EDITORIAL NOTE: This was originally written for All Music Magazine, but there were concerns from the Madison Square Garden photographer(s) that some of the photos taken were breaking the rules of the arena for professional press photography. It was removed from All Music Magazine website for legal purposes. Genesis photos taken by Ray Louie Photography in this article were taken by a Sony RX100 VII point and shoot camera from my ticketed seat at both shows (MSG Sect. B Row 12 Seat 15 and Nationwide Arena Sect. FLR2 Row B Seat 8). There were no rules from either venue prohibiting point-and-shoot cameras and my camera was shown to security before entering the venue.
Genesis Turned it on Again in New York City at the Madison Square Garden. My bucket list of finally seeing Genesis came true this week. I was flying to New York City for business. I was hoping to score a decent ticket for one of the two dates Genesis was playing at The Madison Square Garden in the back of my mind. In the air tonight, I kept checking Ticketmaster. They still had a few center section floor seats for face value. I couldn’t pull the trigger yet. Finally, as the plane landed and I was riding into NYC, I said to myself, “I’m going!” Row 12, center section. It was a dream come true to see Phil, Mike, and Tony in person finally. I had missed the ’83 Mama tour because I had no one willing to drive me to Denver. I missed the Invisible Touch tour in ’86 because the closest city was San Francisco. And in ’07, I missed the Turn It On Again tour because of personal reasons. Seeing Genesis in concert has been on my bucket list for the last 40 years. And tonight, tonight, tonight, it came true. I was at The Last Domino? Tour in Madison Square Garden.
The evening began with “Behind the Line” playing in the background as Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks walked to the roaring applause and cheer from the sold-out Madison Square Garden. The set continued with two from the Duke album, the instrumental “Duke’s End,” and the fan-favorite sing-along, “Turn It On Again,” with more cheers and screams from the fans.
It’s interesting to many long-time Genesis fans how “Turn It On Again” is played first on this and the 2007 tour. We are so used to the song ending the show from the 80s and 90s tours. The show continues with the very popular and creepy song “Mama.” The stage was turned a dark, bloody red. “Mama” instrumental is a unique interplay between Rutherford’s bass and Bank’s keyboards. These intense rhythms create a menacing atmosphere against Phil’s sinister vocals about obsession.
After the intensity of “Mama,” Phil, the Artful Dodger, brings some humor back to the show as he thanked the audience for coming out to the show. The next song Phil introduces is very appropriate for today’s environment even though it was written in the 80s, “Land of Confusion.” The visuals were some of the best parts of tonight’s show. As Phil started singing, the big screen behind the band had a video of empty streets of London with TVs falling from the sky. The TV screens had the puppet Genesis members from the “Land of Confusion” music video. This was followed by falling toilet paper rolls and the famous Man in a Bowler Hat with face masks lemmings aimlessly walking around.
Phil introduces the next song with the first Genesis party trick of the evening. In a fun and humous way, he asked the fans to help him contact the other world by having everyone in the audience and the band wave their hands in the air. This was a silly introduction to Genesis fan-favorite “Home by the Sea” followed by “Second Home by the Sea” from their ’83 Eponymous album. The light of the stage turned a greenish-grey, with the screen showing a haunted house on a cliff by the sea with lighting in the background. After singing the “Home by the Sea,” Phil walked back and proudly watched Nic play during the “Second Home by the Sea.”
A melody of old and new Genesis songs came next. The first few verses of “Fading Lights from the We Can’t Dance album were first. Mike Rutherford brought out his signature double-neck guitar for this melancholy song while playing next to Tony on the keyboards. The instrumental part of “The Cinema Show” followed. This gave Phil a break to proudly watch his son perform his former drum parts. This shifted into the love song “Afterglow” from their 1976 Wind & Wuthering album.
With a quick set change, the acoustic part of the show was next. Phil had some fun with the set change as he said, “We are living dangerously tonight.” After 50 years, Tony, Mike, and Daryl switched sides, and for the last twenty years, Nic has been safely at home. Phil asks the audience to sing along if they know the words. And most of us did. The three-song acoustic set began with “That’s All,” a short version of “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,” and ended with the hit ballad “Follow You Follow Me.” Phil may not be able to drum anymore, but during “That’s All” and some of the other songs tonight, he was playing the tambourine.
“Duchess” from the Duke album was next, with all the members of Genesis returning to their proper places. Phil followed with band member introductions before the hit “No Son of Mine.” He first introduced backup vocalists Patrick Smyth and Daniel Pearce. Phil had fun with Pearce. He is a Crystal Palace football fan, while Phil is a Manchester United fan. He introduces his son, Nicholas Collins, and longtime member guitarist Daryl Stuermer, followed by guitarist Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks.
Phil then introduced the second Genesis party trick before the prog-rock song “Domino.” He had the left, right, center, and the tiny people in the back of the arena to scream and cheer as the spotlight was shown upon them. The highlight of the Genesis light show was during this song. Genesis is known for its light show during its concerts.
My highlight of the evening was hearing “Throwing It All Away” live with the fun home movie slideshow and videos showing the band through the years. They showed various snippets of their music videos and photos of the band going back to the Peter Gabriel era. An abridged version of “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” segue into the hit song “Invisible Touch.” This ended the two-hour concert with a two-song encore to follow.
The encore began with the band returning to the stage to the electronic intro and graphics for the “I Can’t Dance” hit. Nic Collins and the backup singers did the “I Can’t Dance” walk midway through the song. The last song of the encore and the night was “The Carpet Crawlers” with “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight” intro. All seven Genesis members came to the front and took three bows to the applause and cheers from the audience. Then everyone left the stage except for Tony, Mike, and Phil. They took their final bows and waved to the fans. Phil waves to the fans one last time before walking off the stage.
It was a bittersweet evening to think this could be the last time Genesis fans will see Phil, Mike, and Tony on stage together. I saw Genesis three nights later in Columbus, Ohio, at the Nationwide Arena a second time. The setlist was the same. The only difference was I was in the second row, about 15 feet to the stage. I’m happy to have finally seen my favorite band of my youth. I wish I had seen them in their prime in 1987.
Band:
Phil Collins – Vocal
Mike Rutherford – Guitar/Bass
Tony Banks – Keyboardist
Daryl Stuermer – Guitar/Bass
Nic Collins – Drummer
Patrick Smyth – Backup Vocalist
Daniel Pearce – Backup Vocalist and Percussions
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Madison Square Garden in New York City
Sect. B Row 12 Seat 15
Naitonwide Arena in Columbus Ohio
Sect. FLR2 Row B Seat 8
Setlist:
1.) Behind the Lines / Duke’s End
2.) Turn It On Again
3.) Mama
4.) Land of Confusion
5.) Home by the Sea
6.) Second Home by the Sea
7.) Fading Lights (First two verses)
8.) The Cinema Show (second half; with “Riding The… more )
9.) Afterglow
Acoustic (3 song set):
10.) That’s All
11.) The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
12.) Follow You Follow Me
13.) Duchess
14.) No Son of Mine
15.) Firth of Fifth (Instrumental)
16.) I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) (with “Stagnation” snippet)
17.) Domino
18.) Throwing It All Away
19.) Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (First two verses)
20.) Invisible Touch
Encore:
21.) I Can’t Dance
22.) Dancing With the Moonlit Knight (Intro & first verse only)
23.) The Carpet Crawlers
