"My heart belongs to Glasgow...well, for two days anyway!" - The 2007 Genesis Fan Convention reviewed by Alan Hewitt.

Aah, Glasgow! I have so many memories of that city. The mad car dash and car crash up there to see both Yes and Genesis back in 1998! So many. And so, when the organisers of this year's event informed me that they wished me to participate, I was only too happy to oblige.

Events such as these are always a great way to catch up with old friends and of course, to make new ones. The format of the event followed that of all the previous ones; quiz, raffle, bands, etc. Holding it on such an unusual venue as the Renfrew Ferry was a brave step and one which I am sure took many fans by surprise. Me personally? Well, I was delighted that the event was being held somewhere OTHER than London. Glasgow is no further away for me than London and the blinkered perception that such an event can only be held there is growing a little tired now, I'm afraid.

That is not the only thing that is growing tired though. It has to be said, I am personally becoming fed up with all the bickering between several of the bands on the tribute scene. The reluctance with which some of this years 'acts' made any reference to this event - one at which they were PLAYING, for goodness sake, beggars belief! Quibbles about venues, running orders, etc. Wake up guys, you are ALL in Genesis TRIBUTE bands and are NOT actually members of Genesis, although you would be forgiven for thinking that by the behaviour of certain individuals both on and off stage! You are there to ENTERTAIN and if the punters have their individual preferences for one band over another, then all well and good. Bands should rise above such partisan behaviour and be the professionals they profess to be. Sadly fro me, once again, there were too many examples of this behaviour evident before, during and AFTER this event for my liking.

Anyway, rant over, on with the show, so to speak...

Opening the event with a repeat of last year's event were Doug Melbourne and Tony Patterson with an acoustic rendering of some of Peter Gabriel's solo material. Tony Patterson's voice has an uncanny resemblance to Ptere's and in many cases, the performance could be viewed as hearing Peter's own demos. Darkness, with which they opened the show, still had all the drama and undercurrent of menace which permeates the original. Here Comes The Flood is always a favourite and it was delivered cleanly here although Tony's vocal was perhaps a touch too mannered for my liking. It is still good to hear this old classic. Humdrum was anything but. Both Tony and Doug gave just the right amount of wry humour in their performance of yet anther audience favourite. Red Rain, unfrotunately did not translate too well into an acoustic setting and the drama was lost in an altogether ineffective performance marred by Tony's struggling with his vocal performance. Games Without Frontiers worked remarkably well, helped no doubt by the participation of a few select members of the audience. Family Snapshot was also delivered extremely well and Tony's vocal certainly captured the complete air of menace and desperation displayed by the subject of the song. Solsbury Hill really can't be beaten to get an audience off its collective ass and it did so here with everyone enjoying themesleves immensely. Mother Of Violence was quite a surprise but it workeed well. Doug's piano playing was excellent here and Tony's smokey, jazz club vocal really worked well in this underrated classic. Rounding off their set with Carpet Crawlers was certainly an inspired choice. The two musicians really delivered an excellent performance which finally got some reaction from the audience. A great closer to an enjoyable opening act.

Next up were G2, who I was looking forward to seeing. Not because I favour them over anyone else, but simply because I don't get the opportunity to see them that often because they don't seem to do many gigs 'up norf'! Hopefully this trip will go some way to rectifying that problem? I hope so anyway! Opening with The Lamb... this was going to be a high octane performance. Fly On A Windshield sent goosebumps up my spine - the band simply nailed this one - who needs The Musical Box when you've got a performance like this? In The Cage was another wonderful performance and one which brought some genuine emotion to the proceedings. Watcher Of The Skies seemed out of place next, i suppose that is because I have grown used to it opening the show for both Genesis themselves and for so many of the other tribute bands, but what the hell, it still sent shivers up my spine. Contrasting that with Entangled really worked and I have to admit this was the highlight of the Saturday night for me personally - a wonderful performance of a glorious song! Firth Of Fifth was another classic delivered flawlessly after a suitably hammy introduction by MC Terry Day. Supper's Ready too, was out of place in the middle of the set but with so much stuff to choose from...? Once again, the band managed to bring the magic out of this one and the memories flashed through my mind as it unfolded on stage - simply marvellous! Blood On The Rooftops... well, what can I say, apart from Bravo Chris, you pulled off the maestro's introduction superbly. I really can't descrive what this song means to me and so, thank you VERY much for playing it guys! No G2 show would be complete without their rendering of Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers/In That Quiet Earth/Afterglow and once again, the crowd got a real treat here. The performance by each and every member of the band was spot on and if you closed your eyes... well, you know what I mean!

