Basking in the Afterglow

Thursday night was the last of my 4 first legs Genesis Revisited shows, and another absolute belter. The Symphony Theatre in Birmingham was a wonderful venue with absolutely glorious sound - probably the best of any show I've seen - although it was a bit strange when the lights went down because instead of being plunged into darkness you're sat in a bit of a dim gloom. But, of course, that didn't spoil the show. Steve and the band just keep getting better and better and Nad Syvlan on vocals just keeps getting more and more camp. But when he sings those Gabriel songs he's spot on. I think, as you see more shows on a tour, the high points and weaknesses in a set become more evident, and there are a couple of Collins-era tunes that Nad struggles with (particularly Afterglow and Eleventh Earl of Mar). But all in all its wonderful to see the band enjoying themselves so much.

It was a bit of a strange gig for me as I had an important meeting in London that day so I then had to rush back on the train, jump in the car and drive up to Brum. I thought I was doing well as I got to about 1 mile away from the venue by 19:15 but then that last mile is always the hardest isn't it - solid traffic and car parks that were completely full. I ended up sitting down with literally 5 minutes to go. And totally knackered! Unfortunately, that meant I only got a few minutes to catch up with best pal Alex, whom I haven't seen since the FrostBites gig in December. On the plus side, at least I missed Anne Marie Helder's uninspiring support slot.

Roll on the GR shows in the Autumn!

Genesis Freaks Unite!

This past weekend saw me and Mrs B attending our second and third shows on Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited tour. The first was at Hammersmith Apollo and the second was at St David’s Hall in Cardiff. No doubt some people will think we’re mad wanting to go to so many shows on the same tour (“isn’t it the same every night?”), but each gig always has its own unique atmosphere. And of course, you can never tell when a particularly special moment is going to happen. Likewise, some gigs are really disappointing, quite often through no fault of the band in question but because the seats are poor, the sound in the venue is dreadful or, most usually, because the people around you are annoying or inconsiderate. I had a little experience of the latter at the Hammersmith gig, where a bunch of geezers – plastic glasses of lager in hand – behind us sat and giggled like children throughout most of the show. Annoying as they were, they couldn’t spoil what was a belter of a gig, made all the more special by a succession of special guests. My particular faves were Jakko Jakszyk singing Entangled and the mighty John Wetton, fresh from his latest stint with UK (see previous blog) belting out a fantastic Afterglow. Giggling idiots aside, the audience at Hammersmith were wonderfully enthusiastic and created a very special atmosphere. Cardiff was a great gig too, made all the nicer for the opportunity to catch up with old pal Helena B before the show. St David’s had a very different personality to Hammersmith. On the one hand, the crowd seemed much more restrained than either London or Rome, but at least there were no idiots to put with. There was a chap sitting behind me who insisted on singing absolutely everything (even the instrumental bits) completely out of tune. Bless him, at least he was enjoying himself! On the plus side, St David’s was a wonderful venue with great sound, and we enjoyed our best seats of the tour so far. The band seemed very relaxed, perhaps having got the ‘biggie’ of Hammersmith out of the way (which was also being filmed for future release) and I think, overall, the performance was even better. It was definitely the best Supper’s Ready I’ve heard so far, and I literally had to wipe a tear from my eye at the end.  All in all, a great weekend of stunning music. 

Back in NYC

Right, that’s the ironing all done and safely put away without incident (yes, there have been more supernatural ironing board incidents, but that’s for another day).

So what have I been up to? Well, living the life of an international jet-setter, or so it seems. A couple of weeks ago (Friday 19^th) I flew to New York to see one of my all time favourite bands, UK, play at the Highline Ballroom.  I hate flying.  Not because I have any great fear of the plane exploding or being hijacked by terrorists.  Or even the airline food. It’s just that I hate situations where you’re at the mercy of other people’s lack of consideration.  Mrs B and I haven’t been to a cinema for years, for precisely that reason.  Even gigs are becoming an ever-increasing challenge, as you have to put up with those people who think it’s their God-given right to block your view with a camera-phone.  Fortunately, this time around my fellow flyers turned out to be a bunch of entirely reasonable human beings.  Dare I say it, the flight was almost enjoyable!  Settling in with my trusty iPod, I quickly managed to escape into the world of my current fairy tale with pen and notepad in hand.  And the ideas just came tumbling out.  Over the last couple of weeks I’d been trying out various ideas to progress my current clutch of characters through to the oh-so-fab finale I have planned for them.  Trouble was, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the action had all become a bit weak and predictable. There was definitely a feeling of anti-climax after what had gone on before. On the plane, however, a complete different set of scenarios emerged that had me grinning from ear to ear.  Needless to say, I can’t wait to transfer the gruelling trials in my head onto the page.

On arriving in New York I checked into my hotel and then walked the few blocks to the venue. Which was when I bumped into Eddie Jobson in the street. Eddie is the keyboard player, violinist and all-round musical maestro behind UK and it was great to shake his hand and say hi. 

