For the last 26 years, rabid and passionate Genesis fans, who seem to always impatiently long for some type of Genesis reunion that never happens, have had a pretty amazing alternative, one that has more than satisfied thousands of fans’ urges for Genesis’ powerful, imaginative and innovative brand of progressive rock.
That alternative would be The Musical Box (whose name comes from a song on the band’s third album), who is the penultimate Genesis tribute band formed in 1993 in Canada, and also the only Genesis tribute act to be licensed and supported by the band itself. TMB has brought world class talent and an intricately deep appreciation for the band’s material together over almost three decades, paying spectacular homage year after year to Peter, Phil, Tony, Mike and their cohorts by largely recreating in song, full costume and set design, some of Genesis’ most legendary live shows to the letter, with almost all the performances coming from back in the earlier days of the band when Peter Gabriel wore flower heads, animal faces and bat wings, and the Lamb was often lying down on Broadway.
But according to band founder and bassist Sebastien Lamothe, TMB has chosen to take a bit of a different tack for their current run, opting instead to cover a wider swath of Genesis material over a specific period, 1970-77, rather than recreate one moment in live Genesis time. It was a decision borne of their adoration of the material and wanting to paint an even larger portrait of the band’s wondrous music.
“In the end, we’re fans,” Lamothe told me as the band prepared what they are calling “A Genesis Extravaganza” – An Unprecedented Musical Feast of 1970-1977 Favorites & Rarities,” which stops at the Birchmere on June 2nd and is nearly sold out. “So me and my creative team in the TMB adventure, we just sat down and said, ‘What would be the ultimate show that we would like to see ourselves? What songs, what setlists, and what kind of visual stunts can we produce, all that kind of stuff?’ We were very excited by the idea, but at the same time, scared of how it would be received. And so far, the response has been, well, tremendous. A lot of people are calling it the best production so far from TMB, so we’re very excited by that, yeah.”
The intense attention to detail that TMB has lived by in recreating to the note, thread and visual was no doubt both exhilarating and exhausting, not that Lamothe and his bandmates ever complained. Oh they’ll still be playing vintage instruments from the same era they are culling songs from, and their obsession with nailing every note certainly remains, but this different path down Genesis Lane gives the group a bit more leverage and freedom to delve into places that even they haven’t during their 30 years out playing Genesis’ music.
“We would do exactly the exact same list, presented in the same way, as the same set,” Lamothe recollected. “We respected in every possible detail how Genesis presented their shows. But in this case on this current tour, we decided to be able to go, I don’t want to say back and forth, but to go more at large, and really cherry pick in the Genesis catalog. We completely dropped that kind of rigid concept to which we were always associated with.”
Lamothe looks at this new, just a bit looser approach as almost a kind of long-awaited reward for the various band member’s patience and diligence over the years. Even though the shows still take hours of preparation and practice, they can spread their wings just a bit more.
“I guess in some ways we decided to treat ourselves after 25 years, that’s what we did. And for many months, before we started playing the tour, secrecy was like a big weapon. The element of surprise was extremely important to us, so we didn’t want to say anything about the content of the show. We just wanted to surprise people. Because as we presented the show, we’re saying something, that we’re going to play the classic tracks, but also some album rarities, songs that were rarely or never performed by Genesis onstage.”
All that is not to say that the Genesis Extravaganza tour will skip or shirk the level of presentation TMB is so known for. On the contrary, Lamothe says that not only will the music be played to a tee, with a little improvisational flair, but the band’s legendary album art will play a key role in the shows’ visual presentation.
“We were able to use a lot of elements and characters and even drawings that people are very familiar with when it comes to Genesis. Specifically, artwork from cover albums, and we animated them, we brought them to life in a certain way, to accompany the songs for visual support, and also to sweeten the mood of the songs, to explain the atmosphere of the songs. It’s Genesis’s artwork, and we made it come alive. That’s pretty fun for us, again, as fans.”
One name TMB worked with on their tour visuals has some real album cover cache for diehard fans: Paul Whitehead, who designed Genesis’ second, third and fourth album covers, and who after seeing this tour enthusiastically gave TMB open license to use his legendary album art to enhance their presentation.
“(Paul)’s a good friend and we always see him when we play California. He came to see the (current) show, and he was so blown away, so impressed with how we treated the artwork respectfully and in a cool way, that he said, ‘Guys, I want you to do the same with my stuff.’ We were very, very happy and very excited by that, and we’re extremely proud of what we’re producing.”
Even though the band has seen a few lineup changes over their long history, Lamothe reiterates that TMB is more of a conduit for the music and the experience, it’s not about any one individual.
“I’ve always said that we’ve never put emphasis on the individuals. We’re very in the background of all this. We’re more like a medium or interpreter of the Genesis stuff, which means, we’re trying to be a bit incognito, which is perfectly fine by us. But yes, we have a fantastic lineup, hailed as probably the best lineup we’ve ever had. The band is solid.”
The Musical Box may be virtuosos and stunningly talented musicians who relish in the opportunity to bring Genesis’ exceptional music worldwide, but in the end, they are just like the people who come to see them, and want to provide not only the best Genesis-geared tribute in the world, but overall the best musical and visual experience out there.
“Just like us, the people who come are fans. So obviously, our ultimate show is probably very close to the majority of the average Genesis fan’s dream setlist. That’s exactly what we did here so in a way, it’s not that surprising that people are reacting really positively to it. It’s been going really strong, and we’re less anxious to do the show now than when we started. We’re very very happy and excited by the quality and how high we were able to put the bar on this show, which is still extremely demanding. But more than ever, we’re at the top of our games. And this is not me saying this, this is the feeling that we’re receiving from the audience, and people around us. So the passion shows. ”
The Musical Box’ “A Genesis Extravaganza – An Unprecedented Musical Feast of 1970-1977 Favorites & Rarities” performs Sunday, June 2nd at the Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria VA 22305. For tickets click here.