THE MUSICAL BOX
The Continuing Adventures
The Eighth Time (Selling England, 6 December 2024)
State Theatre, New Brunswick NJ
Set: Watcher of the Skies/Dancing With the Moonlit Knight/The Cinema Show/I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe)/Firth of Fifth/The Musical Box/Horizons/The Battle of Epping Forest/Supper's Ready/Twilight Alehouse
I'm a difficult man to buy birthday gifts for, especially as my age continues to increase; but my wife cleverly spotted an advertisement for a Musical Box show taking place at our local State Theatre in New Brunswick, and leaped onto the presale to buy a pair of the best tickets in the house: two seats in the very first row, just in front of the stage, a tad right of center. Speaking of aging, when we arrived and sat ourselves down in those fabulous seats, I decided to check on just how long it had been since the last time I saw this band, and could hardly believe the math. Still, numbers don't lie: 18 years had passed between this eighth TMB concert and the last one I reviewed in late 2006. The baby that was growing in my wife when we went to see TMB's Lamb recreation for the first time in 2004 was now a sophomore in college (!). The years are truly relentless. So it was with heaps of gratitude and relief that my wife and I were able to confirm that this band was still around, and still delivering a faithful, astounding, magical, blistering prog rock show.
In my previous reviews I've made little attempt to go into the details of the band themselves, since their website did not and still does not list the members or go into much history. But I find that their wikipedia page does, and I feel in the mood to give some recognition to, and provide some back story for, these fellows. They have been doing this, in various forms, since way back in 1993 (which the math insists was over 30 years ago). The lineup has changed several times but the current members are as follows.
- Denis Gagné (Peter) - lead singer since 1995
- François Gagnon (Steve)
- Sébastien Lamothe (Mike) - also the founder of the group
- Ian Benhamou (Tony)
- Marc Laflamme (Phil)
Of these, only Tony and Phil seem to have been changed out since the last time I saw them (Tony, having started in 2018, being the baby of the group). After 2006, when I stopped patronizing them, the band had introduced several changes to their set list, expanding into the Phil era with a Trick of the Tail set in 2008. In the 2010s they returned to the more familiar territory of Lamb, Selling England, and Foxtrot; but from 2018 to 2020, the band broke new ground with their Genesis Extravaganza, wherein they explored material from much earlier (FGTR!) and much later (ATTWT) periods of Genesis.
Now that I'd started paying attention again, ironically enough, they were back to playing an almost identical set to the last one I'd seen them do: 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the release of Selling England by the Pound, so this show in late 2024 represented their very typical recreation of that tour. The show itself was just as precise and evocative as I remembered. Denis wore all the costumes, told all the stories, and strutted and mimed in all the same ways that Peter had. The stage backgrounds, slides, lighting, were all as they had been in 1973 and 1974. François/Steve was wearing the famous strawberry jacket, and Marc/Phil was sporting the white overalls of yore.
Some details are in order, since I can't let my review go at just that. I felt like Ian/Tony lingered a bit too long over some of the notes in the "Watcher" intro, but otherwise he put in a nearly flawless performance. I listened appreciatively as he nailed the tricky "Firth of Fifth" piano intro, and don't think I imagined the puffy-cheeked look of relief he traded with a fellow band member after it was over and the full band had kicked in (executing that transition with unearthly smoothness, I might add). I felt like Denis rushed through his first story, that of Britannia, stumbling over the words so quickly that even I, who am quite familiar with the tale, had difficulty understanding him. Perhaps he just wanted to get the a capella vocals that open the song over with. His other stories - Romeo's embarrassing fungus to start "Cinema," the thirsty band jumping upon dead bodies before "Firth of Fifth," the darkly comical croquet game introducing "Musical Box," and the classic tale of misguided worms in the park heralding "Supper's Ready" - were all told with aplomb. I felt like Denis most enjoyed his role play as the lascivious old man in the closing section of "Musical Box;" he hammed that up to no end, putting in a wonderfully creepy performance. His vocals were mostly spot on; we are all of us much older than we were the last time I saw them, but he still hit some soaring notes in the most dramatic parts of the show. Marc/Phil's percussion was enthusiastic and powerful, driving along the group most effectively; and he and Denis shared the hand shakes and mutual appreciation that I remembered from other concerts. François/Steve put in a creditable performance, hitting all the familiar notes in his "Firth of Fifth" solo. I have to say something about the bassist, Sébastien/Mike, particularly now that I've learned he's the longest-serving member and the reason the group exists; but let's face it, the bass player is forever the unsung member of every rock group. I'm sure he did a fantastic job, but I lack the ear to be able to call out anything particularly stellar about him.
