2, 3 December 2021 | Genesis live in PHILADELPHIA | reports **SPOILERS**

Here's some (incomplete) videos I shot from the December 3 show.

Mama:

Tonight Tonight Tonight:

Firth Of Fifth:

Dancing With The Moonlit Knight:

Domino:

Duchess

Fading Lights / Cinema Show / Afterglow:

I saw the Friday show. Very disappointed in Phil. They need to drop Turn it on again. Phil could not sing it. He was very weak on Domino. His son was beyond expectations. Tony, Mike, and Daryl were the typical top notch musicians. I was apprehensive about an acoustic Lamb, but it was very good.

Quote from Smallcrep

I saw the Friday show. Very disappointed in Phil. They need to drop Turn it on again. Phil could not sing it. He was very weak on Domino. His son was beyond expectations. Tony, Mike, and Daryl were the typical top notch musicians. I was apprehensive about an acoustic Lamb, but it was very good.

Surprised to hear you say that.

I went both nights. I thought Phil sounded pretty strong for the most part. A couple of brief wobbly moments, but overall I thought he did a very good job.

The two shows were filmed by "Duke Albert" ! Thank you very much.

Philly looked liked it rocked. I should have gone to both nights, like I did in 07.

What a great Genesis town.

Quote from Methos

Philly looked liked it rocked. I should have gone to both nights, like I did in 07.

What a great Genesis town.

They played three shows in 2007 - did you make all three?

Yes, Philadelphia loves Genesis - it was a great show last night, and the crowd let them know how much they were/are/always will be loved.

Quote from rlj1010

Surprised to hear you say that.

I went both nights. I thought Phil sounded pretty strong for the most part. A couple of brief wobbly moments, but overall I thought he did a very good job.

I concur. I went in thinking that Phil's performance would be potentially concerning, but, IMHO, he did as well as could reasonably be expected, and most of the night he was very good (I saw last night's show only).

Instrumentally, they were, of course, brilliant.

Now, I am finally rested enough to give a review.

Well, the short version is that I was very pleased with last night's show. I couldn't have my band come to town for two shows and not see at least one of them for their final live shows in Philadelphia. "Sticker shock" over the prices for the tickets prevented me from going to the first show; however, once the second show was announced, I was sure to get a ticket. Obviously, I'm very glad I did.

Musically, the band was great from start to finish. There has to be something about genetics too. Just as Jason Bonham sounds almost exactly like his dad John Bonham when he drums on Led Zeppelin songs, Nic Collins sounds just like his dad playing Genesis songs. I now understand better why Phil wanted Nic to be the drummer for this tour too. We all love Chester Thompson; however, for what is Genesis' farewell tour, I see why Phil was eager to have Nic there. Mike, Tony, and Daryl were great because...they are Mike, Tony, and Daryl, respectively.

As I alluded to in an earlier post, I had properly tempered expectations about Phil's vocal performance. Phil's health challenges existed even before the 2007 tour, and those only got doubly bad after it. It's also 14 years later, and Phil (and the rest of the band) were "old" in 2007. So, anyone thinking he was going to be vocally as he was 14 years ago (let alone even longer ago) just had too high of expectations. Having said all that, I was very pleasantly surprised at how well he did. He is definitely doing better than he did for some of the UK shows. I wasn't sure how I would take to the backing singers, but they were employed really well! They picked up the notes that were beyond Phil's ability to intone, but they were not obtrusive at all. They were perfectly complementary.

When the band played "Misunderstanding" instead of "Duchess" in Chicago earlier in the tour, I had strongly mixed emotions. Now, I like "Misunderstanding" - it was second song that I ever heard that I knew as a Genesis song (the first being, of course, "Follow You, Follow Me"). Having said that, my familiarity with the Genesis canon has been complete for decades now, and I didn't want to hear "Misunderstanding" live at the expense of hearing "Duchess" live - that's too high of a price to pay! I had never heard "Duchess" live in person before last night, but now I have heard it and it was wonderful! The light show during it was very cool as well (in fact, the visuals were awesome for the entire show).

A few more notes on some of the songs. Overall, the show felt like an encore version, as it were, of the 2007 tour. The walk-on music was the same, many of the same songs were performed, etc. However, this is not meant to be a negative comment; I liked the 2007 tour and, since that tour was supposed to be their retirement tour and now this one actually is, it's quite appropriate to have some shared elements. They also updated things well too. I loved how the light show filled the entire arena, and not just the bit by the stage. That lighting created some wonderful overlapping and multi-layering of lights - in short, you could see and appreciate the space in the entire arena, both lit and unlit, as part of the show. In fact, the spread-out arrangement of the lights made the people in the audience feel like part of the visuals. It was a very effective display.

