It’s a quiet weekend in Montreal.  Like New England, early April is transition time, and even with most of the snow gone, it’s a few more weeks before things pick up and it will truly feel like spring.

Most of the crowd in town Friday night were hovering around the Bell Centre.  No, it’s not a hockey crowd.  The Habs are in Toronto tonight, fighting for their playoff lives.  This crowd, about 15,000 strong and mostly baby boomers, was  here to see The Musical Box.  I would call them a ‘tribute band’ but that diminishes what we saw…and heard. This band performs Genesis concerts from the 1970′s, in their entirety, with the original video and slides, large amounts of smoke and lasers, and an uncanny sound that matches the originals beat for beat.  This tour features “A Trick of the Tail,” from 1976, the first album following the departure of Peter Gabriel.

This was also Ben’s first true concert.  He’s been to the Burke Mountain Music Festival and seen and heard some big names, but we got floor seats (Row N) and were close enough to see everything, hear everything and feel everything.  He was one of the few under 20′s in attendance, but he got it.  After the encore (“Watcher of the Skies”) I turned and said “Now you understand why I continue to return to this band, thirty plus years later” and he just smiled.  He also got some great video…it’ll show up here very soon.

Musical Box channels Genesis.  It’s uncanny, it’s a trip back to a different era.  I don’t spend a lot of time looking back, but I DO spend a lot of time with music from many different eras and genres.  (If you haven’t checked out the beta stream, it’s on the upper left side of the screen…do it NOW.)   If this music resonates with you, check the schedule and make the trip.  They’ll be in New York City in mid-May.

Gotta go…it’s 1:00 and time for lunch…yum dee yum yum yum.  Cuckoo to you!

–SN