Genesis: Live - Not Authorised (1993) Bootleg

(U.K 1967 - Present)
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This post features a live soundboard recording and "Radio Broadcast' of Genesis – Live At The Uptown Theatre from October 13, 1978 during their World  “And Then There Were Three” Tour. It was recorded at the Uptown Theatre in Chicago, Illinois and is the second half of the concert.  This is confirmed during the intro to "Say It's Alright Joe", when Phil Collins refers to having been in some of the seedy bars in Chicago, while chatting with the audience

When Genesis revisited Chicago on their extended “…And Then There Were Three” Tour, it was decided to play at a smaller venue with better acoustics and the Uptown Theatre was chosen. Local radio station WXRT received permission to record the show for broadcast, one of only three radio recordings made during this tour.
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The quality is very high and a lot of fans seem to rate this bootleg among the top for this tour. The volume level is somewhat low, but besides  that there is little bad to be said about this one.
In fact, I believe this is Highland's version of the famous Uptown Theater show, one of the most famous recordings from their world tour. This one claims to be "straight from the reels," and though I know nothing about that, I do know that this is a very nice version of this show. If you only want a few Genesis bootlegs, this one should  probably be on your list!
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The Uptown Theatre
"The Uptown had been showing second-run movies when rock consortium Jam began booking rock shows there. The list of performers is impressive: The Grateful Dead for six three-night stands between 1978 and 1981; Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for three shows in 1978 and 1980; Bob Marley and the Wailers for dates in 1978 and 1979; Frank Zappa for four visits (and five shows) between 1977 and 1981; Cheap Trick opening for the Kinks in 1977; Genesis and Peter Gabriel playing six days apart in October 1978; and Prince opening for Rick James in early 1980 and headlining later that year.

Even now, one of the well-worn seat backs in the dusty auditorium boasts a Grateful Dead bumper sticker that reads, “Warning, I Brake for Hallucinations.” In the oval ladies lounge, these words remain scrawled: “Springsteen is God.”

Genesis's performance literally blew the roof off the Theatre !

But the rock bookings and movie screenings couldn’t keep the theater — owned by the Plitt movie theater chain and, for much of Jam’s time there, a local theater operator named Rene Rabiela — from falling into disrepair and eventual insolvency. The heat was shut off, and in winter 1982 the pipes burst, flooding the basement and causing extensive damage to ceilings, walls and staircases that has yet to be repaired.” [Chicago Tribune, October 11, 2011]
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Concert Review I
(From collectorsmusicreviews.com)
Uptown Theatre, Chicago, IL – October 13th, 1978

Disc 1: Intro., Eleventh Earl Of Mar, In The Cage, Burning Rope, Dancing With The Moonlit Knight/The Musical Box, Ripples, Deep In The Motherlode, One For The Vine, Squonk

Disc 2: Phil talking, Say It’s Alright Joe, The Lady Lies, Romeo and Juliet story, The Cinema Show/In That Quiet Earth, Afterglow, Follow You Follow Me, Dance On A Volcano (with drum duet), Los Endos, I Know What I Like, After show interview with Phil Collins.

Near the start of the And Then There Were Three tour Genesis played at the Stadium in Chicago. They were unhappy about their sound at the Stadium and so returned to play the smaller venue the Uptown Theatre by the end of the tour. WXRT in Chicago broadcast the concert on the air that night and the two and a half hour show ended with a seven-minute interview with Phil Collins discussing the tour and the broadcast.

From The Mouth Of The Monster

The broadcast resulted in a great sounding early release on vinyl called From The Mouth Of The Monster on Atlantis (GTT 78), a ninety-minute recording spread over two LPs. Compact disc releases include 'Follow You, Follow Me' on Great Dane Records (GDR CD 8918), Live In Chicago 1978 on Golden Stars (GSCD 2104/1-2), Live and Alive with Genesis and Phil Collins (IMT 900.019/20) on the infamous IMTRAT label, and Live at Uptown Theatre Chicago International Pop (INP023, INP024).

A source that claims to be from the WXRT reels, including the post-concert interview, surfaced and was released on Master Of Chicago (HL446/447) on Highland. The final note of “Ripples” is missing and the complete source on Follow You Follow Me was used to complete the track. Two fan-based releases on SAB and BURP also exist and circulate among Genesis collectors and Sirene most likely is a copy of SAB 05 volume 2.

Between 1976-1981 Genesis were almost always on the radio with each tour producing at least two or three excellent quality broadcasts. This is one of the best concerts from the “interim” period between the “progressive” Gabriel and the “eighties pop” Collins eras. They have always excelled in narrative song writing and they sing about a whole host of interesting characters and take the audience through several different vignettes.

“Eleventh Earl Of Mar” is a high-energy opener followed by a frenetic “In The Cage”. “Dancing With The Moonlit Knight” makes a brief return to the set and is edited into the closing heavy section of “The Musical Box.” Phil goes go great pains to teach the audience when to cheer and boo to his pantomimes before “The Lady Lies” (“People are going to think we’re not going down well!” he quips).

