Genesis - "Live" (Falcon Neue Medien 106 min.)

The market is not exactly overflowing with vintage Genesis on film, so this budget-priced DVD featuring nearly two hours of concert footage from 1973-74 is a very welcome release. The main feature is undoubtedly the concert from October 1973 at Shepperton in England. Genesis with Peter Gabriel were visually (and of course also musically) one of the most memorable live acts of the whole progressive rock era, and seeing this concert explains all why. Gabriel's various costumes and eccentric performance on stage made him one of the most outstanding showmen in progressive rock. The stage set, colours and lightning are very beautiful, mystical and atmospheric. But the light is also often dimmed in order to get the full effect of Gabriel's illuminating make-up and costumes. And he had also several other weird ideas and devices on stage than just the costumes, like the "cosmic lawn mower" on the beginning and end of "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" and the absurd story that he uses to introduce "Supper's Ready". The latter also features some of his most striking costumes, including a flower and a surreal-looking demon with flames in the background before he finally turns into a white-dressed, Messiah-like figure. And the old man at the end of "The Musical Box" is downright creepy. The second feature on the DVD is a clip from American TV from December the same year, featuring "Watcher of the Skies" and "The Musical Box". The picture is a little bit clearer here, and allows us more to fully study Gabriel's truly fascinating outfits. My personal favourite is undoubtedly the winged creature on "Watcher of the Skies". The final feature is some pure amateur-footage from Montreal in Canada from April 1974. The editing is awful (the picture even freezes for no reason several seconds in many places) and you'll have a hard time to actually get a glimpse of ANYTHING on the dark and far away stage. But you shouldn't care about that, as the two first features both are well worth the money you'll spend on this DVD.


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