The UK show was amazing. I’d originally booked up to see a solo Eddie Jobson concert, focused around his amazing The Green Album. Apparently, ticket sales weren’t good enough to justify that show, so it was rearranged to be a UK show, complete with John Wetton.  Unlike last year, there was no Terry Bozzio but the band was completed by Alex Macachek on guitar and Virgil Donati on the drums. I’d seen Alex with UK when they played in London last year, and many, many years ago I’d also seen Virgil play with Planet X, so I knew the show would be good.  Both were fantastic and slotted seamlessly into the classic UK sound.  What made the show even more amazing was that Virgil and John only met that very evening at the soundcheck – watching them play 2 hours of some of the most awesome prog ever written (including King Crimson numbers like Starless and Red) you would’ve thought they’d all been playing together for years. It was a staggeringly good show, with everyone on top form and John Wetton’s vocals sounding more amazing than ever.

Fresh from my solo exploits in New York, the following weekend Mrs B and I flew to Rome for the weekend. We both instantly fell in love with the city, but are definitely in need of some new feet after doing so much walking.  But it was all worth it – so much to see and so many wonders around every corner.  Of course, I just happened to have booked the trip to coincide Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited show at the Teatro Sistina.  What a great gig!  Two hours of classic Genesis performed by exceptional musicians who not only played all the right notes in the right order (okay, so there were a couple of odd bloopers here and there, but they are human after all) but managed to totally capture the atmosphere of those classic songs too.  My particular favourite was Dancing with the Moonlit Knight – the whole Sistina crowd broke into a spontaneous chorus to accompany those classic opening lines and it was a definite tingles-down-the-spine moment. Steve and the whole band were great and I can’t wait to catch a number of other shows on the upcoming UK tour.

Well, you can never get enough Genesis can you?

Half Time Oranges Please...

Just thought I'd better report on how I'm doing with the latest fanciful tale. I've just reached that point in the plot that is the mid-way climax. Yes, it's half time, the players have all been put through their paces, physically and emotionally, and it's time to introduce a slight pause in proceedings to allow them to get their breath back. Then I can all ramp up again for the big ending and put some of them through some real misery!

I'm 47,000 words in and I can honestly say that this is the most fun I've ever had writing.  Usually, I get my kicks out of piecing the plot together. Putting it all down into words then feels like such a nause. It's like I've already seen the film in my head and now I have to tell someone exactly what happens. And that's when I get frustrated as I never feel I do that imaginary film justice. Reading back over what I've written I always think it's just complete tosh. This time, however, it feels very different. It's like the characters really are just channelling their story through me. Of course, next time I fire it up I'll probably be sat there staring at blank page!

Anyway, I can't wait to finish this one and for everyone to read it - I've certainly got such a buzz from writing it so far.

Steven Wilson

Have you ever been on a training course or some workshop where the facilitator starts off by getting everyone to say who they would invite to a meal? I always hate icebreakers like that. Everyone else seems to have such deep and wonderful reasons for inviting all these famous people, be it Nelson Mandela or Winston Churchill. I, on the other hand, just sit there feeling under pressure. When my turn comes I’ll probably just pick a random member of Genesis or King Crimson. Why? Well, because I like Genesis and King Crimson. The other day, however, I finally settled on a stock answer. The next time I find myself in that situation, I’ll definitely say Steven Wilson.

Why? Well, Steven and I were both “born in ’67”; too late to witness the first golden age of prog first-hand, but heavily influenced by it.  I started going to gigs in London regularly from the age of 15, and I suspect Steven and I might well have rubbed shoulders at the old Marquee Club in Wardour Street, checking out bands from the second golden age of prog. Like Steven, in my teenage years I had an imaginary band, around which I created a fictitious history. Sad as it may seem, my fellow “band member” Trevor and I used to write fan club newsletters and draft press statement regarding our invented activities. We would even record interviews off the Friday Rock Show with Tommy Vance and then edit in our own answers to his questions (Tommy never seemed to pay proper attention to our answers, bless him). The band Trevor and I imagined was called Trapper and the Alternative Bear Band and were purveyors of the much maligned genre of thrash-disco. Steven Wilson’s imaginary band was called Porcupine Tree. TatABB actually morphed into a real live but short-lived prog rock band called Urban Life. We were pretty good actually, even if I do say so myself. Meanwhile, Steven’s Porcupine Tree eventually morphed into… well, Porcupine Tree. And at this point, any similarity between the lives of Justin Peter Beaney and Steven Wilson suddenly disappears. Assuming, of course, that Steven didn't go on to work in a bank and then join the civil service? No, didn't think so.

Anyhow, the point of this rambling blog is that on Monday night Mrs B and I were at the Royal Festival Hall to see Steven Wilson. It was a great performance, even if our enjoyment of the show was marred by really bad seats, bad sound and (from our vantage point) a light and stage show that was woefully poor. But none of that should detract from the fact that the band were great and the songs bloomin’ marvellous. Steven really has produced some of the most perfect albums of recent years, both with PT and as a solo artist. It’s somehow comforting to know that whilst I never fulfilled my own musical aspirations, he at least has gone on to make exactly the type of albums I imagined I’d be making myself years ago.

Having said all that, I do think the fact that his latest jaw-droppingly brilliant release The Raven That Refused to Sing actually comes with a book of supernatural short stories really is rubbing it in a bit! 

Mmm... in hindsight, I think perhaps I'll ask Mikael Akerfeldt round to dinner instead.