the musical box tour 2022

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Published: 2022/04/21 by Larson Sutton

The Musical Box Share 2022 U.S. Tour Dates

Photo via The Musical Box’s official Facebook page // Pietro Rizzato

The Musical Box have announced a series of Spring U.S. dates at which the band will perform the Genesis epic, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway , as both a full concert and authentic recreation of the 1974-75 original stage performance, licensed by Genesis and its creative architect of the double-album opus, Peter Gabriel.  

The Musical Box has received support, and endorsements, in recent years from Genesis members, past and present, including Gabriel, guitarist Steve Hackett, and vocalist/drummer Phil Collins.

The 15 appearances of The Lamb include seven stops in the Western U.S., four in the Midwest, and four East Coast performances, including two nights at New York City’s Palladium Time Square. 

For additional information, visit themusicalbox.net . 

See The Musical Box’s tour announcement below.

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Denis Gagne of Genesis Tribute the Musical Box Talks ‘Lamb’ Tour

Denis Gagne, singer of legitimately world-famous  Genesis  tribute band the Musical Box, chose not to see the actual Genesis during their final tour . "Of course part of me wishes I could have gone," he tells UCR. "But the other part of me said, 'I’d rather keep the memories of what I saw in the past.'"

That might as well be his band's mission statement: helping fans preserve the memory of prog-rock's greatest act at their peak.

"I thought for a long time that Genesis was not going to be playing again," says Gagne, who joined the Musical Box in 1994, one year after their formation in Montreal. "Even when they did the reunion in 2007 , that was a surprise — I never expected Genesis to do it again.

"One of the reasons we did this is to show something that wasn’t happening anymore, especially the  [Peter] Gabriel era," he continues. "Everyone kept saying, 'We want to see Genesis with Peter Gabriel,' and Peter always said he’s not coming back. We made jokes about it: We put the show together because we wish we could have seen it, and we still don’t see it, but we get lots of people to see it. [Laughs.] We want to keep the music alive, just like any great music out there, including classical stuff — just because Mozart has been dead for over 200 years doesn’t mean we shouldn’t listen to what he did."

There are tons of Genesis tribute groups out there, but no other treats this music with such reverence — or brings so much clout. As their Facebook notes, they're "the only band licensed and supported by Genesis and Peter Gabriel," with both  Phil Collins  and Steve Hackett having guested during their shows. And for their upcoming live run , featuring a full-LP performance of 1974's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway , they'll continue to recreate that Genesis tour through costumes, period-specific instruments and the surreal  original  slideshow.

Ahead of the trek, launching April 7, Gagne spoke to UCR about earning the Genesis blessing, savoring Collins' live cameo and keeping the band's spirit alive.

The real Genesis, of course, just finished their final tour. Did you happen to catch any of the shows?

I didn’t. I think it depends on everybody’s way of looking at it, but I want to remember the Phil I knew before. It’s personal, I guess. I’m sure you catch what I’m trying to say. I want to remember the beast behind the drums. Of course part of me was thinking, "They’ll never be onstage again. Maybe I should go see them." It was not an easy thing. I’ve been a fan since I was 10 years old, so it’s been a long time.

How many times have you seen them live over the years?

The first time I saw them was the Abacab tour in ’81. I was too young before that. In ’81, I’d just turned 15, and it was a two-hour drive from my place. My parents let me go. My friend's mother drove us to the concert — it wasn’t like I could go to Montreal by myself. The first two times I saw them, I was just a kid. Maybe I saw them four times, five at the most. I saw Peter a lot more than I saw Genesis — that’s for sure.

Peter, of course, hasn’t released an album of new material in 20 years. But he recently had his band in the studio , and there are rumblings that he’s near the finish line.

Well, last time I saw Peter was when he did the tour with Sting , and I talked to somebody I know — one of his technicians — and he told me, "The last thing for Peter now is to release a new album and tour with it, and then he’s going to retire," and that was how many years ago?

That was six years ago!

[Laughs.] Exactly! I’m thinking, "Is this still happening, or did he forget about it? Like, 'I’m too old, so I’m not going to do it.'"

He was actually at the final show in London, and everyone online was hoping he’d get onstage and sing for the final show. I suppose he just wanted to be there and support the guys.

I also thought maybe he could have and maybe he should have, but I know enough about Peter [to know he’s going to say], "Nope, this is behind me. I’m just going to watch my old bandmates do their show." That’s fine — that’s who he is. He’s like, "This is in the past."

I was shocked on the Sting tour when he sang the snippet of "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight."

He did it on the last night of the tour, and the only reason why he did it is because he was pissed about Brexit.

