Mike Rutherford gets the twin-neck guitar out
Genesis Live at Parc Des Princes, Paris, France - 30th June 2007
It's the second chance (well, third counting the "virtual" Düsseldorf gig at the Vue cinema in Cambridge) to catch the legendary Genesis, live at the Parc Des Princes in Paris as part of their "Turn it on Again" reunion tour. There are maybe a couple more mistakes than the previous gig at Helsinki, as well as the odd technical gremlin in the sound system, but the band still sound fantastic and the crowd is much more involved and lively than at Helsinki, which makes it marginally the better gig. Maybe there's something about Paris: the superb "Seconds Out" was recorded in Paris in '76/'77, and even other bands like Muse seem to do better here. There's also the advantage that it gets dark enough for the light show at around 9pm, as opposed to never in Helsinki, so the other aspect of the band's famous stage show is better appreciated. Before and after the gig, there's a chance to look around Paris for the first time, not counting a few previous trips around the Periferique. Nosher gets the Eurostar over, which turns out to be a bit of a disappointment as standard class is essentially a bog-standard train and is absolutely nothing like the adverts, as it doesn't include on-demand at-seat Champagne, the fancy table-lamp, or even a table. Sean arrives later and we meet up at the Hotel Gabriel, chosen by Sean simply because it's the name of Genesis's former front-man Peter.
next album: Genesis Live at Twickenham, and Music on Parker's Piece, London and Cambridge - 8th July 2007
previous album: The BBs at Thornham Hall, and James's Birthday, Cambridge and Suffolk - 24th June 2007
The band do some old stuff
Purple lights
Smoke and lights
Phil Collins talks to the crowd in French
More old-school action
Daryl Steurmer plays the 'Firth of Fifth' solo
A million lights
We can't dance
Orange lights
The band bow for the applause of 45,000 fans
The Parc Des Princes stadium empties
A Paris Metro sign
A golden Egyptian mummy gets installed
A homeless dude under 'Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité'
Notre Dame cathedral
A nun strides over to Notre Dame
Ornate entrance
Crowds mill around
Souvenir tat shop
Painters surround Notre Dame
A statue looks out
Another artist
Artists in the gardens behind Nôtre Dame
Parisian apartments
Giving it the finger, stone statue style
A Parisienne tat shop near the cathedral
Pigeons in a puddle
A dude on a bench
A street-dude sits and looks at a passing pigeon
Statues on Notre Dame
A troubadour on the banks of the Seine
A view from the Pont L'Archevéché
Paris street
A Parisienne back yard
A mangled bike
A Paris market
A dude picks a flower out
Fish!
A box of grapefruit
Random assortment of hats
Sean's on the phone on the metro
The Eiffel Tower: it's bigger in real life
A wary-looking gold statue
Selling toy Eiffel towers under the real thing
A random photo shoot
People look out over Paris
Some sort of cable stays
Tourist shot in front of the Eiffel Tower
Sean does the tourist thing
A statue of a bull
Statues get their bits out
Some dude abseils off the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower detail
More abseilling
A very fish-eye view of the tower
Looking right up the inside of the tower
Some kind of memorial installation
Seans gurns through some sign-written glass
Some sort of monument
Sean in a café
Nosher drinks a beer
Café scene
Some fancy dress at the Ecole Militaire bus stop
L'Hôtel des Invalides
Some girls walk on the top of the broken travellator
Sean in a market
Corentin Celton, in Issy des Moulineaux
Sean wanders past a butcher's counter
Corentin Celton metro station
The Arc De Triomphe
An impressive statue
Sean in front of the Arc de Triomph
Looking up the Champs Elysees
A crepiere does his thing
A homeless guy on the Champs Elysees
A small dog poses for photos
Statue dog
Sean slurps some lemon Fanta
The dog's owner moves out to ensnare punters
Walkers on the Champs Elyssee
Green and gold fountain
Paris gardens
Sean strolls around
Rampant horses with gold harness
The Louvre pyramid
A happy-looking woman sits on some steps
On the Seine
A market stall has a colourful display of postcards
The retro Cité Metro
Gare du Nord station, with Eurostar on the left
Hint: you can use the left and right cursor keys to navigate between albums, and between photos when in the photo viewer
Mike Rutherford gets the twin-neck guitar out
Mike Rutherford gets the twin-neck guitar out
The band do some old stuff
Purple lights
Smoke and lights
Phil Collins talks to the crowd in French
More old-school action
Daryl Steurmer plays the 'Firth of Fifth' solo
A million lights
We can't dance
Orange lights
The band bow for the applause of 45,000 fans
The Parc Des Princes stadium empties
A Paris Metro sign
A golden Egyptian mummy gets installed
A homeless dude under 'Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité'
Notre Dame cathedral
A nun strides over to Notre Dame
Ornate entrance
Crowds mill around
Souvenir tat shop
Painters surround Notre Dame
A statue looks out
Another artist
Artists in the gardens behind Nôtre Dame
Parisian apartments
Giving it the finger, stone statue style
A Parisienne tat shop near the cathedral
Pigeons in a puddle
A dude on a bench
A street-dude sits and looks at a passing pigeon
Statues on Notre Dame
A troubadour on the banks of the Seine
A view from the Pont L'Archevéché
Paris street
A Parisienne back yard
A mangled bike
A Paris market
A dude picks a flower out
Fish!
A box of grapefruit
Random assortment of hats
Sean's on the phone on the metro
The Eiffel Tower: it's bigger in real life
A wary-looking gold statue
Selling toy Eiffel towers under the real thing
A random photo shoot
People look out over Paris
Some sort of cable stays
Tourist shot in front of the Eiffel Tower
Sean does the tourist thing
A statue of a bull
Statues get their bits out
Some dude abseils off the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower detail
More abseilling
A very fish-eye view of the tower
Looking right up the inside of the tower
Some kind of memorial installation
Seans gurns through some sign-written glass
Some sort of monument
Sean in a café
Nosher drinks a beer
Café scene
Some fancy dress at the Ecole Militaire bus stop
L'Hôtel des Invalides
Some girls walk on the top of the broken travellator
Sean in a market
Corentin Celton, in Issy des Moulineaux
Sean wanders past a butcher's counter
Corentin Celton metro station
The Arc De Triomphe
An impressive statue
Sean in front of the Arc de Triomph
Looking up the Champs Elysees
A crepiere does his thing
A homeless guy on the Champs Elysees
A small dog poses for photos
Statue dog
Sean slurps some lemon Fanta
The dog's owner moves out to ensnare punters
Walkers on the Champs Elyssee
Green and gold fountain
Paris gardens
Sean strolls around
Rampant horses with gold harness
The Louvre pyramid
A happy-looking woman sits on some steps
On the Seine
A market stall has a colourful display of postcards
The retro Cité Metro
Gare du Nord station, with Eurostar on the left