A couple of other notes; I feel like I've mentioned this before on the site, but I just find it cool that for the virtuosic and lengthy instrumental section ending "Cinema Show," the only band members on stage are Phil, Tony, and Mike. It's ironic that this trio who would become a pop powerhouse are seen here jamming to one of the most prog of all prog rock passages. Also I wanted to mention, since I see that I complained about TMB doing the opposite in past shows, that they actually brought "Cinema Show" to the accurate rousing conclusion of the Genesis live version, rather than petering out. Kudos to them for this little touch of added authenticity. If there was a weak point to the show, I'd say it was probably "Epping Forest" - though this is hardly the band's fault, since as always, they played a note-perfect version of it. I'm perhaps too influenced from a comment made by the real Mike Rutherford which has stuck with me, about that song having too many vocal bits in it, detracting from and smothering the very complex and interesting instrumental parts underneath. But it's true that of all the classic, iconic numbers in the set, "Epping Forest" is for me the least iconic.
So the show went on much as I remembered and expected, and just as fantastically. The crowd were appreciative, and there were no drunks or annoying disturbances to mess with my enjoyment as there have been at previous shows I've attended. This was my first time seeing TMB at New Brunswick's storied State Theatre, but I've seen many other shows there and it's a wonderful venue. The seat was very comfortable and I stayed in it through the whole show, like the old man that I am. There was one guy (there's always one, isn't there) a few rows back, who was a bit louder than anyone else, and would sometimes punctuate quiet moments with a loud "Oh!" or "Woah!" that made me think he had some species of Tourette's. But mostly his yelling was encouraging and supportive, not intrusive or hectoring.
It was all very good, and all very familiar; the same unwavering set I'd heard before, with no surprises. There is certainly something comforting in that, though it would have been nice to hear "More Fool Me" (perhaps this Phil iteration does not have the vocal chops for that number) or - my secret fantasy - "Harold the Barrel." Then we got to the encore. Of course, the encore could only be one thing: "The Knife," an ending staple from which even the original band almost never varied. I happened to think to myself while the show was going on about the many times the real Genesis had suffered technical breakdowns in their show, leading to delays and enforced one-handed drum solos. I reflected that, it being now well into the twenty-first century, and this band being so very thoroughly versed and expert in their material and instruments, that kind of thing would never happen tonight.
But then it did: as Denis prepared to introduce the regular encore to us, it was clear that something was wrong on the bass guitar side of the stage. The word "power" was mentioned several times, and eventually I heard Sébastien ask facetiously whether the bass was really needed for this song. Denis jokingly told us that, in fact, the show was now over; but after some further discussion amongst the group, he told us they didn't want to let us go without something more, and so were going to play a different song, one that they'd barely rehearsed: "Twilight Alehouse." I could hardly believe my luck, and had to turn and squee a little bit to my wife. I had never heard the band play this non-album track live, and I really don't know how many times they've played it themselves. For having been unprepared to play it, they put in a vicious all-cylinders-firing rendition. I only detected one flub, when the keyboardist seemed to miss the transition to the ending section. It was a truly awesome way to end the night. Never have I been so thrilled at a technical screw-up.
So, very few complaints here, and so glad to have gotten this chance to see this band again, after an unbelievably long hiatus. Having looked over what they did while I was not attending their shows, I have to hope their future tours return to the "Extravaganza" format, as I'd love to hear them tackling different material from other Genesis eras, be they earlier or later than what I've seen. Here's hoping this journey is not over yet.