Really? I never saw that comment. That makes sense.

Exactly. When you know what [the lyric] "Selling England" is about, it was like, "There she goes again!" Britannia and all that. Again, I was told by somebody I know that he was pissed and went for it. Otherwise, he doesn’t want to do Genesis stuff anymore. It’s behind him, in the past.

I understand when you initially got approval from Genesis to use the imagery and slides, someone within Gabriel’s camp helped you out. How did that work? Did you have a contact who was helping you from the inside, so to speak?

Well, we met the promoter who had Genesis coming over to Canada for the first time in ’73. We knew him and met him a few times, and we were trying to get through to them. At one point, he said, "Just send some stuff, and this person at [Gabriel's studio] Real World is going to get it." We were wanting to get an answer from them, but nothing was working. Once we sent some recordings and [Gabriel] heard what we did, it was almost instantaneous: "You know what, you have my approval." Peter told Genesis, "Let them use everything. Give them a hand." But also Tony Banks opened the door for us — he’s always been very helpful. We went to [Genesis studio] the Farm.

I didn’t realize Tony had been so helpful. So he's the one who got you into the Farm?

He wasn’t there when we went there, but he was the one who said, "Yeah, let them in." He’s been very kind. Let’s not forget that most of Genesis music is his music — he’s the main writer in the band.

People tend to not realize that because all the other members had much more solo success. But like you said, he’s really the chief composer when you get down to it.

His solo projects never really took off, so people don’t really see that he’s the main guy in Genesis, but he’s the main writer when it comes to music in Genesis — he’s always been. I remember reading something where he said, "I was always trying to make things more complicated while the rest of the band members sometimes were like 'Nah.'"

How did you actually find the slides? Did someone just stumble upon them by accident while looking around?

I’m not exactly sure — it might have been one of us who found the slides again. It might have been found by one of their guys. They were kind of lost. It was a pile of things, and at some point they just found a box and realized it was the slides. I don’t know for sure, actually.

You might not know this, but when they released the box set [in 2008] with 5.1 mixes, it was our lighting guy, the archive guy in the Musical Box, who did the slide show on The Lamb — you can listen to the album and watch the slide show at the same time. They gave us the slides, and we put them back in order. And when it was time for them to release the album again, they went, "OK, can you do something with this and help us out?"

It comes full circle...

What a discovery. I also know you guys got to listen to the isolated Lamb tracks. I imagine that had to be a surreal experience.

It was surreal. I went over there with Sebastien [Lamothe], the bass player. And again, this was all Tony’s doing. We had this crazy request: "Do you think we could listen to the tracks?" We were thinking there was no way. Tony said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll arrange something. I’ll tell our engineer to set you up." We went there for two or three days and sat at the board. The guy [Geoff Callingham] just loaded the songs — he was like, "This is how it works. Just come and get me when you need another song." We were just sitting there by ourselves in the studio, listening to the tracks. I’m a kid in a candy store. It’s like, "What?" We heard things that nobody ever heard, like some tracks I could not believe: "Broadway Melody of 1974" from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway , Peter sang the song four times completely differently! And when they did the mix, they picked lines from different takes — he sang all the lines differently.

Wow. I wish they would release that stuff.

No kidding! I’ve heard it all, and I was like, "Oh, my God! Holy shit, he did four different takes!"

I’m so jealous right now.

I’ll stop talking about this! [Laughs.]

No, I’m just happy to know it exists. Hopefully one day someone will clear house with all the alternate takes like Led Zeppelin and some of these bands have done.

Maybe they will now that they know they won’t do anything else.

Phil famously struggled to play "The Musical Box" when he joined you guys onstage in 2005. He talked about dropping sticks in crucial places and missing drum fills — but he was also very complementary of the band, saying that you played better than Genesis did. What do you remember about those rehearsals? Was there a sense of, "Maybe this isn’t going to work?"

He was incredibly nervous, seriously. It was a weird experience because we were the cover band while he’s the guy , ya know? And we’re reassuring him: "Everything’s gonna be fine, Phil. Don’t worry." It was just like you said. We said, "Do you want to do 'The Musical Box' with us?" He wanted to do "I Know What I Like" — I remember that. We were like, "We’re touring with The Lamb now, and that song was not part of the show during the Lamb tour. How about you play 'Musical Box' with us?" He never listened to the song again before the day of the show, and he played the song in his car on the way to the venue. He was like, "Oh, my god. What did I get myself into? Why did I do this to myself?" Our drummer at the time was giving him a few [pointers]: "Do it like this — it’s going to be simpler."

