Strictly Banks
A Serious Undertaking... Live!
The Tony Banks Tribute Concert recorded at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford, Kent, England on Sunday the 6th of September 1998. This was a one-off concert and I was there!
Not So Strict! - A review
Being a fan of Tonys work I was interested to see what this event would be like from a musical point of view, none of these songs had been sung live before. I arrived at the Orchard Theatre, nabbed a programme and walked in just in time to see a few TB videos being shown on the safety curtain, which started things off nicely, then the curtain raised to reveal a stage full of equipment; an acoustic piano, a few electronic keyboards, a drumkit, and a neat set of speakers (which I think they probably stole from Genesis).
The music started with theopening segment of The Border repeated over and over with a film count-down projected on the back wall also repeated over and over, this was fine for while but I thnk it went on too long, so when the band members walked on it wasn't surprisingthey recieved a good round of applause. The first number started and sounded OK apart from the lead singers dead microphone, which was eventually changed, all 6 of Tonys CD albums were well represented, (it's about time The Wicked Lady Soundtrack made an appearance on CD) I'm sure The Waiting Room will provide us with a full track list in their next issue, but, An Island In The Darkness, I'll Be Waiting, Red Day On Blue Street, Water Out Of Wine, Another Murder Of A Day, and Somebody Elses Dream were all superb; live performances add a quality you just can't put on a studio album, all credit to the band to bringing that quality out as well as adding their own character. There was one genesis song which crept into the running order which was Mad Man Moon.
I do hope they do a run of live gigs in the future, as this concert how good Dave Whitehouse and Sophia Capernaros were on vocals, Dave had real staying power,imagination and energy, and Sophia surprised me by delivering subtle, emotional vocals, restrained at the right moments and powerful in the upper registers. Andy Monk and Richard Mills were both on keyboards, Andy provided some good moments but was often not very audible, while Richard played acoustic piano on a couple of numbers, Manir Donaghue and Doug Boucher are next on guitear and bass respectivly, Manir worked hard throughout the gig but sadly his guitar soloswere not high enough in the mix making it difficult for him to shine , bassist Dougis a true character, really getting into the groove, for most of the concert he was gone... Lost in music! At times he reminded me of the piano playing dog in the Muppet Show as he rocked to the beatand stared close up at his sheet music (sorry mate!
Last but not least drummer Duncan Philips; this chap is responsible for Strictly Banks,so I can forgive him being a bit heavy handed on the cymbals can't I? Yes I can. I gather the performance was recorded though I doubt the whole concert will be released, there were a few technical problems and fluffs, but there was enough great stuff for a general release CD, (Or fan club cassette?!) then fans would have this album next to their Re-Genesis CD.I was there, it was great!
