“All the right notes…. ” - Los Endos in concert at the Robin 2 Bilston on Saturday 11th January 2014. Review and photographs by Alan Hewitt.

Ah well, there’s nothing like getting the gigging year off to a flying start with a Genesis tribute band and, especially one which I hadn’t seen for quite a while. Los Endos have had a few personnel changes since I saw them last at the now defunct Pacific Road Arts Centre in Birkenhead and so I was delighted to have the opportunity to sample the hospitality of the inhabitants of “Mellotronia” once more.

I am sure that most of our UK members will remember the rest of the Morecambe and Wise sketch from which this review draws its title - nuff said! “Classics and more” the advertising flyer proclaimed and as the band came onstage they began as they meant to go on with Watcher of The Skies which, apart from a few glitches in the keyboard department was delivered in fine fashion by the band. The new vocalist Jack Lipinski certainly sounded like Mr Gabriel although thankfully that was natural rather than contrived.

Classic followed classic in a first half exclusively devoted to the Gabriel era. It was great to hear a band attempting such awkward songs as Get ‘Em Out By Friday and Can-Utility And The Coastliners which even Genesis themselves admitted were sods to play live. The band acquitted themselves gamely throughout all of this with further senior moments among various band members being shrugged off - I loved the keyboard player’s emulation of Tony Banks’ famous “Oh f***” during Firth of Fifth - a sense of humour and humility goes a long way, you know!

After a rather lengthy break, the band returned for a shot at t’other stuff. Eleventh Earl of Mar got the second half under way and the band managed to pull it off with suitable aplomb. Entangled too worked quite well and Blood On The Rooftops had its usual effect on me for all the RIGHT reasons! In fact the second half was such a vast improvement on the first that I heard several people say that it was as if there was a different band on stage! Nope, same band of plucky musos giving their all to entertain us, the punters.

Speaking of pluck, I admit that I was astonished when the band returned for their encores for these to comprise of Horizons and Supper’s Ready which went down a treat, piping hot and extremely enjoyable ensuring that any lapses in the first half had been forgotten by the time the show was over. It is easy to criticise tribute bands - and I’ve done my fair share of that in my time - it’s my job here at TWR and if I didn’t “tell it like it is” as someone once said, then I wouldn’t be doing that job very well, would I? This was not a particularly great performance and I would hope that the band themselves would be the first to admit that. But let’s never forget the fact that hard work and application goes into any attempt to play this music and tonight’s performance was another enjoyable trip down memory lane and my congratulations to all involved, especially Jack and new drummer, Dave Chamberlain who kept the rest of the band glued together during some of the hairier moments!

The Set: Watcher Of The Skies/Get ‘Em Out By Friday/Fountain Of Salmacis/Can Utility And The Coastliners/I Know What I Like/Firth of Fifth/Cinema Show/The Return Of The Giant Hogweed/Eleventh Earl Of Mar/Entangled/Blood On The Rooftops/Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers/In That Quiet Earth/Afterglow/ Land Of Confusion/Dance On A Volcano/Drum Solo-Los Endos/Horizons/Supper’s Ready.

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