He was very, very nervous. He was sweating profusely. I was like, "Oh, my god — this is Phil Collins!" I remember a few days after that reading some stuff he posted on the net, like, "These guys were incredible and I played like crap." I think his way of looking at it was different than the way it was. Everybody felt like it was a great moment. I wear in-ear [monitors] onstage, and I don’t have the drummer or his voice in my mix. But for the first time, I wanted his voice in my mix and a little drums — I’m onstage with Phil Collins! Come on! I want to live this differently than the other gigs. It was really weird for me to get Phil reply to me: "Play me my song" and then "Here it comes again!" It was crazy! It’s Phil Collins, not some guy. I don’t want to put anybody down, but it’s the real Phil Collins. It was a really great moment. That was almost 20 years ago.

Watch Phil Collins Play 'The Musical Box' With the Musical Box

Speaking of Phil: This has always bothered me, but a lot of people I know — and people I’ve read online — say Peter and Phil sound alike. I’ve never understood that. Their vocals have always blended very well, but I don’t find them similar at all.

They’re not. [Laughs.] I think the reason why people feel this way is because, like you said, they blend well together. We also hear Phil sometimes doubling Peter — and especially on The Lamb , Phil sang a lot of backing vocals and doubling Peter on things like "Lilywhite Lilith." Both of them are singing the whole song almost. I think this is where the confusion comes from, but I don’t find that they sound anything alike.

The Lamb is one of the band’s most divisive albums from that era — some of the band members, including Hackett and Banks, were never 100 percent satisfied with it. As someone who’s immersed yourself in this album and production more than probably anyone else on the planet, how do you rate The Lamb within their catalog?

Ah, I don’t like these questions! [Laughs.] I love The Lamb , though it’s sort of the intruder in Genesis. To me, it’s the album that sounds the least like Genesis, but it’s a great album — don’t get me wrong. But they did something totally different with this album, and then they went back, even with A Trick of the Tail , to what we expect from Genesis, even though Peter was gone, with the use of 12-string guitars and all that. That being said, I love The Lamb , but it’s an acquired taste, if you see what I mean.

I think the lyrical concept is a big part of that. It’s so surreal and hard to latch onto.

The story — who knows what it’s about? Some people try to explain it on the net: blah, blah, blah. And I’m like, "I’m not gonna try. I don’t even want to try because, whatever I come up with, I know I’m gonna be wrong.

I’ve never followed it as a story. I just follow the beautiful imagery — that Alejandro Jodorowsky stuff Peter was drawing from.

I totally agree, totally agree. Trying to understand what it’s about — I even wonder if Peter could explain it nowadays. [Laughs.] He said it himself: Sometimes you play with words, and they might not mean anything. He’s just having fun with it, and we’re trying to find some deep meaning in what he’s talking about.

Have you stayed in touch with Peter or the band over the years?

No. Peter’s helped us, but he’s always kept his distance. That’s OK — I have no problem with that. It’s not like we’re buddies. I don’t have his email or his phone number. I’m not in touch with any of them. They’re helping us, and they’ve been kind to us. But I always have to go through someone else to get something, and it’s totally fine. They must get so many requests constantly, and it must be so annoying. I get it. He told me once: When you’re famous, there’s always someone who wants a piece of you.

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I have been hearing about these guys from the early 90s. I have worked in the live music industry all my adult life. I have played drums since the 60s, and I was in a Pink Floyd Tribute band, also a Genesis Tribute band.I was working in a club near Chicago when a drummer from one of the top bands told me about the Musical Box in the early 90s. I was telling him about another Genesis tribute called Fayreweather that I had seen many times in the 80s. He said I should check out the Musical Box. Well I finally made it to their show in the Chicago area a month or so ago, and I was totally disappointed! The show lacked energy and power on all fronts. But the biggest problem I had was the drummer Antoine Baril. He was not the drummer that was with the band when my drummer friend in the 90s recommended them, and had he been he would not have. I have enjoyed his one man band YouTube videos, but was also cognizant that his weakest instrument from those videos was the drum parts. That said he was not the only one lacking, the whole band was lacking the spirit and power that is Genesis live.

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Saw The Musical Box 'Extravaganza' show last night at The Danforth Music Hall. Another excellent show from these super-talented musicians.

This latest show is a 3-set performance with the first set from The Wind & Wuthering and Trick of the Tail albums. Standout for me in this set was Dance On A Volcano which was perfection. The second set was The Lamb Lies Down that started with the title track / Fly On the Windshield / Broadway Melody, and also did In The Cage, Carpet Crawlers, and Lilywhite Lillith. The final set was an homage to the earlier albums including Selling England, Foxtrot, Trespass and Nursery Chryme where they did a great assortment of the earlier songs including Firth of Forth, and a briliant version of Can-Utility and the Coastliners.

