Wikipedia

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour[1][2] was a North American and European concert tour by English rock band Genesis. It began on 20 November 1974 in Chicago, ended on 22 May 1975 in Besançon, France, and promoted their 1974 album of the same name. At each show, the album was played in its entirety, with one or two older songs as encores.[3] The group's final tour with singer Peter Gabriel, it was marked by extensive theatricality, with multiple costumes worn by Gabriel, three backdrop screens that displayed 1,450 slides from eight projectors, laser lighting, and practical effects.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour
Tour by Genesis
Location
  • North America
  • Europe
Associated albumThe Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Start date20 November 1974
End date22 May 1975
Legs2
No. of shows104 (108 scheduled)
Genesis concert chronology

Overview

edit
 
Rutherford, Gabriel, and Collins performing at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre on November 20, 1974. Gabriel is wearing the Slipperman costume.

Genesis supported the album with a tour across North America and Europe, playing the album in its entirety with one or two older songs as encores.[4] Such a format was not supported by the entire band considering most of the audience were not yet familiar with the large amount of new material. The tour was scheduled to begin on 29 October 1974 with an 11-date tour of the UK that sold out within four hours of going on sale, but they were rescheduled for 1975 after guitarist Steve Hackett had crushed a wine glass in his left hand which severed a tendon and needed time to recover. The group lost money as they were unable to recoup deposits they had paid the venues.[5][6] The tour began on 20 November in Chicago,[7] and ended on 22 May 1975 in Besançon, France.[3] The last two scheduled concerts on 24 May in Toulouse, was cancelled due to low ticket sales.[8][9] Hackett estimated the band's debts at £220,000 at the tour's end.[10]

The tour featured at the time some of the biggest instruments used by the band, including Rutherford's double-neck Rickenbacker guitar / Microfrets six-stringed bass and the largest drum kit ever used by Collins. The tour's stage show involved three backdrop screens that displayed 1,450 slides, designed by artist Jeffrey Shaw, from eight projectors[11] and a laser lighting display.[12] Banks claims that the slides came close to working perfectly on only four or five occasions.[8] He changed his appearance with a short haircut and styled facial hair[6] and dressed as Rael in a leather jacket, T-shirt and jeans. During "The Lamia", he surrounded himself with a spinning cone-like structure decorated with images of snakes. In the last verse, the cone would collapse to reveal Gabriel wearing a body suit that glowed from lights placed under the stage. "The Colony of Slippermen" featured Gabriel as one of the Slippermen, covered in lumps with inflatable genitalia that emerged onto the stage by crawling out of a penis-shaped tube.[13] Gabriel recalled the difficulty in placing his microphone near his mouth while in the costume.[8] "Phil Collins hated the Slipperman outfit," Gabriel admitted to Mark Blake. "In fact, the whole band did, especially the fact that it had these huge inflatable testicles… But I was acting out a character and the audience were getting off on it. I was the interpreter between the band and the audience. Actually, Phil always appreciated that, but I don't think the others always did."[14] Collins admitted at times the tour was ostentatious and "inspiration for Spinal Tap." For "it.", an explosion set off twin strobe lights that reveal Gabriel and a dummy figure dressed identically on each side of the stage, leaving the audience clueless as to which was real. The performance ended with Gabriel vanishing from the stage in a flash of light and a puff of smoke.[8] During the final concert of the tour, roadie Geoff Banks acted as the dummy on stage, wearing nothing but a leather jacket.[15]

In one concert review, the theatrics for "The Musical Box", the show's finale and once the band's stage highlight, was seen as "crude and elementary" compared to the "sublime grandeur" of The Lamb... set.[16] Music critics often focused their reviews on Gabriel's theatrics and took the band's musical performance as secondary which irritated the rest of the band.[17] Collins later said, "People would steam straight past Tony, Mike, Steve and I, go straight up to Peter and say, "You're fantastic, we really enjoyed the show." It was becoming a one-man show to the audience."[15] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called the tour "a spectacle on par with anything attempted in the world of rock to that point".[18]

Gabriel's departure

edit

During their stop in Cleveland in November 1974, Gabriel told the band he would leave at the conclusion of the tour.[4] The decision was kept a secret from outsiders and media all through the tour, and Gabriel promised the band to stay silent about it for a while after its end in June 1975, to give them some time to prepare for a future without him. By August, the news had leaked to the media anyway, and Gabriel wrote a personal statement to the English music press titled "Out, Angels Out" to explain his reasons and his view of his career up to this point; the piece was printed in several of the major rock music magazines.[19] In his open letter, he explained his disillusion with the music industry and his wish to spend extended time with his family.[20] Banks later stated, "Pete was also getting too big for the group. He was being portrayed as if he was 'the man' and it really wasn't like that. It was a very difficult thing to accommodate. So it was actually a bit of a relief."[4]

Recordings

edit

No complete performance of the album has been officially released, though the majority of the band's performance from 24 January 1975 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles was included on the Genesis Archive 1967–75 box set.[21] Some tracks feature re-recorded vocals from Gabriel and guitar parts from Hackett, while the rendition of "It" was replaced with a remixed studio version with re-recorded vocals. A more complete recording of the same show, including Gabriel's narrative interludes, the original live version of "it.", and the encore ("Watcher of the Skies" and "The Musical Box"), has been distributed unofficially via bootleg recordings and the grey market.

