|
 |
||||
|
Of mainstream setlists and (the hope for) more |
||||
This time, there is not particular theme or motto to the stage. It is a conventional stage at the end of the theatre or stadium. It fits large indoor venues well and does not look flimsy in open-air venues. The only thing substantially larger outside than indoors are the video-screens on either side. They show what’s happening onstage for most of the songs. There are two levels on stage, with the upper level just a kind of footbridge. That is where the backing vocalists or the brass group stand for some songs, and sometimes Phil walks across it. On the lower lever, the audience will notice Chester’s drumkit on the left-hand side of the stage. Luis Conte and his percussion are centre-stage and to the right there is Phil’s seat for those too rare occasions when he is needed there. In The Air Tonight has Phil ambling calmly up and down the stage. When he needs to sit down at the drums he is so far away from them that you wonder how on Earth he’ll ever make it on time. Suddenly an additional drumkit is raised behind the stage, gleaming in a very bright white light, Phil sits down on cue and off we go through a thunderstorm of drums and lights. The stage looks very cold and metallic. The backdrop is a large screen of sorts onto which animations are projected in a very low resolution. We see a rainbow for True Colors, two hands reaching for each other for Come With Me, bits of the old I Missed Again video or, at the end of the show, the name of the city they’re playing that night for Take Me Home. That idea did not always work out alright. The projection in Wien (Vienna) did not read ‘Wien’ oder ‘Vienna’ but ‘Wein’ [which would be pronounced ‘vine’ instead of proper ‘veen’; translator’s note]. In Berlin it briefly read ‘Stockholm’, where they had played the day before, then it vanished, but ‘Berlin’ did not appear. Someone obviously forgot to re-program the projection. But these are minor problems and you could not tell from the première in Milan that that was the première. The band had evidently rehearsed long enough – a tell-tale sign of Phil’s professionalism and perfectionism. As announced, the setlist did not change very much during the European tour. On My Way was dropped from the third show to be played just once more at the fourth to last show in Lisbon. Apart from that, they seemed to have found the ideal set. For special occasions, Always was added as first encore. That happened in Stuttgart, because it was the last gig in Germany, and in London because Phil’s whole family, including his mother, where there and because, as Phil said, it was her [his mother’s] favourite song. On the last but one gig in his new hometown of Geneva he could not finish It’s Not Too Late, breaking out into tears – It must have affected him deeply, especially since the song concerns his family, too. The final gig of the tour took place at the famous Montreux Jazz Festival. In the days leading up to the Montreux show, some new songs including The West Side, Lady Madonna and Inside Out were played in rehearsals, but hopes were disappointed as the usual set list was played. Europe was a massive good-bye, with all the largest venues and stadiums packed with audiences. Cut. Phil Collins in North America. If playing France and Germany is a match on his own turf, playing North America is closer to an away game. Sure enough, he is still very popular there, but he does not draw as big audiences as in the times of … But Seriously. This, however shows in his CD sales rather than ticket sales. Shortly after the tour was announced, shows in New York, Toronto, Montreal and Philadelphia were sold out so that there were extra shows in New York and Philadelphia. Other cities showed full, but rarely sold-out venues. Sound checks in Europe raised suspicions that Phil would change the set list. Change it did, but not to the extent that was expected. Instead of Inside Out or The West Side Phil had a different surprise in store: Misunderstanding rocked the audiences with their massive brass sound and left the died-in-the-wool fans in particular ecstatic. This song was praised everywhere, and it should not be forgotten that Misunderstanding was Genesis’ first real bit hit in the U.S. – The rest of the setlist remained, except for No Way Out - which was soon dropped. Phil’s farewell tour through North America took him to places where he’d always celebrated big successes both with Genesis and in his own right. Whenever a member of the band plays Montreal, this Genesis stronghold is euphoric. Daryl Stuermer was particularly celebrated in his home town of Milwaukee, and ‘back in’ N.Y.C. people flipped big time for two days. Phil kept raising hopes that he might perhaps return with Genesis (“I’ll be back, see ya!”). Every evening was an emotional tour de force, what with the flood of ballads and his intention of leaving. Collins catered to the masses which left the big fans somewhat disappointed. It was a perfect show, no doubt about it, and the musicians were top notch, too. Many may have hoped for something off the beaten track, for You Know What I Mean or I Don’t Care Anymore or The West Side. There was no song from the Both Sides album, either. The tour is not over yet. In 2005, Phil is going to hit ‘the rest of the world’. We will see if his set list varies a little bit more. What remains for fans in Europe and the United States? Gratitude for the numerous tours and concerts Phil played. And hope. Hope for Genesis, because hope dies last. Written by Volker Warncke and Christian Gerhardts Photos: Roxan Carle (7-16), Helmut Janisch (1-6 + Lightshow) Translation by Martin Klinkhardt Links: Tour Rehearsals 2004 in Neuchatel Finally…The First Farewell Tour (DVD) |
