title Genesis Live at Parc Des Princes, Paris, France - 30th June 2007 intro 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. dscf0243 Mike Rutherford gets the twin-neck guitar out dscf0248 The band do some old stuff dscf0264 Purple lights dscf0268 Smoke and lights dscf0288 Phil Collins talks to the crowd in French dscf0319 More old-school action dscf0323 Daryl Steurmer plays the "Firth of Fifth" solo dscf0341 A million lights dscf0352 We can't dance dscf0363 Orange lights dscf0369 The band bow for the applause of 45,000 fans dscf0373 The Parc Des Princes stadium empties imgp6425 A Paris Metro sign imgp6429 A golden Egyptian mummy gets installed imgp6433 A homeless dude under "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité" imgp6438 Notre Dame cathedral imgp6445 A nun strides over to Notre Dame imgp6449 Ornate entrance imgp6450 Crowds mill around imgp6458 Souvenir tat shop imgp6459 Painters surround Notre Dame imgp6475 A statue looks out imgp6480 Another artist imgp6483 Artists in the gardens behind Nôtre Dame imgp6485 Parisian apartments imgp6487 Giving it the finger, stone statue style imgp6492 A Parisienne tat shop near the cathedral imgp6495 Pigeons in a puddle imgp6497 A dude on a bench imgp6498 A street-dude sits and looks at a passing pigeon imgp6502 Statues on Notre Dame imgp6505 A troubadour on the banks of the Seine imgp6509 A view from the Pont L'Archevéché imgp6511 Paris street imgp6512 A Parisienne back yard imgp6513 A mangled bike imgp6520 A Paris market imgp6522 A dude picks a flower out imgp6523 Fish! imgp6527 A box of grapefruit imgp6533 Random assortment of hats imgp6534 Sean's on the phone on the metro imgp6536 The Eiffel Tower: it's bigger in real life imgp6541 A wary-looking gold statue imgp6545 Selling toy Eiffel towers under the real thing imgp6552 A random photo shoot imgp6553 People look out over Paris imgp6555 Some sort of cable stays imgp6560 Tourist shot in front of the Eiffel Tower imgp6561 Sean does the tourist thing imgp6562 A statue of a bull imgp6563 Statues get their bits out imgp6564 Some dude abseils off the Eiffel Tower imgp6566 Eiffel Tower detail imgp6569 More abseilling imgp6571 A very fish-eye view of the tower imgp6575 Looking right up the inside of the tower imgp6583 Some kind of memorial installation imgp6589 Seans gurns through some sign-written glass imgp6597 Some sort of monument imgp6600 Sean in a café imgp6602 Nosher drinks a beer imgp6604 Café scene imgp6606 Some fancy dress at the Ecole Militaire bus stop imgp6609 L'Hôtel des Invalides imgp6625 Some girls walk on the top of the broken travellator imgp6626 Sean in a market imgp6630 Corentin Celton, in Issy des Moulineaux imgp6632 Sean wanders past a butcher's counter imgp6635 Corentin Celton metro station imgp6640 The Arc De Triomphe imgp6645 An impressive statue imgp6648 Sean in front of the Arc de Triomph imgp6662 Looking up the Champs Elysees imgp6670 A crepiere does his thing imgp6675 A homeless guy on the Champs Elysees imgp6686 A small dog poses for photos imgp6690 Statue dog imgp6691 Sean slurps some lemon Fanta imgp6695 The dog's owner moves out to ensnare punters imgp6699 Walkers on the Champs Elyssee imgp6709 Green and gold fountain imgp6713 Paris gardens imgp6716 Sean strolls around imgp6717 Rampant horses with gold harness imgp6724 The Louvre pyramid imgp6733 A happy-looking woman sits on some steps imgp6749 On the Seine imgp6756 A market stall has a colourful display of postcards imgp6768 The retro Cité Metro imgp6770 Gare du Nord station, with Eurostar on the left