Ripples too. I was rapidly beginning to think I had died and gone to Genesis heaven. Practically all my favourtie Genesis tracks were being played here but the show was far from over yet. The final quartet of songs was simply designed to blow the audience away, beginning with our latter day tale of two virgins, otherwise known as Cinema Show, after which the band took their very will deserved bows before returning for the rampage that was Dance On A Volcano/Drum Duet/Los Endos, all of which, apart from a slight hiccup at the start, were once again delivered impeccably by all concerned and certainly left this convention-goer in need of a serious breather! A great performance by an excellent band!

The evening was still far from over, however. Face Value were still to come, headlining the event for the first time. The band have become regulars in the 'pages' of TWR and no doubt are also familar to many of you due to their incessant gigging up and down the country!

Humorously opening thier show with the same intro as Genesis themselves had done, and opening the set with Behind The Lines/Turn It On Again, it was obvious the badn were not going to take any prisoners! No Son Of Mine and Land Of Confusion are staples of the band's set and as usual, they were both delivered with verve and gusto. The addition of 'Wrex' on drums certianly give the band an edge which they were lacking in the 'good old days'. That's All, perversely enough, is one which I have come to really enjoy. It always gets a crowd going too, and ENTERTAINMENT is what it is all about, folks. Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea is another classic and one which the band have taken to their hearts and it went down a treat tonight. Misunderstanding is one of those songs I can take or leave but it was performed competently and got a good reaction from the crowd and it contrasted nicely with the out and out rock of Abacab which was a great chance for Will to shine and he took it with great skill. John got all 'evangelical' to preach from the 'Book of Genesis' for Jesus He Know Me, another crowd pleaser. There was no introduction for the next number; the drum intro said it all. Fading Lights, a classic from the very first time I heard it at the press meeting for the release of the We Can't Dance album, and one which has seriously come to rival Afterglow in my affections. This was the absolute highlight of the evening for me, as the band delivered a performance full of emotion and drama. Many Too Many is another favourite and an underrated track from an underrated album. And Then There Were Three is where I came in with regard to seeing the band live and so to hear this and Follow You, Follow Me delivered in such fine style brought back even more memories and a few tears too, I admit it! Duchess and Guide Vocal too were brought to us fresh, crisp and clean. Ton'y keyboard intro was spot on (as usual) and the delivery by all of the musicians was excellent. Throwing It All Away is, I admit, a song that I heartily detest and even here it still did nothing for me, although the crowd obviously lapped it up - while I repaired to the bar! Domino got the full treatment, including the corny introduction. The song is a bona fide classic and one which Face Value perform to perfection every time.

Carpet Crawlers calmed the pace down and the band delivered a truly lovely version of this gorgeous song. Nicely contrasted this with the truly corny I Can't Dance complete with the corny audience participation including a certain editor, but the least said about that the better! Mama too, is a staple of the band's set and it still sends shivers up my spine every time they perform it. Tongiht, Tonight, Tonight really tested John's vocal chords and there was no rest for him or the band as they launched into Invisible Touch which, as anyone who has tried to sing it will tell you, is a bitch of a song, but it gets the crowd going and the band didn't fail to do so with this version. Another special moment followed with Afterglow. OK, G2 had already played it, but what the hell - it's my FAVOURITE Genesis song and the band did it, and themselves proud and yes, tears DID flow! A trip down 'memory lane' closed the evening with the band's all singing, all dancing version of I Know What I Like, which certainly sent everyone home in good form.

And then it was all over for the first day. It has to be said, everyone had really put their backs into the evening and it was evident that the crowd had enjoyed themselves and so had the performers too, I think - I hope so anyway!

Sunday dawned bright and sunny, although after the previous evenings' festivities, I admit to having a bit of a lie in before walking back to the venue from my hotel! The afternoon was the usual mix of good food, drink and company at which several new friendships were made and several old ones rekindled before the evenings' activities began. In The Cage were the opening course on tonights menu and I was glad to have the opportunity to see them again after quite a while. I was quite surprised to see a blast from my own past there on stage in the shape of bassis Tony Burton whom I had previously known from his time with the sadly defunct Invisible Touch and, of course from his time as TWR's webmaster - nice to see the emotional scars have healed, eh Tony!