The 2007 reissue of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway features the album with a visual reconstruction of the tour's stage show using the original backdrop slides, audience bootleg footage, and photographs.

The band's performance from Empire Pool, London, 15 April 1975 was also recorded and partially broadcast by the BBC. Only the encore "Watcher of the Skies" has been released officially on the BBC Broadcasts set.[22]

Personnel

edit

Set list

edit

An average set list for this tour is as follows:[23]

  1. "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"
  2. "Fly on a Windshield"
  3. "Broadway Melody of 1974"
  4. "Cuckoo Cocoon"
  5. "In the Cage"
  6. "The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging"
  7. "Back in N.Y.C."
  8. "Hairless Heart"
  9. "Counting Out Time"
  10. "The Carpet Crawlers"
  11. "The Chamber of 32 Doors"
  12. "Lilywhite Lilith"
  13. "The Waiting Room"
  14. "Anyway"
  15. "Here Comes the Supernatural Anaesthetist"
  16. "The Lamia"
  17. "Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats"
  18. "The Colony of Slippermen"
  19. "Ravine"
  20. "The Light Dies Down on Broadway"
  21. "Riding the Scree"
  22. "In the Rapids"
  23. "it"

Encore

  2. Any one, or occasionally two, of "The Musical Box" [67x], "Watcher of the Skies" [35x], and "The Knife" [7x]

If two songs were played during the encore, "The Musical Box" would be the song played first, with either "Watcher of the Skies" or "The Knife" played afterwards.

