I agree. Steve wouldn't have chosen Nad if he wasn't good at the job. Nad certainly has a Genesis type voice without sounding exactly like Gabriel and Collins. If Steve wanted to hire someone who sounded almost exact he could have asked Denis Gagne or Martin Lavec to join the band.
Here's the thing, I always make it my business to see Steve when he's in town (NYC), the past few shows he's divided the show into 2 halves, a Steve music half and a second Genesis half. The past couple of shows Nad took the reigns in the second half and sang his heart out, but the first half? I've been to what must by this time be approaching 1000 live shows in my lifetime, the vocal enhancements were all but embarrassing in the first half of the show, for one example the chorus of Everyday for starters (it's been canned for years), there were so many parts of songs where there were maybe 2 people on stage with live mics (at least it appeared they were live) but there was an entire chorus of singers, very noticeably so, it got to the point where I was wondering if there were ANY live mics at all, and when Steve stepped to the mic for his solo voc on his last singing album I swear it was the album voc being played and he was miming the singing, either that or he was using auto-tune for certain. Now I'm super familiar with the music and I know a mellotron chorus when I hear one (duh), that first act left me wondering if the audience was as aware as I was of what was going on up there, and I saw the same show later in the year, too. Any of you guys see his most recent show and hear what I did? I was relieved when Nad showed and actually started singing!
Actually, I would rather hear Steve with window dressing, than Ian Anderson run out of hearing and voice, with no backup. Old people can’t hear, especially Stephen Stills who sounds retarded but isn’t. The best possible solution is the Brian Wilson with great backup singers. But the bottom line is that geezers need backup. Phil Collins suffered from an ear infection and I wonder what brought his voice back to life.
What I heard wasn't window dressing, it was a whole salad! Look I get it, I'm not going to see the Moody Blues (they no longer exist) and not expect them to use backing tapes (I'm sure it's more sophisticated now) for vocal enhancement and even instrumental flourishes, that's fine, but with Steve's first set I couldn't tell if anyone at all up there was singing, that I'm less than thrilled with. Enhancement sure, Milli Vanilli no thanks.
Last edited by BarryLI; 05-09-2021 at 11:04 AM.
He's been using backing tapes for a long time. He used to play "Hope I Don't Wake" (the opening track from Cured) fairly regularly live, and it's pretty clear that what you hear at the beginning are the multi-layered vocals from the album. This is especially evident because that performance is all Steve's voice multitracked. No doubt this happens on other songs as well.
Man, I admire the dedication...and the disposable income on display here. Over $400 for a concert ticket is just beyond insane to me. Even if Peter and Steve were along for the ride and they played all of the Lamb, I'd still have to consider it, lol. If I can't find anything at $150 or less for this show, no way will I pull the trigger. I guess that I should have went in 2007, if I was going to do this.
I truly hope that it is worth it, and you enjoy the show.
Neil
Last edited by boilk; 05-09-2021 at 11:43 AM.
Seem to be plenty of tickets available for the Birmingham show in the UK for less than a hundred bucks. Might be cheaper for US fans to fly there to see them than to buy a ticket for their local venue.
Neil, the prices are clearly ridiculous. My seats are directly to the right of the stage in, row F. There is no other band in the world that I get more enjoyment from than Genesis. I'm doing my best to move back from preconcieved notions, to enjoy some of their theresome tunes. I'm going to do my best to enjoy tunes past the 1970s. I think the band knows Montreal was early to embrace the band and a key market that allowed them to shoot to fame and therefore pay some homage to the past. I'm a big fan of Montreal - world class city and just a 2 hour drive from Ottawa. The show is on Tuesday so I'll take two days off from work. When I told my older brother about the tickets, he saw Genesis in Quebec City in the early 70s, he just say "Wowsier" - then, it will likely be worth every penny.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
When PG's last USA tour (w/Sting) came around several years back, I looked at ticket prices. They were somewhere between $150 & $200 per seat. No way! I can wait for the DVD. Same thing here for me.
Also, I bought Live in Rome 2007 back when it came out. Watched it twice. Out of a two and a half hour show, I skipped several songs and only ended up watching/listening to 45-50 minutes that I wanted to see/hear. I would not want to repeat the experience in person. YMMV
The thing I really liked about Live in Rome was the sound of Banks' keyboards. But musically, the playing is a step down. Its enjoyable but if I want to hear Genesis live, they have plenty of other albums that are better. Its not a knock, they are older and after 15 years they couldn't be expected to be better. I'm sure the fans going will enjoy it and I hope they are better than I believe they will be. But Father Time and another 14+ years is not on their side.
Recently found a ticket stub from 11 years ago, saw Porcupine Tree (their last US tour) at the Dallas House of Blues for $35 (including fees) Best money I ever spent!
Nad fits well in a tribute role that he has willfully done with the Steve Hackett Genesis Revisited gig. He has the difficult task to sing both Gabriel and Collins songs convincingly but makes an effort to add his own signature sound. Unfortunately for him, most if not all the Genesis songs he sings are very recognizable and have a signature sound. I don't blame him to try putting his own stamp not only with his vocal style but also his stage persona like for example his monocle used for Watcher of the Skies or the feather pen during Apocalypse 9/8. He is no Gabriel or Collins and does not aim to be but just another musician onstage who plays Genesis songs like Roger King or Jonas Reingold.
Nad's approach is completely different that of Denis Gagne who is a playbook tribute singer with his band (The Musical Box) and imitates Gabriel to the hilt.
I have listened to his album The Spirits Mundi and noticed that his vocals are quite moody and lean to a folky sound with no high pitch tunes. You could easily guess this was a Fish album and be surprised it's Nad.
They announced a second show for my area so that's good news. I just hope I don't get a repeat of last time and am actually able to get tickets.
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