Genesis

The Last Domino? Tour – M&S Arena, Liverpool – 04/10/21

As the crowd packed into the M&S arena on Monday night to watch Genesis’ The Last Domino? show, it was easy to forget that we were just coming out of a global Covid 19 Pandemic. It was as if the last 18 months just hadn’t happened. It slightly unnerved me actually, I was equipped with my mask, that I wore whilst walking around the venue and finding my seat, but I was in the minority. There was no social distancing, no one was asking for proof of vaccination or anything, we were able to walk in and take our seats, just like we always used to!

The venue was filling up, I’m sure it was a sell out and even before the gig started, there was a buzz of excitement in the arena. This was destined to be the last time Genesis would undertake a tour like this and the audience reflected that; I met one couple who had flown from Malta just for this gig and another chap who’d embarked on an amazing 400 mile round trip from Cambridge to catch Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford for just one final time. 

As the lights dimmed and the band entered the stage, the arena erupted in applause and the whole audience stood up and welcomed their heroes. And they remained upstanding for the opening number ‘Behind the Lines / Duke’s End’ and only very reluctantly sat down as the show kicked in. The sound was incredible, the light show was immense and the musicianship up on that stage was awe inspiring. 

The band played a great selection of songs and Phil Collins’ skill as a story teller is just as good now as it ever was and his delivery was spectacular. Songs like ‘Mama’, ‘No Son of Mine’ and ‘Land of Confusion’ were delivered with the same gusto as they always were and Phil’s vocals, despite not being physically able to perform, were outstanding. Despite being seated throughout, he has not lost any of his stage presence and I found myself glued to him, watching on in awe!

I was pleased the band acknowledged their earlier stuff as well. ‘Selling England by the Pound’ was well represented with four tracks as was ‘The Lamb Lies down on Broadway’. In fact, Afterglow from the 1976 album ‘Wind and Wuthering’ brought the first section to close. Following Afterglow, there was a middle acoustic section which featured ‘That’s All’, followed by a completely re worked rendition of ‘The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway’ which was stunning and had the crowd singing the ‘on Broadway’ bit back to the band and then a rather emotionally charged ‘Follow You Follow Me’ with an emotional Phil singing along with the equally, as emotional crowd!

Phil Collins had a great sense of humour throughout the show and really involved the audience and has us playing party games. Before Home By the Sea, he had us pretending to be ghosts which was great fun! Speaking of ‘Home By The Sea’, the lighting was especially great during this one, with the whole lighting rig moving up and down and contorting. Another mesmerising moment and its these extra effects that really add to a shows overall experience. I heard more than one fan talking about the spectacular light show on the way out of the venue that night.

The main set drew to a close with a rousing rendition of ‘Invisible Touch’ which was a real crowd pleaser, then the band briefly left the stage before coming back on for their encore. ‘I Can’t Dance’ was first and then the first verse of ‘Dancing With The Moonlight Knight’ which segways perfectly into final song Carpet Crawlers. Another amazing moment. I can’t help but muse, given this will be the last tour and given the amazing final two songs of Dancing With The Moonlight Knight and Carpet Crawlers – it seems tailor made for a special live appearance from Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel and with a run of shows in London to finish the tour off, who knows what might happen!

What a stunning night in Liverpool, bless you Phil Collins, the determination and strength it takes to overcome the pain and deliver a show of that calibre for the fans is remarkable. I must mention Nic Collins as well, a real talent, they say the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree and that is certainly the case with Nic. He can really play! What an amazing night of music. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I feel blessed to have witnessed such an amazing show. Phil, Tony and Mike, hats off to you! Thank you for the music.