DVD Review: Remember Knebworth 1978: Featuring Genesis - a Midsummer Nights Dream

What the documentary "Remembering Knebworth 1978" lacks in music, it more than makes up for in the geeky historical references to a number of musical acts but principally, Genesis. If you're a fan of the band (post-Gabriel) or if you can just "feel it coming in the air at night" then you should certainly give this little disc a spin; you won't be disappointed.

Genesis was one of those edgy-British bands who were anti just for the sake of it; like, maybe, Green Day, to more contemporary audiences. Many younger people may not be comfortable classifying their DADS music in with the likes of Billy Joe Green, but it was true! When you had most of pop music singing about "holding hands" and golly gee shucks, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Peter Gabriel were busting skulls. Theirs wasn't Metallica worthy ("darkness, imprisoning me, all that I see, absolute horror" nah!) but still, it turned heads and began their own dramatic revolution. Ask anyone hip from the 1970's and if they weren't wearing bell bottoms, they were probably hailing "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway," as its own second coming (and they STILL might have been wearing the bell bottoms; just ask my dad).

Just after "...Lamb..." Peter Gabriel gracefully exited in a grand gesture of clenched thumb, pinky, index, and ring finger to the band he expected would implode in his absence. They didn't and they actually went on to become so much huger than anyone could imagine.

But that's later, where "Knebworth" takes us is 1978; an outdoor concert styled after Lollapalooza or those Phish shows...except that Knebworth came first. Years and years ahead of these exceedingly popular, very controlled musical excursions, backed by big money promoters and Ticketmaster.