Liverpool Philharmonic Hall – 24/04/23
I had the pleasure of watching Genesis’ ‘Last Domino’ tour in the Liverpool M&S arena a few years ago and to now witness co founder Mike Rutherford play the much smaller intimate venue, Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall was going to be a real treat.
With no support, the band kicked off at half 7 and would play a set of two halves, the crowd was a mix of Genesis fans and also MATM fans too! This was going to be a special night.
Kicking off with ‘Get Up’ followed by ‘A Beggar on a Beach of Gold’, this was a great opening to the show. Vocalists Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar bouncing off each other perfectly, both delivering a real personal touch, even picking audience members out and singing little bits directly to them, surely giving the fans some great videos that they can take to work and show their colleagues the following day!
Keys player Luke Juby made up the band alongside guitarist Anthony Drennan, Nic Collins on drums and Mr Mike Rutherford himself, such a mighty fine set of musicians on display! ‘Another Cup of Coffee’ follows and this is the first real fan singalong moment. A great moment pretty early on in the show!
We were promised a light sprinkling of Genesis, and true to their word, Mike and the gang play ‘Jesus He Knows Me’ next. Mike introduced the song, saying that when they wrote it, Tony Banks was concerned about the fan reaction, especially from audience members in the Deep South of America, to which Mike explained that the musicians in the band would be fine and it would in fact be the singer that got the bulk of stuff thrown at him! Luckily, no such thing happened at the Philharmonic and the band survived!!
The first set was flying by, new (ish) song ‘Let Me Fly’ followed and it was great to hear the newer material and see it get pretty much the same reaction as the classics. I wasn’t familiar with this one, but it was such an ear worm, and I was singing it all the way home! I must listen to the rest of that album!
‘The Beast is Yet to Come’ and ‘Silent Running’ bring the first half to a close and after a quick interlude, we’re back for part two. We are greeted to the band set up at the front of the stage with acoustics and are treated to an acoustic medley. A few Mechanics snippets and a couple more Genesis songs; ‘Invisible Touch’ and ‘Follow You Follow Me’ – a rare treat seeing the stripped down versions of these songs.
The acoustics are cleared away and Mike straps on his strat again and launches into the ‘I Can’t Dance’ riff, as the band gradually re join. I’m delighted to see a little of the infamous dance too, which gets a little cheer from the crowd! A great rendition!
The ‘book of Genesis’ is now firmly shut, and a quick dive into Andrew Roachford’s ‘Cuddly Toy’ provides a nice Segway into ‘Living Years’. A great moment in the show, I was surprised this wasn’t the bands finale song; but now, taking us through to the end of the show is all out Mechanics material.
The final song of the night sees the whole crowd on their feet, ‘Word of Mouth’ includes some great audience participation and features the band introductions, Andrew Roachford channels a bit of Stevie Wonder with a bit of Superstition, Nic Collins plays a thunderous drum solo and Mike tips his hat to guitar legend Jimi Hendrix, with a bit of ‘Purple Haze’. Amazing!
What a fantastic night, I thoroughly enjoyed the show and the band were all having a great time on that stage. In fact, I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more, the band or the audience! The ‘Refuelled’ tour is a great show and if you haven’t seen it, you’re missing a treat.
