Are tribute bands somehow still beyond the pale? Are they still something of a guilty pleasure, that is if you pay any attention to them at all? Still an area of the live music scene that appears to not attract any critical word space or analysis and is maybe even a bit of a joke in some cases. Are an Oasis tribute band nothing more than a vehicle for lads in casual Adidas sports wear and limited music ability to stand on stage and shi-iiii-ne a little? Is a Robbie Williams tribute act performing to a backing tape nothing more than an attention seeking karaoke dude with an ego that requires a bit too much kneading? Does the world really need a Coldplay tribute band when the real thing are perfectly capable of occupying enough space on the circuit with plentiful coma-inducing corporate arena textbook shenanigans to keep the estate agents and mobile phone franchisee shop owners topped up with their annual musical night out? These attractions have their place I guess and as long as I am nowhere near them, no problem. Personally, the world of tribute acts has given me nothing more than a bit of light relief when the Counterfeit Stones came on at Guilford ’98 Festival and an occasional bit of Rock ‘n’ Roll frugging fun when chancing upon a decent fifties style rockabilly act or such like.

Which brings me to the reason I have been thinking about this lately, namely there now being a lot of music that I love with zero chance of ever hearing performed live unless it is in the hands of a tribute act or covers band. As a sixteen-year-old Peter Gabriel fan in 1988 I had dug into his solo work to the point of completeness when one day I found a compilation album called ‘Rock Theatre’ by Genesis.” It featured a front cover image of Peter in a baffling globule decorated green monster outfit trying to position a microphone in the general vicinity of his mouth on some unidentified early seventies concert stage and looked appealing enough for my next avenue of exploration, the Peter Gabriel fronted 1969 – 1975 era of Genesis, to begin. Ultimately this particular chamber of doors would lead me to many other progressive landmarks and collectable obscurities from the era, but it has always been those early Genesis albums, probably because of the heightened and impressionable time of life that they arrived, which would endure and remain lifelong favorites with me.

So last month I noticed in the local Cambridge listings that the highly regarded, long established, Genesis tribute act The Musical Box were playing the Corn Exchange with a recreation of the 1972-73 how that resulted in the 1973 album ‘Genesis Live’ and I found myself itching to go. I still, weirdly, felt the need to play it down amongst people I know and did not invite anyone to attend the gig with me, not that I knew anybody who would have wanted to. But I have never heard any of this material played live, solo Gabriel will not go anywhere near it, and my relationship with these songs / concept pieces is now over thirty-five years old. Not only that but the visual aspect was a drawer too, by the time of this tour Genesis, with four of the five band members remaining seated at all times, had let Peter unleash his theatrical leanings so the show had strong visual and lighting elements. Modest by today’s standards admittedly but I really wanted to, if only just once, get a taste for what the early Genesis live experience must have been like. And The Musical Box did deliver, I had a wonderful night near the back of a large venue that was, impressively, close to sold out.

My hope before the show was for it to be primarily about the music with little cheapening the experience by scripted repro ad-libs but my hopes were dashed on that front. There is a moment on that live album where Mike Rutherford, pre-song, makes a couple of noises on his bass pedal and Gabriel quick-wittedly got a laugh with a comment about it being a bass pedal solo. The Musical Box recreate that moment too, which I kind of didn’t need them to do although I can accept they are merely pursuing as exacting a portrayal of those original gigs as possible. I do think the long-term answer is to move away from the photocopying aspect of these shows and focus more on honestly interpreting the material for a present-day audience. When Cat Power played the Albert Hall reciting the same set-list as Bob Dylan had played there in 1966, one audience member tried to help out with the famous “Judas” heckle, which just inspired a weary groan from the performer. Still, the best sequence of the Musical Box gig might have been after the completion of the original concert recital, which they acknowledged is a little short, continuing to play a sequence of 1971-72 deep cuts which, freed a little from the re-enactment shackles, made for a wonderful section of thoughtfully played and sung progressive music. Since I went to the show I have mentioned it to others who, gradually, have come out of the woodwork and confessed to also enjoying a tribute act or two, the Australian Pink Floyd being one that seems to get frequently mentioned so who knows, maybe that will be on my list a little further down the line? First up though, one of my best loved folk singers of today is touring a show playing the music of Sandy Denny which arrives in Cambridge in June for which, especially given the positive notices that I have heard so far, I will say out loud, my appetite is whetted and I truly cannot wait.