“The Cinema Show” segues seamlessly into “In That Quiet Earth” which runs into “Afterglow” as per the studio version. The majestic “Afterglow” is followed by the Brazilian beats of “Follow You Follow Me” which was their big hit of the day. The finale begins with an aggressive version of “Dance On A Volcano” where Collins really spits out the lyrics (“Holy mother of GOD!!!) and leads into the drum duet between him and Thompson. This feature does not translate well on poor audience recordings with the duet becoming lost in the general mush of sound.

But the clarity of this recording offers a detailed glimpse into Thompson’s and Collins’ contribution. This leads into “Los Endos” and “I Know What I Like”, which includes the “Stagnation” interlude, is the encore. The interview is interesting with Phil explaining the came back to Chicago because they were not happy with the sound mix at the Stadium, their impending first ever tour of Japan, and plans for recording the new album.

Concert Review II
Radio Chicago - David Dunnington
Uptown Theatre, Chicago, IL – October 13th, 1978

Genesis at the Uptown in Chicago 1978 manifestly deserves its place in the hall of fame: the recording is a veritable case study on everything that makes bootleg material so precious to connoisseurs of live music. For starters there's the sheer extra ordinariness of the event, a bonus theater show to compensate faithful Chicago for a bad gig earlier in the tour. Genesis hauled their spectacular show of lasers and mirrors around the stadiums of the world from March until the end of the year to much acclaim, but were very unhappy about their sound at the Chicago Stadium (now long gone) in early April.

Chicago was an important stronghold for rock music in general and for Genesis in particular, the main "underground rock" station WXRT having provided the band with plenty of exposure in the years before they began to churn out hits. So from the moment that news broke about a special additional show at the comparatively small Uptown Theater, WXRT fed the frenzy with plenty of hype; excitement was riding sky high in the run up to the concert. To cap it all, following the inevitable instant ticket sell-out, WXRT announced they would be broadcasting the show live on the air.

Which brings us to the second ingredient of a classic bootleg: amazing sound fidelity. Radio engineers produced a nice crisp quadraphonic mix from the Uptown which captured both the superb detailed musicianship from Genesis and the cosmic atmosphere in the venue from the rowdy and adoring crowd Vocals and guitar were high in the mix, drums and keyboards well represented, bass somewhat less distinct (compensated for in this release). Interrupted only by the occasional radio ID between songs, WRXT caught the entire 2.5 hour event from their own opening concert introduction through to the completion of John Platt's post concert interview with Phil. The ensuing double LP bootleg release "From The Mouth Of The Monster" helped inspire a generation to collect and trade unofficial live recordings.

In part the electric atmosphere was generated by the presence of concert hardware desired to wow stadiums, now crammed into the confines of this 4400 capacity theater venue. Rotating mirrors, suspended and operated by chain motors, reflected lights and lasers from the floor, the rig and extras suspended 10 feet in the air. Accompanying this spectacle was the buzz generated by a pervading feeling that the show was a gift from Genesis to their fans in Chicago.

And what a show! Seven months' practice on the road allowed plenty of time for the material to mature and develop and to integrate new guitar/bass player Daryl Stuermer. During an outstanding performance Genesis displayed the full gamut of their repertoire, from a dizzying and frenetic rendition of "In The cage" to the tender and poignant stirrings of "Ripples". But the song that sent shivers down the collective spine of those present and of fans listening to this recording through intervening decades, was the grafting together of "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" with the closing of "The Musical Box".

An eyewitness account does justice to the moment:
"...Phil is talking to the audience about how much they have enjoyed playing in Chicago over the years, and how their shows have sold consistently well in Chicago ... then lie says 'This ones for you...' and then he sings 'Can you tell me where my country lies..-'. Well the place went nuts! You really couldn't hear the next line or two because of the cheers. We all felt that they picked a song we all knew and loved, that had not been played in years and dusted it off just for us. And then to end it with the last part of "Musical Box", well, people were just melting in their seats with joy."

Together with a great recording of a powerful, energetic virtuoso performance we also have this fascinating, unique set variation: the final and conclusive hallmark of a truly classic bootleg.

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This post consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from my AMCOS CD and includes the usual 'generic' artwork produced by this Australian Bootlegger.  Quality of the recording is pretty damn good - I'd give it a 9/10, but its a shame that the interview with Phil Collins is not included in this release.

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Track Listing

01 Squonk (8:29)

02 Say It's Alright Joe (9:04)

03 The Lady Lies (with the Story of Romeo and Juliet)  (10:23)

04 Cinema Show / Riding the Scree (6:54)

05 In that quiet earth (4:31)

06 Afterglow (4:49) 

07 Follow You Follow Me (4:32)

08 Dance on a Volcano/Drums (5:46) 

09 Los Endos (6:26)

10 I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe) (9:15)

Genesis were:

Lead Vocals, Drum, Percussion – Phil Collins

Bass Guitar, Guitar, Backing Vocals – Mike Rutherford

Drums, Percussion – Chester Thompson

Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar – Tony Banks

Lead Guitar, Effects – Daryl Stuermer

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Genesis Live - Not Authorised Link (143Mb)

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