The show was phenomenal as usual with TMB, although this performance had less theatrics and props than they normally use, but instead clear focused on the musical performance which was stellar!

I've seen Steve Hackett do Genesis Revisited... I've seen the Carpet Crawlers doing the Lamb, and now I've seen The Musical Box. Quite frankly the attention to detail musically is exemplary. Yes, we may forgive some of the looseness of the waistbands that come with some of the more revealing costumes, but this gig was about the sound and the music. The Sage is a great venue, and frankly it was the best sounding amplified gig I've ever been to. Highly recommended outfit to see live, will be back next year to catch the Lamb...

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This is the 4th time I've seen the Musical Box, 1st was in 2005 - Foxtrot, then in 2007 SEBTP, last year SEBTP and this one SEBTP although the 'BLACK SHOW" version that they did in the US.

I have seen the real Genesis, as many times, back in the 1970s and I have to say in my very heavy very humble opinion that they are truly the BEST Tribute Genesis Band, they performed exactly how Genesis did antics and all. It really does take you back to those days, just that the audience has a lot less hair, ha ha, me included!

The musical box was as good as ever. I've seen them many time. This time my son in law came with with and he had never seen them. He really enjoyed them and return next time they're around.

They have a new drummer since the last I saw them and he really fitted well playing all those Phil Collins fills.

All the details and all. 9.9/10 for me.

Recommend it any time.

A must-see for those Peter Gabriel Genesis era heads. Stayed true to every aspect. Close the eyes and you're instantly transported back to those glory days (open them, and be horrified at the grey balding old men, and wrinkled crones- not including me of course...)

Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt.

Amazing show performed by excellent musicians. They authentically reproduced Genesis classics culminating in an encore of „Supper‘s Ready“. Fantastic atmosphere in the concert hall and brilliant performance from the band.

Absolutely brilliant band. Second time seeing them and I certainly plan on seeing them again. There was nothing notable bad about them at all and their recreation of Genesis's Gabriel era is so brilliant you'll be at the edge of your seat the whole time.

The eighth time we've seen this band. If you've never seen genesis, see this band. If you've seen genesis, see this band! they are incredible! We have seen genesis, and the musical box is better! Unbelievable musicians.

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The Musical Box Kicks Off “Selling England by the Pound” 50th Anniversary Tour

Article contributed by sam a. marshall | published on saturday, october 28, 2023.

Beginning on November 2 and running through April 2024, the Canadian Genesis legacy band The Musical Box will be presenting an extended, multi-part tour of their acclaimed recreation of Genesis’ legendary Selling England by the Pound stage show. The tour coincides with the 50th anniversary of the original Genesis album of the same name, which was released in October 1973. Regions for TMB’s SEBTP tour will include Canada and portions of the U.S. in Fall 2023 and early 2024, and then UK and European dates in Winter and Spring 2024. Nearly 50 dates have been confirmed to date. Additional 2024 dates for Canada and the U.S. – which band management has indicated will be plentiful – are still to be announced.

The five-man Canadian rock group – now celebrating more than 30 years on stage – is highly regarded for their authentic musical and visual recreations of Genesis’ early-1970s progressive rock live productions. Although there have been a number of line-up changes over time, the band’s current personnel include the longtime core members lead vocalist/flutist Denis Gagné, bassist/guitarist/vocalist Sébastien Lamothe and lead guitarist François Gagnon. More recent members include drummer/percussionist Marc Laflamme and keyboardist/12-string guitarist/vocalist Ian Benhamou.

In addition to Selling England by the Pound, TMB’s other album-themed productions have also included Foxtrot, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and A Trick of the Tail. As a more recent change of pace for their tours, the band had also presented various Genesis anthology shows in between some of the various thematic tours. Recent tours in 2019 and 2021 – dubbed The Genesis Extravaganza I & II – encompassed songs from various Genesis albums from 1970 to 1978. Focusing on a wider range of Genesis’ songwriting than TMB’s historical show recreations, these special shows gave keenly interested audiences a chance to hear many early songs that Genesis themselves had seldom played or never performed live. Of course, a good selection of the must-hear classics were still included.

Since their earliest days, The Musical Box have received full approval and historical/technical guidance from the musicians and production team of the original Genesis. (For their various limited-run productions of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway , TMB also secured special licensing from Lamb lyricist Peter Gabriel.)

