Gene at the Roxy Theatre (ticket stub)
Hollywood (07/22/1995)
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If you know me, you know that I'm a big Britpop and The Smiths fan, so, of course, I followed all similar-sounding bands of that time period. One of those band was called Gene. In the 90s, I lived in central California, in a town that bands will often skip over. Any shows that I really wanted to attend, I would have to travel, and that meant a three hour drive into Los Angeles.
This was Gene's very first U.S. tour, they were out promoting their debut album, Olympian. My friend Melinda and I attended their "industry show*" at the Roxy in 1995. I barely remember this show, hey it's been nearly 20 years now! Thankfully, Mel captured the moment in her fanzine, Stupid Shiny Black Shoes, which was a lot more in-depth than whatever the LA Times published (which is nothing more than calling Gene a Smiths tribute band). What Mel reminded me of was that show had a super rare triple encore, and how people were allowed to smoke at clubs!
What Mel wrote:
* Industry shows are basically shows meant for people in the music business. These shows are often small-capacity venues and the actual "tour" is really only restricted to five or six major cities. Also note that these shows aren't often widely publicized, for example, before Adele became a household name, I attended her industry show at the the Theatre De La Jeune Lune, Minneapolis 6/2/08, which no one knew about, so it had less than 200 people in the audience.
This was Gene's very first U.S. tour, they were out promoting their debut album, Olympian. My friend Melinda and I attended their "industry show*" at the Roxy in 1995. I barely remember this show, hey it's been nearly 20 years now! Thankfully, Mel captured the moment in her fanzine, Stupid Shiny Black Shoes, which was a lot more in-depth than whatever the LA Times published (which is nothing more than calling Gene a Smiths tribute band). What Mel reminded me of was that show had a super rare triple encore, and how people were allowed to smoke at clubs!
What Mel wrote:
Gene wowed 'em all at the Roxy in Los Angeles on 22 July 95. The show began at a little past 10:30. The lights went purple and blue, and the smoke (mostly from the human smokers rather than the smoke machines) swirled in the lights. A beautiful and romantic song crooning "Jean, Jean, Jean..." awaited the appearance of Gene. The song was from a soundtrack based on the play/novel "The Prime of Miss Gene Brodie." Then Matt James came on and with a forceful drumming launched into the aggressive "To the City." I found myself thrown into the manic energy of glamour and excitement of Gene's performance.
I sadly have to admit that it's been a long gap between the time I saw Gene perform and the present time that I am writing this recollection. I cannot remember all the songs they played nor the order, but there were several tidbits I still remember. As an introduction to "Sick Sober and Sorry" [singer Martin] Rossiter mentioned that last night he had several friends who were now "sick, sober, and sorry." He introduced a b-side with some relevant words about how screwed up the British Royal Family has been. Before singing "London, Can You Wait?" Rossiter admitted that this song was his mother's favorite. Then he suavely mocked "Oh, heaven forbid that we should play music that Mother likes!"
Although Gene does not sound much like the Smiths, Martin Rossiter's British charm and compelling stage presence is incredibly Mozzesque. They are sick and tired of being compared to the Smiths, and I sincerely believe that Rossiter does not consciously try to be Morrissey. Rossiter can't help being a good-looking singer from England, can he? I'm sure he doesn't rehearse Morrissey moves and gestures in front of the mirror at home! Earlier Martin Rossiter expressed his dislike of "industry" shows, events largely attended by music industry types and are bored and blasé about the bands. Naturally, he'd like to be performing to a roomful of madly adoring fans who squeeze and push their way to be up front and close to the gods. At least it would be your music. Despite Los Angeles being an "industry" show, enough fans snapped up the remaining tickets offered to the public to fill the floor in front of the stage. They certainly made up for the clueless folks lounging around the tables in the back. The floor crowd was extremely enthusiastic and hungry for Gene. Several times it appeared that they all wanted to drag Martin into the crowd and take his lovely self home.
Gene had an excessive number of encores (for a young band with only one album out), and I didn't really mind since I loved every second of it. They gave us a particularly moving performance of "Olympian" as an encore. Earlier in the show Rossiter mentioned that they weren't rock 'n roll gits like "Bon Jovi," but they took all the worshipful rock conventions and ran with it -- i.e. three encores. But they could get away with it because they were brilliant. It would have been perfect if they had said, "Hello, Cleveland!"
In loving memory of Melinda (1970-2010). I sadly have to admit that it's been a long gap between the time I saw Gene perform and the present time that I am writing this recollection. I cannot remember all the songs they played nor the order, but there were several tidbits I still remember. As an introduction to "Sick Sober and Sorry" [singer Martin] Rossiter mentioned that last night he had several friends who were now "sick, sober, and sorry." He introduced a b-side with some relevant words about how screwed up the British Royal Family has been. Before singing "London, Can You Wait?" Rossiter admitted that this song was his mother's favorite. Then he suavely mocked "Oh, heaven forbid that we should play music that Mother likes!"
Although Gene does not sound much like the Smiths, Martin Rossiter's British charm and compelling stage presence is incredibly Mozzesque. They are sick and tired of being compared to the Smiths, and I sincerely believe that Rossiter does not consciously try to be Morrissey. Rossiter can't help being a good-looking singer from England, can he? I'm sure he doesn't rehearse Morrissey moves and gestures in front of the mirror at home! Earlier Martin Rossiter expressed his dislike of "industry" shows, events largely attended by music industry types and are bored and blasé about the bands. Naturally, he'd like to be performing to a roomful of madly adoring fans who squeeze and push their way to be up front and close to the gods. At least it would be your music. Despite Los Angeles being an "industry" show, enough fans snapped up the remaining tickets offered to the public to fill the floor in front of the stage. They certainly made up for the clueless folks lounging around the tables in the back. The floor crowd was extremely enthusiastic and hungry for Gene. Several times it appeared that they all wanted to drag Martin into the crowd and take his lovely self home.
Gene had an excessive number of encores (for a young band with only one album out), and I didn't really mind since I loved every second of it. They gave us a particularly moving performance of "Olympian" as an encore. Earlier in the show Rossiter mentioned that they weren't rock 'n roll gits like "Bon Jovi," but they took all the worshipful rock conventions and ran with it -- i.e. three encores. But they could get away with it because they were brilliant. It would have been perfect if they had said, "Hello, Cleveland!"
* Industry shows are basically shows meant for people in the music business. These shows are often small-capacity venues and the actual "tour" is really only restricted to five or six major cities. Also note that these shows aren't often widely publicized, for example, before Adele became a household name, I attended her industry show at the the Theatre De La Jeune Lune, Minneapolis 6/2/08, which no one knew about, so it had less than 200 people in the audience.
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