Genesis staging: Showco at its finest!

11/27/2013

Personal pic of Genesis Concert Programme circa 1978

Hi Lileigh,

Came upon your website by chance surfing for Genesis you tube videos.
I like your analysis of what genesis had done with their re-issue.
I hold out hope that one day they may give us closure and do a final world tour.
Even if they don't tour I would fly to England to see them bring it to a close.

In 1978-1979 I saw Genesis in
Fort Lauderdale for the
And then There Were Three tour.

Genesis did have a stage setup like none I have ever seen. I have read there is very little video of this tour.
The stage set had 6 or 8 hexagonal mirrors which pivoted on 2 axis above the group. Lasers were fired at the mirrors.
I have seen other you tube clips of the concert, most of limited video and audio quality but none with this stage set.
Is there any good footage that you know which shows this concert as I saw it?
I have some very good 35mm pictures of the concert but no video, I don't think they do it justice.

Thank You,

Rick

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi, Rick ~

Yours is a very perplexing question..in that the "And Then There Were Three" tour fell into a time when Genesis (by then, Banks, Collins and Rutherford) could certainly have afforded some filming to be done of their always-spectacular, ever-escalating Showco staging - with them playing underneath it. And, yet, they seem to have not...at least for lengthy, commercial release.
I, too, saw that tour...just not sure if it was the same leg as you all had down in Florida (I was in upstate NY, at the time). But, your excellent, visual description jogs a very old memory of mine - of the hexagonal mirrors, lasers bouncing off of them - I'm sure of it!
**(For those unfamiliar with what Rick & I remember - my collector friend and collaborator Paul Davis, from the UK, has kindly sent me a shot of the foldout from the programme from the "And Then There Were Three" Tour, for all to see! Look above to see that snapshot. Thank you, Paul!)

I, myself, am not aware of any video of that specific time period, unfortunately.

I will send out some feelers to my collector friends...but, all the internet searches I've been doing on the question - are also coming up blank. ;-(
Problem, back then, was that video and film cameras were pretty bulky...and if you were CAUGHT trying to sneak in one of those big honkers, you would certainly have been tossed out of the venue, with the offending piece of electronic equipment following you (onto the hard pavement).
No, it would have needed to have been a fully-cleared, professionally-filmed production - for it to have been preserved for the group's posterity (and, knowing Tony's distinct policy on not releasing any Genesis product which doesn't meet his strict standards, it is unlikely to see the light of day - IF it exists within The Farm's coffers).

I'm so sorry to not be a bearer of better news...but, who knows, if we post this interchange for all to see - our combined luck may turn and someone might come forward with more concrete knowledge of this new Quest of ours! :-)

Meanwhile, I'm not the only one to have my curiosity piqued about those marvelous 35mm still photographs you spoke of personally snapping, during the tour! Would LOVE to see them!

All my thanks for your supportive communiques,
Xoxo, Lil

5 Comments

jeff smart link

4/23/2014 09:43:32 am

I agree totally--there is a dearth of info from this tour-Daryl's 1st-according to what Phil said on strage--I caught them at the Rockland County Coliseum in Nyack NY-my very first Genesis Concert-and the lite show was unbelieveable----a "cage" of lights
which was improved upon by a company called "Varilite" the next time I saw them..according to a interview I read-apparently Genesis invested in this company and did quite well..would LOVE your insight into this...--Jeff

Rick G.

8/7/2016 05:57:30 pm

What's interesting is the same artist who designed the Mirrors also designed special affects for the Trick Tour , Wind & Wuthering Tour, and also the Lamb tour. I can't remember his name but my guess is that he owns some of the copyright for these affects which is why no official footage has been released of those four tours….Rick G

Rick G.

8/7/2016 06:03:17 pm

I saw the Mirror Tour three times that year and it was INCREDIBLE!
Probably one of the best concerts I saw. The affects of the mirrors and
the lighting was magical! I hated to see Steve leave but Daryl's playing
seemed to give an added edge to some of the songs. I was at the famous Uptown show in Chicago when the band ripped through Dance with the Moonlit Night, what a great surprise, miss those days…Rick G.

AntonyG

10/1/2016 05:37:47 am

Genesis was a band that played quite atmospheric music. When they introduced VARI*LITE, it turned their shows into a complete circus with no atmos. The music became less complicated while the lighting went all big top showy.

11/7/2018 11:30:43 pm

I saw Genesis at Madison Square Garden in NY around '78 or whenever the "And Then There Were Three" tour with the mirrors light show. I had seats on the floor that I bought from a scalper and I could not believe how close to the stage our seats were!

They had six mirrors mounted over the stage, and they were motorized and could move to reflect the stage lighting. I still remember the gold lights used during "Deep in the Motherlode", and Phil's introduction to each song. There was also a green laser used by Phil but I forget during which song.

I saw the show with a friend of mine from high school and he took two rolls of pictures with his 35 mm SLR. I remember projecting them on the wall at home in my living room after they were developed into slides, and other Genesis fans were blown away by the images. My friend later told me that he lost those slides when he moved and has never found them. I really regret that loss!

I've seen Genesis at least five times since then, but that mirrors tour still stands out as one of the best shows, I've ever seen by any band.

Oh, and as if that wasn't enough, for their encore they played "I Know What I Like..." and Peter Gabriel with his head shaved came on stage to sing it with Phil. I was shocked and didn't even recognize who it was for a while!

Thanks for the memories,
-Ed

Genesis staging: Showco at its finest!

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