More specifically, for several of their productions, including SEBTP, TMB have been using original slide projections that Genesis themselves used in their original stage show. In addition, TMB’s production team has done extensive photographic and film research to analyze all staging elements. This painstaking attention to detail has enabled them to replicate the sounds of all of Genesis’ original instruments and amps, the lighting and effects, and the many elaborate costumes that were part of the original stage production.

In particular, the vintage 1973 concert film, Genesis: Live at Shepperton Studios , was a strong historical reference for TMB. The film, which has been included on a bonus DVD in the Genesis box set, Genesis 1970-1975 , documented one hour of material from the full SEBTP stage show. (On YouTube, there are variously sourced versions of the film, but the one meticulously restored version by The Genesis Museum  is a must-see for every Genesis fan.) So that film served TMB as a strong, primary visual reference, not only for the staging elements but especially for the narration and theatrical postures and gestures of Genesis’ lead singer Peter Gabriel .

But the research didn’t stop there. The band’s team have used many professionally shot photos – such as from acclaimed Genesis photographer Armando Gallo – and audience-sourced photos, film clips and audio recordings to gain maximum insight into fine-tuning the performances – for SEBTP and other shows as well. As for musical authenticity, the band emphasizes the use of the same kinds of vintage instruments, amplification, and effects, and they faithfully follow Genesis’ song arrangements and setlists. This desire for exact replication assures every fan that they can be totally immersed in the mythical world of early Genesis that’s just as mysterious and hallucinatory as if it were yesterday.

Notably, with the full endorsement and technical assistance from the creators of the music, The Musical Box have also had the honor on several occasions of having guest performances from original Genesis members. For example, in 2002, Steve Hackett joined TMB for an encore at a UK show to replicate his stratospheric guitar solo on the SEBTP song “Firth of Fifth.” Also, at a 2005 show in Switzerland, Collins joined them for an encore performance of “The Musical Box” from Genesis’ 1971 album Nursery Cryme. (Btw, this song served as the musical inspiration for the band’s name.) And last, but not least, another very special guest attending a full performance in the UK was once Peter Gabriel himself.

"TMB recreated, very accurately I must say, what Genesis was doing,” Gabriel said of the performance he attended. ”I saw them in Bristol with my children so they could see what their father did back then.” And perhaps, in his own blunt praise, former Genesis drummer Phil Collins summed it all up best: “I think these guys play it better than we did.”

So can TMB really have a more ringing endorsement than any of these affirmations, from the music’s own ‘parents’, as it were? Well, TMB have also enjoyed a working relationship with original Genesis photographer Armando Gallo , who has documented their performances very much in the same style as his classic Genesis photos that fans have been admiring for years. You’ll see some of his stunning images of TMB included in this article.

Interestingly enough, in the days that Genesis first performed the SEBTP show live, the band had different versions of the stage production and slightly altered setlists for different legs of the tour. Famously, with a white diorama structure and amplifiers on one tour and a black background and gear on a later version, these SEBTP tours were known, logically enough, as the White and Black Shows . And TMB has actually done both versions, and I have seen them performing both. (I actually think the White Show – in which the white surfaces and even some costumes and face make-up took on a ghostly glow under blacklight – is more vivid visually and, therefore, more memorable. As always, the music was transcendental.)

Setlists during Genesis’ tours were generally the same for these two versions, encompassing four different albums – SEBTP, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot and sometimes Trespass . So SEBTP was not performed in full as part of the original Genesis stage show, and TMB faithfully follows Genesis’ same setlist and sequences. But the SEBTP songs “Dancing with the Moonlit Knight,” “I Know What I Like,” “Firth of Fifth”, “The Battle of Epping Forest” and “The Cinema Show” are always centerpieces of the show, and they comprise about 80 percent of the album. Other always-played songs include “Watcher of the Skies”, “The Musical Box” and the 25-minute, apocalyptic Genesis musical and theatrical masterpiece, “Supper’s Ready”, from the 1972 album, Foxtrot . Variable songs, usually as an encore, have included “The Knife” and “Return of the Giant Hogweed”.

Since their earliest shows in 1993, The Musical Box have performed for more than one million spectators, in some of the most prestigious venues in the world. These include such large theatres as London’s Royal Albert Hall and the Olympia Theatre in Paris. When they are branching into new regions and cities, however, TMB will often perform in more intimate theaters and cabarets, sometimes with more stripped-down shows. And in warmer seasons, they can often be seen headlining at large international music festivals, which give them the inspiration to pull out all the production stops.

I’ve periodically attended TMB shows myself as early in their career as 1997, when I saw them perform an early version of SEBTP , in Philadelphia. ( SEBTP was the band’s first full thematic show, but according to TMB creative director Serge Morissette, TMB performed mixed setlists of Genesis songs – similar to the Extravaganzas – in their earliest shows and worked their way up to a full SEBTP show. That is when their reputation began to take hold.)

