AT STARLIGHT BOWL
GENESIS - CULT BAND BRIDGES GAP

3 May, 1976; Section IV, p. 18
by Richard Cromelin.

The current Genesis tour - the first without the theatrical presence of singer Peter Gabriel - is one that will separate the fringe from the core of the group's audience. Crowd reaction at Genesis' Saturday night concert at Burbank's Starlight Bowl (a promising facility with remarkably good outdoor acoustics and woefully inadequate access and parking) confirmed the rock axiom that it all comes down to the music. It's easy to miss Gabriel's antics, but at the same time it's clear that his stage contribution was a luxury not entirely crucial to effective presentation.

Drummer Phil Collins, the key to the important vocal transition, has the situation well covered: the tone and quality of his singing are uncannily simliar to Gabriel's, but with a few minor changes in phrasing and intonation he grants it his own distinctive character. The smooth adaptation, along with a new sense of freedom in the band's playing, leaves its momentum unabated.

The group still augments its narrative songs with films and slides (and now leads the pack in laser and smoke innovations), clarifying specific imagery but remaining innately esoteric in its basic thrust (familiarity with the material and mystique helps considerably). While the story lines are occasionally impenetrable, Genesis draws a touching emotional tone from its fairy tale/mythic orientation and maintains involvement through its highly disciplined, consistently fascinating musical panoramas (auxiliary drummer Bill Bruford supplies an impressive degree of muscle, and they ought to sign him on as a regular).

Genesis retains the intimacy and intensity of a cult band (not a question of audience size, but of the music's nature and its relationship to the fan), but avoids the usual preciousness and indulgences, becoming one of the few to bridge the gap between the tributaries of fantasy and the rock mainstream.

Transcribed for The Path by Joe Harden

Joe's story:

Trick tour - US leg

For Genesis' fourth trip to Los Angeles, you can bet that I was going to see them one way or another. First of all, I was ecstatic that they were even touring after the departure of Peter Gabriel. Secondly, I loved "A Trick of the Tail" from the first listen. I figured that even if they played only songs from that album, I would be satisfied.

In 1976, I fortunately was working as a courier which meant I had some flexibility with my time and my whereabouts. Even though I couldn't get to the theater's box office, I was able to get to a Ticketron outlet when tickets went on sale. I had never heard of the Starlight Bowl, the facility where Genesis was to play, but I learned at Ticketron that the front half of this amphitheater was assigned seating while the back half was festival seating on a lawn. When it was my turn to purchase tickets, all of the assigned seating was gone but there were still some lawn tickets available. This time there was no way that I was going to let anyone talk me out of buying tickets, no matter how bad the seats were. Without hesitation, I bought tickets for me and my friends and hoped for the best.

I later read in Armando's book that Genesis' manager, Tony Smith, personally rented a helicopter to search Los Angeles for the perfect setting for this concert. The Starlight Bowl had been a forgotten and unused open-air theater nestled in the hills above the San Fernando Valley. Tony Smith saw it as the perfect location for Genesis to play. This concert was the first event in the facility in years (and also one of the last - the neighboring community didn't like the annoyance of traffic and noise and had future concerts banned from the facility).

And it was the ideal location. On the day of the concert, we all piled into my friends convertible along with our picnic lunch (somewhat reminiscent of Genesis' own picnic lunches in their early days), and made an early start for the Starlight Bowl to assure a prime location on the lawn. Aside from a few uneasy moments trying to find the place, and then trying to park, the day was off to a great start. The weather was absolutely perfect; a warm, bright, clear Saturday in Spring. As we ate and drank on the park grounds surrounding the amphitheater, our excitement and anticipation grew when we heard Genesis (or more likely their roadies) tuning up for the show with bits of "Dance on a Volcano." By the time the gates to the theater opened I could hardly contain my excitement. I ran through the amphitheater to the grassy area and staked out the best spot in the center of the lawn just in back of the section of assigned seats. This was it! I was finally going to see Genesis!

Based on my prior experiences, at this point you might be expecting me to say that the concert unexpectantly was cancelled or that the blue skies turned gray and opened up into a downpour or that I freaked out from some strange hallucinogenic drug and missed the whole show. Well, sorry to disappoint, but none of that happened. The show went on, the skies remained clear, and the only mind-altering substance for me that night was the magic of Genesis music. To my delight they played new songs and they played old songs. They played "Cinema Show." They played selections from "The Lamb" (renamed Lamb Stew). They even played "Supper's Ready!!" To support the music, they had slides and films and assorted props. And they had stunning lighting which was enhanced by the twinkling stars forming a canopy over our heads and the lights of Los Angeles forming a spectacular backdrop behind the stage. And then their was Phil Collins. He exceeded all of my expectations that night. Not only was he a real charmer as the frontman, but he left me wondering how it could have been any better with Peter. It felt like everyone was rooting for him and for Genesis to succeed. And they did. Splendidly. Flawlessly. Magically. I still think of it as my favorite show of all time.

Joe Harden