Genesis Connected - Kettering Lighthouse

I'm not usually a massive fan of the tribute band scene. I can only recall seeing 'Livewire' (AC/DC) and The Smyths (The Smiths) who were both excellent.  Realistically it's the only way you are going to hear the music of some of the giants of the Rock world such as Pink Floyd, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin and Genesis.

I like Genesis , thats a good start ! But I do struggle with a lot of the Phil Collins solo stuff , which I found very commercial at times. For me the golden era was with Peter Gabriel although the first two albums I grew up with,  'Nursery Cryme' ' 'and 'Foxtrot' did take a bit of getting into. That said I loved the self titled 'Genesis' album (1983) and 'Invisible Touch (1986).  Tonight in the 560 seater  Lighthouse Theatre we are promised not only the music of Genesis and Phil Collins, but also Peter Gabriel and Mike & The Mechanics.

 We start off with 'Abacab' from the album of the same name (1981). Singer 'Pete Bultitude' carries the singing duties very well indeed. Close your eyes and it could be Phil Collins , a cliche i'm sure but true nevertheless. He delights in telling the crowd how he got to the final of 'Stars in their Eyes' in 1999. Only to be beaten by the Chris de Burgh entry. But he isn't bitter he tells the audience. 34,000 hits on youtube as well , 'Thanks mum' he quips. I think there are sure tp be a few more looking him up after tonight.

It isn't long before we are treated with his pièce de résistance from that 'Stars in their Eyes' performance ' Against All Odds' . All I can think is that the 'Chris de Burgh' entrant must have been hell of a singer .  

Probably should say at this point that It wasn't the sort of venue for photography. I did try but the efforts were poor and I got a few looks if you see what I mean. So any photos on here are 'borrowed' from the https://genesisconnected.com/  or the Genesis Connected Facebook page. 

Fantastic to hear the awesome and haunting  'Games Without Frontiers' (1979) Gabriel's first UK solo top 10. Equally good was the full version of 'Home by the Sea' which I think is a great song. Those two would be my highlights from the first half for sure.  

In fine Genesis tradition we are treated to two drum sets and who doesn't love a bit of 'double drumming' . 'Mr Bultitude' is no mean drummer either, playing to a very high standard on several songs. He also plays guitar and bangs a pretty mean tambourine too. I suspect the keyboard player is privately starting to feel a little worried too....
We adjourn for a 20 minute interlude for tea and biscuits . Unfortunately i'm on the old antibiotics (again) a chest infection actually so don't go jumping to any conclusions. So alcohol is off limits for tonight at least.

There are people out of their seats dancing in the aisles ! This is Kettering, it's a Sunday night for heavens sake. More early Gabriel needed , that'll sort em out . But no we have ''You Can't  Hurry Love'/'Two Hearts' and more Collins solo stuff . This is only encouraging them ! But seriously it was all good fun and the band , all local boys looked as though they were having a great time too. 

Second half highlights for me were the ever awesome 'Land of Confusion' and 'Invisible Touch'


 You really can't fault the performance tonight although I did query 'Sussudio' as the first encore track . I think Mr Bultitude was quite receptive to my suggestion of dropping it for 'Mama' or 'Jesus he Knows me' when I collared him afterwards. But they are never going to please everyone and I don't think anyone would have gone away disappointed tonight. I understand they do change the set around quite regularly .

To sum up it was great night of nostalgia and the closest you will get to hearing Genesis and the music of those most closely connected. The band seem to be pretty much on tour in the UK all year round. I look forward to catching them back at the Lighthouse again next October 2019.  

 Genesis Connected are :

• Pete Bultitude - Vocals / Drums 
• Chris Woods - Keyboards/ Vocals
• Lee Spence - Guitar
•  Lou Short - Bass
• Marty Wild - Drums

Full Set List