Over time, with more experience and inside knowledge of the show’s design and details, TMB has lovingly developed the show into one of their most exciting and finely-tuned presentations. I’ve personally seen and heard the evolution of SEBTP from the more basic production that I witnessed in 1997 to my last time in 2018. My one great regret was never getting to see Genesis during the Gabriel years, but even at that Philadelphia TMB show, I had felt as if I had traveled back into those fabled Mists of Time in some crazy kind of time machine. And that is exactly what makes The Musical Box so special.

TMB’s 2023-2024 production promises to be the most authentic and thrilling production of Selling England by the Pound to date. So come celebrate the 50th anniversary of SEBTP and TMB’s 30th anniversary of live performances, and experience the mythical world of early Genesis as only The Musical Box can recreate it.

*************

The dates for The Musical Box’s special 2023-2024 production of Selling England by the Pound include the following dates, venues and cities. For more information and additional tour dates, please visit TMB’s website, https://www.themusicalbox.net/tour . You can also follow TMB via their Facebook page for updates on confirmed dates for the coming tour. Also, if you wish to read more about the history of the original Genesis album, Grateful Web recently featured an in-depth story about it. For more information about The Musical Box, please visit their website: 

Nov 2 – Théâtre Granada – Sherbrooke QC

Nov 3 & 4 – Capitol De Québec – Québec City QC (2 nights)

Nov 9 – Wingham Town Hall Theatre – Wingham ON

Nov 10 – Danforth Music Hall – Toronto ON

Nov 12 – L’Odyssée – Gatineau QC

Nov 30 &Dec 1– The Coach House – San Juan Capistrano CA (2 nights)

Dec 2 – The Canyon Club – Montclair CA (First of two venues with the same name.)

Dec 3 – The Canyon Club – Agoura Hills CA (Second of two venues with the same name.)

Dec 5 – Rialto – Tucson AZ

Dec 6 – Celebrity Theatre – Phoenix AZ

Dec 8 – Paramount Theatre – Denver CO

Dec 10 – The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco CA

Winter/Spring 2024

Jan 7 – Wellmont Theatre – Montclair NJ

Jan 9 – Birchmere – Alexandria VA

Jan 19 & 20 – Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier – Montréal QC (2 nights)

Feb 29 – De Montfort Hall – Leicester UK

Mar 1 – Corn Exchange – Cambridge UK

Mar 2 – Forum – Bath UK

Mar 3 – Eventim Apollo – London UK

Mar 6 – Barbican – York UK

Mar 9 – Symphony Hall– Birmingham UK

Mar 10 – Bridgewater Hall – Manchester UK

Mar 12 – Tyne Theatre – Newcastle UK

Mar 13 – Oval Hall – Sheffield UK

Mar 14 – Usher Hall – Edinburgh – Scotland – UK

Mar 16 – 02 Academy – Glasgow – Scotland – UK

Mar 18 – G Live – Guildford UK

Mar 21 – Teatre Coliseum – Barcelona SP

April 4 – Casinos Barriére – Enghien-Les-Bains FRA

April 5 – Salle Pleyel – Paris FRA

April 7 – Theatre Casino – Lille FRA

April 10 – Casinos Barriére – Toulouse FRA

April 11 – Theatre Casino – Bordeaux FRA

April 13 – Le Carre – Liege BEL

April 14 – Cirque Royal – Bruxelles BEL

April 17 – Tivoli – Utrecht NLD

April 19 – Theater Am Aegi – Hannover GER

April 20 – Jahrhunderthalle – Frankfurt GER

April 25 – Muziekgebouw– Eindhoven NLD

April 26 – Ruhrkongress – Bochum GER

April 27 – Kongresshalle – Boblingen GER

April 28 – Neuberinhaus – Reichenbach GER

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Progressive jam giants Umphrey's McGee‘s return to Las Vegas for the seventh installment of the massively popular UMBowl production was marked once again by a stand-out tour closing dual evening extravaganza where all stops were pulled out and the power given directly to the fans, for better or for worse.

On June 24, Round Records & ATO Records will release GarciaLive Volume Six: July 5, 1973 – Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders, the latest installment of the celebrated GarciaLive archival series. The three-CD set was recorded at the 200 capacity Lion’s Share club formerly located in the small town of San Anselmo, CA, just 20 miles north of San Francisco. The performance features Jerry Garcia performing with friend, mentor and legendary keyboardist/vocalist Merl Saunders. The duo is joined by drummer Bill Vitt and bassist John Kahn, who soon became a lifelong Garcia collaborator.