The band opened proceedings with Watcher Of The Skies which was a mixture of the good, the bad and the downright ugly! I have already said that I am no great lover of Trevor's vocals, but I admire his gumption in getting up there and doing it, and tonight was no exception. Musically he was ably assisted by everyone except for the drummer who frequently parted time with the rest of the band. Fountain Of Salmacis followed - an awkward song to perform at the best of times and once again, the band struggled with it. Once again the percussion department let the performance down and I am sure, at times the rest of the band. Firth Of Fifth followed and it has to be said the band gave it an impeccable go. Henry's intro was excellent and eveyone else really got their teeth into things. Trevor's masterful hamming up even managed to raise a smile on my face! Attempting One For The Vine was a brave but foolhardy decision. Musically, the band were fine, but sorry Trevor, your vocal delivery here was simply appalling.

The Lamb... medly was perhaps where the band should have shone, and indeed in parts they did. The Lamb itself was better suited to Trevor's vocal range and Tony, Henry and Patrick all acquitted themselves capably enough. Once again, however, the percussion left A LOT to be desired and in many cases was following rather than leading the rest of the musicans. Carpet Crawlers was once again a stand out track which I really enjoyed, despite the fact that I had now heard three performances of it in two days! Can-Utility and the Coastliners was enjoyable for its rarity in performance - even the vocal f**k-up at the start - even Trevor is human! So to is Patrick, as he then f**ked up the guitar intro! Eventually the song got going. Once it did, the performance was very enjoyable and it was good to hear this underrated classic in the live context again. Mad Man Moon, another personal favourite came next. I will forgive the fact that Trevor genuinely struggled with the delivery of this one simply because the rest of the band put 100% into bringing it to life and for me, this was the highlight of their set. Supper's Ready reallt pushed the band and in the main, I think they coped with the demands that this epic put upon them quite well. Los Endos gave the band's drummer a chance to redeem himself and he gave it his best shot. Muscially this workout did the job in a very workman-like performance which brough their set to an end. Of course we were expecting an encore and predicably the band returned for the tale of the 'cosmic lawnmower', I Know What I Like, a fun way to end an enjoyably opening act.

The intercal was taken up by the second raffle and quiz prize draws, this time assisted quite ably by none other than John Mayhew who was reprising his appearance at last years event.

G2 were gracing the stage again after the sudden withdrawl of one of the other bands from the event and personally, I was really looking forward to seeing their 'different' set.

Different is certainly was! Opening with Wot Gorilla? was definately different, but guess what? It worked! Hairless Heart was wonderful - even Canadian band, The Musical Box never put as much passion into their performance of this one as G2 did tonight. Squonk too was delevered impeccably, although Terry's shirt left a lot to be desired! Robbery, Assault and Battery and Eleventh Earl Of Mar once again were succinctly and concisely delivered. It was obvious that the band were intent on enjoying themselves and it certainly was infectious. For Absent Friends was a very real and pleasant surprise. An acoustic breather and one which really showcased the bands talents while giving poor Jeff a chance to cool off behind his drum kit! Entangled too, sent shivers down my spine. I adore this song and apart from the out of tune audience participation - ahem! the song itself was delivered in fine style. Deep In The Motherlode too was a fine rendering . This, as you all know, is where I 'came in' with Genesis and so hearing this one for the first time since 1978 brought a lot of happy memories back to me. Dancing With The Moonlit Knight too gave everyone a chance to participate and by now the party was in full swing. The remainder of G2's set was basically the same as the preceeding evening, but a good cast is always worth repeating, as they say. Finishing the show on The Knife really left everyone exhausted, and happy!

The it really was over apart from the organisers "thank you's". Was it really necessary to drag me onstage guys? YOU did all the hard work putting the event together and the band had the hardest task of keeping us all entertained, which they did royally by the way! For me, as always, it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet some old and new friends and enjoy some great music and...OK some great beer too - the diet starts now. I've seen the DVD's - aaarrrggghhhhhh!!!!!!

So, my thanks to Alan, Alison , Brian, Douglas, Ian and Tony for putting so much hard work into putting the event on. You really have NO idea how much work has to be done to stage such an event and they did themselves and us proud - thanks guys!

Now, about this event in Liverpool in 2008 which some 'idiot' mentioned...!!!