After a thirteen year hiatus and the inevitable delays caused by the pandemic, Genesis finally roll into town for the start of their The Last Domino Tour? When founding member Peter Gabriel left the band in 1974, his penchant for dressing up in “fluorescent make-up, a cape, and bat wings” wasn’t shared by Phil Collins, who switched from drummer to frontman. After Steve Hackett’s departure a few years later, the singer along with guitarist Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks, helped steer the band from English Saturnalia through to rock and pop.
Striking up with ‘Turn It On Again’ from 1980’s ‘Duke’ album, they power through a string of 80’s hits. An unsettling ‘Mama’ has Collins cackling maniacally through molten red lights before introducing ‘Land Of Confusion’ from his seat front of stage, as a song written a few years ago but now so relevant to our times. Images of tumbling rolls of toilet paper on city streets and bowler hatted workers walking zombie like down country roads, form the backdrop and hint at Magritte surrealism.
With Collins’ deteriorating health over the last few years it’s a minor miracle that he is even on the stage, let alone full of enthusiasm and wit that has the sold out crowd at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena eating out of his hand. He orchestrates a chorus of ghostly ‘woos’ to get to the ‘Other Side’ for the song suite ‘Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea’ taken from 1983’s ‘Genesis’ album which explodes into a Rutherford led prog wig-out as the lighting rig bends and flexes robotically over the band. Before ‘The Last Domino’, he enlists the entire arena to demonstrate the domino effect with full on, arms raised audience participation.
After an energetic start, the tempo is turned down a few notches as the singer is joined front of stage by his band mates for an intimate and delightful acoustic section. A classical looking Banks plays the jazzy piano chords of ‘That’s All’, which along with ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’ with Rutherford on a 12 string guitar and ‘Follow You Follow Me’ are dutifully despatched. Of course in a former life Collins was the band’s drummer, the sticks having now been passed into the safe hands of his “boy wonder” son Nic who is more than up to the task of keeping the beating heart of the band ticking over.
Collins does join in with some percussion, hamming it up jester like during ‘I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) from 1973’s ‘Selling England By The Pound’ album, by tapping a tambourine on his head and elbow. He gets sympathetic applause for his efforts but it’s tinged with sadness as the reality of his condition is clear to see. It doesn’t though stop him giving it his all on ‘No Son Of Mine’ and through the reminiscence of “Throwing It All Away” where a montage of the band in their heyday including Spitting Image puppets are shown behind them. The 80’s pop sheen of ‘Invisible Touch’ brings the main set triumphantly to a close, and after a very short interlude they are back on for the encore, Collins bowing out with a last majestic foxtrot.
Words by Andy G