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• Sun  |  Jun 12, 2022 7:30 PM

Event Description

The Musical Box P erforms The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway The Greatest Rock Opera Ever Created, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway , The Last Collaborative Effort Between Legendary Peter Gabriel And Genesis, Is To Be Revived One Last Time... The End Of An Era. The Musical Box, The Only Group In The World Granted A Licence From Peter Gabriel And Genesis, Will Recreate In Its Entirety The Original 1974-75 Performance In Painstaking Details, Right Down To The Original Slide Show. One Final Chance To Witness This Unique Live  Experience.

Acclaimed For Its Historical Re-enactment Of Early Genesis, TMB Has Performed For More Than A Million Spectators Worldwide In Some Of The Most Prestigious Venues Such As The London Royal Albert Hall And The Paris Olympia. TMB Had The Privilege Of Hosting Phil Collins As A Performing Guest. In Its Quest For Authenticity, TMB Is Cited As The Best Interpretation Group In The World And The International Reference For Early Genesis.  

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Live Review: The Musical Box at Arcada Theatre • St Charles

The Musical Box

The Arcada Theatre,

St. Charles, IL

Friday, June 10, 2022

The Musical Box, the renowned Genesis-with-Peter Gabriel tribute band, has long been a fan-favorite musical export from The Great White North. This Canadian marvel has entertained the enormous Genesis and Peter Gabriel following for 29 years, with next year marking the 30th anniversary of the band forming in Montreal, Quebec.

TMB arrived at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles on Friday, fresh from a performance the night before at the recently reopened and remodeled Des Plaines Theatre. Both theaters are run by Onesti Entertainment’s Ron Onesti, known to many in the industry as the “Prog Ringmaster of the Midwest,” and has brought more international progressive rock to Illinois than any other talent buyers this side of the UK. What made Friday night at The Arcada even more unique was the content that the band is currently performing: Genesis’ double-album concept masterpiece, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway.

To Genesis fans, The Lamb (synonymous with rock opera to many) is the most ambitious project that Genesis had ever undertaken. Ditto with The Musical Box. Being the only Genesis tribute band licensed by Genesis and Peter Gabriel to perform their music live, not to mention using their costumes, original multimedia slide presentation, and theatrical props, performing Lamb has been a primary goal of TMB since its inception.

As the concert’s start time approached, the shared anticipation of the sold-out crowd grew exponentially. The 900 seated Prog fans, many of who have seen TMB multiple times, instinctively knew that mounting this state-of-the-art (albeit 1974-style) multimedia prog extravaganza would be quite difficult to achieve, yet worth the price of admission to be able to witness this ‘time machine authentic’ experience.

As house lights dimmed, first up was a surprise to most in the audience––an opener! Matt Keen, a local singer/songwriter/guitarist, had the dubious task of entertaining the prog-hungry crowd who were laser-focused on getting right to the main attraction. Keen immediately registered with the audience and caught their attention with one acoustic guitar, a looper pedal, and a proper dose of charisma. He engaged the audience, alternating between unique cover versions of songs by varied groups such as Pink Floyd and Tom Petty with a few original songs he released. The TMB audience enjoyed Keen for a good reason. He possesses an excellent singing voice, admirable guitar skills, and live audience chops that collectively made for a successful opener. As per his dialogue with the audience, he told the crowd that he had just arrived from the Des Plaines Theatre, where he set the stage by opening for BoDeans and then made a beeline for the Arcada to open for TMB.

During the intermission, the sense of anticipation re-claimed the audience as one could discern conversations all around, with various Genesis stories, tales of the making of The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and people’s recollections of where they were when they first heard this grand opus, etc. As most Genesis aficionados are aware, The Lamb marked the end of an era – it was Peter Gabriel’s last Genesis album. Incredibly, the double album was slated to be released on November 18, 1974, in the United States, with the first date of the US tour being only two days later. The tour began in Chicago on the 20th of November, 1974, and ended five months later, back in Chicago, on the 4th of April, 1975. And here’s the thing – most of the audiences were unfamiliar with the just-released 94-minute double album! The only thing they were familiar with were the two encore songs: “The Musical Box” and “Watcher of the Skies,” both performed as encores by TMB at The Arcada show.