Tour dates

edit
Date City Country Venue
North America
20 November 1974 Chicago United States Auditorium Theatre
21 November 1974
22 November 1974 Indianapolis Indiana Convention Center
23 November 1974 St. Louis Ambassador Theatre
25 November 1974 Cleveland Music Hall
26 November 1974
27 November 1974 Columbus Ohio Theatre
28 November 1974 Detroit Detroit Masonic Temple
29 November 1974 Fort Wayne National Guard Armory
30 November 1974 Pittsburgh Syria Mosque
1 December 1974 Baltimore Lyric Opera House
3 December 1974 Washington, D.C. Warner Theater
4 December 1974 Richmond Mosque Theater
5 December 1974 Philadelphia Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center
6 December 1974 New York City Academy of Music
7 December 1974
8 December 1974 Providence Palace Concert Theater
9 December 1974 Boston Music Hall
11 December 1974 Albany Palace Theatre
12 December 1974 Waterbury Palace Theater
13 December 1974 Passaic Capitol Theatre
14 December 1974 Indianapolis Market Square Arena
15 December 1974 Montreal Canada Montreal Forum
16 December 1974 Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens
17 December 1974 Rochester United States Auditorium Theatre
18 December 1974 Buffalo Century Theatre
9 January 1975 West Palm Beach West Palm Beach Auditorium
10 January 1975
11 January 1975 Lakeland Lakeland Civic Center
13 January 1975 Atlanta Municipal Auditorium
15 January 1975 New Orleans New Orleans Music Hall
17 January 1975 Houston Houston Music Hall
18 January 1975 University Park McFarlin Auditorium
19 January 1975 Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall
20 January 1975 Phoenix Phoenix Civic Center
21 January 1975 Boulder Macky Auditorium
22 January 1975 Berkeley Berkeley Community Theatre
24 January 1975 Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium
25 January 1975 San Diego San Diego Civic Theatre
26 January 1975 Berkeley Berkeley Community Theatre
28 January 1975 Phoenix Civic Plaza Assembly Hall
1 February 1975 Kansas City Kansas Memorial Hall
2 February 1975 Grand Rapids Grand Valley State University
3 February 1975 Fort Wayne Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
4 February 1975 Chicago Arie Crown Theater
Europe
19 February 1975 Oslo Norway Ekeberghallen
21 February 1975 Copenhagen Denmark Falkoner Center
22 February 1975 Hanover West Germany Niedersachsenhalle
23 February 1975 West Berlin Eissporthalle
24 February 1975 Amsterdam Netherlands Royal Theater Carré
25 February 1975
26 February 1975 Cambrai France Palais des Grottes
28 February 1975 Colmar Théâtre du Parc des Expositions
1 March 1975 Dijon Palais des Sports de Dijon
2 March 1975 Saint-Étienne Palais des Sports de Saint-Étienne
3 March 1975 Paris Palais des Sports
6 March 1975 Cascais Portugal Pavilhão do Dramático de Cascais
7 March 1975
9 March 1975 Badalona Spain Nuevo Pabellón Club Juventud
10 March 1975
11 March 1975 Madrid Pabellón del Real Madrid
17 March 1975 Paris France Palais des Sports
22 March 1975 Annecy Salle d'Expositions
24 March 1975 Turin Italy PalaRuffini
26 March 1975 Offenburg West Germany Ortenauhalle
27 March 1975 Nuremberg Messezentrum
29 March 1975 Bern Switzerland Festhalle
30 March 1975 Saarbrücken West Germany Saarlandhalle
1 April 1975 Ludwigshafen Friedrich-Ebert-Halle
2 April 1975 Stuttgart Killesberghalle
3 April 1975 Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle
4 April 1975 Munich Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle
5 April 1975 Eppelheim Rhein-Neckar-Halle
6 April 1975 Düsseldorf Philips Halle
7 April 1975 Dortmund Westfalenhallen
8 April 1975 Hamburg Congress Center Hamburg
10 April 1975 Groningen Netherlands Martinihal-Centrum
11 April 1975 Rotterdam Sportpaleis
12 April 1975 Brussels Belgium Forest National
14 April 1975 London England Empire Pool
15 April 1975
16 April 1975 Southampton Gaumont Theatre
18 April 1975 Liverpool Liverpool Empire Theatre
19 April 1975
20 April 1975
22 April 1975 Edinburgh Scotland Usher Hall
23 April 1975
24 April 1975 Newcastle upon Tyne England Newcastle City Hall
25 April 1975
27 April 1975 Manchester Palace Theatre
28 April 1975
29 April 1975 Bristol Colston Hall
30 April 1975
1 May 1975 Birmingham Birmingham Hippodrome
2 May 1975
8 May 1975 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis
9 May 1975 Bremen West Germany Stadthalle Bremen
10 May 1975 Kiel Ostseehalle
11 May 1975 Essen Grugahalle
12 May 1975 Wiesbaden Rhein am Main Halle
13 May 1975 Münster Halle Münsterland
15 May 1975 Reims France Patinoire
16 May 1975
18 May 1975 San Sebastián Spain Velódromo de San Sebastián
20 May 1975 Paris France Palais des Sports
21 May 1975 Cambrai Palais des Grottes
22 May 1975 Besançon Palais des Sports de Besançon
24 May 1975 Toulouse Parc des Expositions

References

edit

Citations

  1. ^ "Genesis – The Movement – Gig Guide: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour (Oct 1974 – May 1975)". Genesis-Movement.org.
  2. ^ "Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour". TheGenesisArchive.co.uk. 14 October 1974.
  3. ^ a b Genesis 2007, p. 349.
  4. ^ a b c Genesis 2007, p. 158.
  5. ^ "Genesis tour is called off!". New Musical Express. 26 October 1974. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  6. ^ a b Welch, Chris (26 October 1974). "The New Face of Gabriel". Melody Maker: 28–29. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  7. ^ Bright, Spencer (1999). Peter Gabriel: An Authorized Biography. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-06187-1. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d Genesis (1991). Genesis: A History (VHS). PolyGram Video.
  9. ^ Giammetti, Mario (2020). Genesis 1967 to 1975 - The Peter Gabriel Years. Kingmaker. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-913218-62-1.
  10. ^ Platts 2001, p. 82.
  11. ^ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 100.
  12. ^ Platts 2001, p. 95.
  13. ^ Platts 2001, p. unknown.
  14. ^ Blake, Mark (December 2011). "Cash for questions: Peter Gabriel". Q. p. 44.
  15. ^ a b Genesis 2007, p. unknown.
  16. ^ Rudis, Al (7 December 1974). "Impressive Genesis hit new heights". Melody Maker: 28. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  17. ^ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 93.
  18. ^ "Genesis Biography". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  19. ^ Eric (13 February 2012). "Peter Gabriel's letter to media on why he left Genesis". That Eric Alper. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  20. ^ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 107.
  21. ^ Platts 2001, p. 81.
  22. ^ "Genesis News Com [it]: Genesis - BBC Broadcasts - background info and review". www.genesis-news.com. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  23. ^ "Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour (20/11/1974 – 27/5/1975)". BluesNaggletooth12.com.

Bibliography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lamb_Lies_Down_on_Broadway_Tour&oldid=1258759119"