Genesis 2007 Reunion Tour, Part II

With apologies for creating a second, superfluous thread, but creating a new blog entry is the only way on barnson.org to attach a pic.

No sooner did I post original mention of the reunion tour than I began working on scoring tickets. At first, I was set on seeing a show in Europe but then decided to stay domestic once Genesis’ U.S. schedule was released. My flexibility in selection was benefited by a single separation step between myself and the drummer, Chester Thompson.

When living in Nashville, my good friend from b-school, who shall be identified here as DW, asked if I would like to meet Chester. Of course, I said. The guy has played with everyone in the industry, from Frank Zappa to Phil Collins. Chester and I met once, shook hands, talked a little about his career, and snapped a photo. I never thought I would ever see him again since Genesis had effectively ended in 1997 and I moved away from Nashville.

Not only did I get to see Chester again, but let’s just write that I wasn’t observing his percussive skills from afar (attach pic 1). Yep. That’s how close DW and I were on 9/17/2007 during Genesis’ first night in Philly. I never thought I would ever get the chance to see Genesis play live. It was amazing. For relatively old guys, the five performers delivered a ton of energy, charisma and musicality. They played for 2.5 hours. Plus, I was stoked to get a set list mixed with popular and obscure material. As an example, they played Home By The Sea, Mama, Invisible Touch, Firth of Fifth, and No Son of Mine. Meanwhile, because I’m older now, and play professionally, my enjoyment as an audience member was split with my interest in their instruments and gear.

This technical interest had an impact on my interaction with the band members when I went backstage after the show. Yes. As evidenced by the other attached pic, DW secured us backstage passes. His parents and the Thompsons are close, personal friends, which enabled us to hang out with the band in their hospitality suite. This is where the evening gets hilarious. A DW and Sammy G combination always results in an interesting story.

We were told by the Genesis road management crew that a normal backstage gathering involves 50 people. After the Philly show, there were 10 folks in total, all for Chester. When entering the Wachovia Center’s underground hospitality suite, the small coterie walked into a room with the band already showered, changed and sipping wine. The low number of partiers gave me the ability to immediately engage Mike Rutherford and ask about his line gear.

“Mike,” I said. “Sam XXXXXX. Nice to meet you. Listen, I was really digging your technique riding the octave eighth notes on Land Of Confusion. How are you getting that sound? You have a floor effect?”

“Oh, right. Yah. Right, then.” Mike was not interested in talking with me. I managed to elicit an answer about his octave pedal before he disengaged and wandered to a place in the room that didn’t involve me. I thought I would press my luck by cornering Darryl Stuermer and getting some detail on his Lakeland bass. I figured I would open up the conversation with something more informal and congenial before getting into the tech talk.

“Darryl,” I said. “Sam XXXXXX. Nice to meet you. Listen, there’s this rumor going around that you’re from Wisconsin.”

“Yes, I live in Milwaukee.” Darryl was dressed down in a black t-shirt and jeans. The guy was more relaxed. Plus, he wasn’t mumbling in some garbled British accent. We chatted for about 60 seconds about our middle-west station in life before I moved in on the technical content. I didn’t get very far. All chances for obtaining optimal conversational flow regarding bass guitar instrumentation was ended when DW returned from the drink station.

DW is not a fan of Genesis. He didn’t grow up listening to the albums. He’s not a big music guy. DW is in finance. DW at this point is many beers into the night. He rolls up to where I’ve cornered Darryl and leans in, conspiratorially in both voice tone and body posture, and murmurs to Darryl: “So, how’d you get connected to all this?” The question from DW was meant to infer: how were you able to get backstage? At this point Darryl, with a smile, responds, “I’ve been playing in the band for over 20 years.” Then he used a gathering of fans on the other side of the suite to rip himself from our company, leaving DW and I standing alone, laughing hysterically.

In hindsight I recognize that these guys in their minds think of themselves as rock star icons. They carry themselves in a certain manner, and expected to be treated as such. They’re not interested in talking to regular people. The failing clash of my backstage interactions stemmed from the premise that entertainers don’t make me star-crazy. I never thought of these guys as unapproachable, on some lofty pedestal of international celebrity. I think this is what when you get older. Maybe it’s just me.

After the gaffe with Darryl, if you were in the Genesis backstage hospitality suite, you would have seen eight giddy band-fanatics moving in circular form, seeking autographs and pictures. In the back of the room, DW and I were moving in linear form, filling up our plates with all the free food from the buffet spread. Sitting in the audience for 2.5 hours can make anyone hungry.