House lights fade to black a second time, and so it begins. Every intricate detail of what the public saw back on the 74/75 tour is what we all experienced over the next 94 minutes. We had taken a time machine back to the mid-Seventies when music, audio, and video technology were so primitive compared to today’s standards that it’s hard to believe Genesis and Gabriel could achieve such significant results. TMB had painstakingly re-created the set, the costumes, the instruments, the slide show, the triple-screen multimedia ideas – it was all gloriously there. There were multiple standing ovations throughout the evening. Every note, dynamic, singing, playing, and multimedia presentation, whether static or animated, synched together seamlessly (which supposedly only happened about every fourth or fifth gig 48 years ago with Genesis).

Word has it that TMB may be retiring their  Lamb show for good after this current international tour. At least they have had it professionally filmed (unlike the real Genesis that never did procure a pro-shot film). At the end of The Lamb , as the plot goes, the main character Rael finally connects underground in a supernatural world with his brother John. Still, as the lyrics describe, as he gets closer to John, he realizes it’s not his brother’s face he sees– it’s his own, and somehow there are two Raels on stage, one far stage right and the other distant-stage left. The ‘second’ Rael is a roadie dressed the same as the main character Rael, and with the use of specialty lighting and a tiny touch of pyrotechnics, there are two Peter Gabriels playing Rael for a few seconds before the finale called “it” begins. Stunning. Props and kudos go out to the entire production team of The Musical Box. It’s as close as you’ll ever get to experiencing what was considered a religious experience by thousands of audience members who saw Gabriel and Genesis together.

The current line-up of The Musical Box consists of singer Denis Gagné (Peter Gabriel), guitarist François Gagnon (Steve Hackett), bassist Sébastien Lamothe (Mike Rutherford), keyboardist Ian Benhamou (Tony Banks), and drummer Marc Laflamme (Phil Collins). Each member was indistinguishable from their role; everything was note-for-note perfection, with all nuances, musicianship, and execution impeccable. Bravo Musical Box, to use a sports phrase, you most definitely “stuck the landing!”

– Steven Kikoen

Tags: Denis Gagné , François Gagnon , Genesis , Ian Benhamou , Marc Laflamme , Musical Box at Arcada Theatre , Sébastien Lamothe , The , The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway , The Musical Box

Category : Featured , Live Reviews

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The Musical Box Concert Setlists & Tour Dates

'selling england by the pound' 50th anniversary tour, the musical box, the musical box at tivolivredenburg grote zaal, utrecht, netherlands.

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The Musical Box at Cirque Royal / Koninklijk Circus, Brussels, Belgium

• Watcher of the Skies
• Dancing With the Moonlit Knight
• The Cinema Show
• I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
• Firth of Fifth
• The Battle of Epping Forest
• Supper's Ready
• The Return of the Giant Hogweed

The Musical Box at Forum, Liège, Belgium

The musical box at theâtre du casino barrière, bordeaux, france, the musical box at casino théâtre barrière, toulouse, france, the musical box at théâtre du casino barrière, lille, france, the musical box at salle pleyel, paris, france, the musical box at théâtre casino barrière, enghien-les-bains, france, the musical box at aula magna, lisbon, portugal, the musical box at teatre coliseum, barcelona, spain.

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• Watcher of the Skies ( 472 )
• The Cinema Show ( 410 )
• Firth of Fifth ( 385 )
• Supper's Ready ( 379 )

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1,447 people have seen The Musical Box live.

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The Musical Box plays Genesis

Selling england by the pound 2023/24.

Following the ongoing The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Tour (which will last until summer 2023), The Musical Box will be performing the Selling England By The Pound show again in late 2023 and 2024. Find all updates and confirmed shows here.

Fan impressions of previous Selling concerts can be found here .

Ray Wilson - Live And Acoustic (CD)

Live-Unplugged-Album from 2001 with lots of Genesis-Songs and Rock-Classics.

STEVE HACKETT Wuthering Nights: Live From Birmingham (2CD/2DVD)

Concert film / live album from 2018

New The Musical Box content

• Selling England By The Pound live 2023 and 2024 - tour dates
• The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway 2022 / 2023 - tour dates
• A Genesis Extravaganza live in Saarbrücken and Luxembourg 2018 - gig review
• Selling England By The Pound (Black & White Shows) live - tour dates 2017
• The Black Show (Selling England) + Selling & Foxtrot Shows - Tour 2016
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The Musical Box Presents Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway: THE FINAL TWO SHOWS

Get Tickets for June 16, 2023

Get Tickets for June 17, 2023

The Musical Box Presents Genesis: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway: THE FINAL TWO SHOWS will be at Palladium Times Square on June 16th and 17th, 2023.

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Event Details

Event Dates

Palladium Times Square

06/16/2023 - 6:30 pm

06/17/2023 - 6:30 pm

06/16/2023 - 8:00 pm

06/17/2023 - 8:00 pm