s magnificent arpeggios (check me out with technical terms ) was my favourite part of the evening but unfortunately instead of the stabbing staccato (and again) of The Knife we got a trio of Myopia/slogans/Los Endos very good but I had Jack Knife envy.

A fantastic night not every day you convert a twenty-three-year-old pop-punk drummer into a prog fiend now he will want Tales From Topographic Oceans but that may be a step to far even for me.

Author: Chris Phillips BGFM