Just as there were in 2007, there were lowered keys of songs. The only song where I was concerned whether or not Tony, Mike, and Daryl would have enough strings/keys to play at the low end was "Domino". "In The Glow Of The Night" was a bit lugubrious-sounding; however, "The Last Domino" sounded absolutely fine. There were other songs that were in the same key as 2007 - in fact, "No Son Of Mine" sounded darn close to its original key. The only instrumental glitch I detected was during "The Cinema Show", and I'm not sure that wasn't actually a temporary malfunction of equipment and/or poor choice of lever-moving at the mixing board. It lasted for a couple of seconds, and then was fine again. (This glitch might have been in a different song, but I'm pretty sure it was "The Cinema Show.)

Some songs with the altered keys actually bring out something special in the songs. Just like in 2007, the lowered key of "Mama" actually suited the song well, and made it extra dark. The same with HBTS/SHBTS. The light display for both of those songs was eerie in a good way too.

The acoustic section was always a part of the show, once I learned of it, that I had potential reservations in advance. Would the songs work that way? Of course, "That's All" and "Follow You, Follow Me" worked just fine that way. Would TLLDOB work, though? Well, all I can say is this - was it my favorite version of the song? No, it wasn't. Did I hate it? No, I didn't. What I did notice about it, though (and I have to wonder if this is what Tony, Mike, and Phil had in mind when they came up with it), is how much it sounded like a Broadway musical version of TLLDOB, just as if it had been adapted for a Broadway play/musical. If so, then their adaptation was very clever, almost a musical pun. Maybe they will let us know someday...

The "Firth Of Fifth/IKWILIYW" section was wonderful. Great historical visuals again - both Peter and Steve were included. Phil's playing the tambourine while seated was both fun and poignant - it reminded you of how he used to play it, and revealed that he couldn't do it that way anymore. However, I admired his/their bravery for keeping this mini-medley in the set. The show would have been poorer without it.

The closing of the show was very moving. The "DWTMK/Carpet Crawlers" pairing was done before on a tour long ago (either on the "Duke" tour or on the "A Trick Of The Tail" tour - I'll check later). Appropriate to hear them joined again for the last tour. The crowd sung loudly throughout. During this song, and throughout the whole show, the love for the band from the Philadelphia crowd was absolutely palpable. The whole band felt it. During the band introductions, Tony and Mike got very prolonged and loud adulation from the crowd - they were visibly moved by it, and this from guys who are very good at maintaining traditional English reserve. Of course, Phil always gets a loud ovation, but, just when you think someone like him would be jaded by such a reception, even he was humbled by the volume and duration of it. Even Daryl and Nic got vociferous admiration, and both deserved it. At the end, they took a whole group bow, and then bows from the main three. ("And Then There Were Three", incarnate, as it were...) The ovation wouldn't stop. Even after they left the stage, the ovation wouldn't stop. In fact, there was so long of a delay after they left, it did feel like they might have been at least somewhat contemplating coming back on stage. Lots of people halfway walking out to go home/halfway staying at their seats. Finally, the disappointing raising of the lights came, and the show was over.

A couple of more observations...just as with Montreal and Toronto, Philadelphia also got their own city-specific t-shirt, highlighting each of the places they played there from 1974 until 2021. I bought that shirt as soon as I saw it. After the show, that shirt was sold out everywhere (fear not, if you missed it - it's already available for pre-order at their online shop). I suspect that NYC will get a similar shirt, possibly Boston too. If I go in person on Monday in NYC (and I''m seriously considering it), I'll let you know. However, I'm sure that someone will let us know who attends Sunday's show later today if such a shirt is for sale.

Some things occurred to me during all of the reports from the UK tour a few weeks ago. One is "don't trust YouTube videos to be your one and only arbiter on whether or not to attend a show". I have seen many an act that looked/sounded completely underwhelming on YouTube that looked/sounded absolutely great in person. Now, for this tour, I assiduously avoided watching videos from earlier shows; I wanted to have fresh eyes/ears for my show. I'm soooooo glad I did that. It was a real treat to be surprised, just like the old days, really...

A related thing occurred to me as well over the past few months: "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." If a band - any band - has to sound like they did near/at their prime, even when they are years and years after their prime, in order for a particular person to be satisfied with a given show/tour, how does such a person go to any show for a mature band? You would have to know in advance that you are going to be disappointed, wouldn't you? Going back to the previous point, I've lost count of people I've observed on some forums who decided not to go to one of these shows simply from seeing You Tube clips from an earlier show. What a shame - they just denied themselves a great evening of music unnecessarily.

This tour is good, period - very, very good. And, unlike the 2007 tour which was thought to be the end, this tour really is the end. If you have any doubts about seeing them, and you are a true all-eras Genesis fan, dismiss those reservations and catch one of the remaining shows. Are they as relatively "perfect" as they were in the 70s, 80s, or 90s? No. Are they still putting on a show that is worth seeing for a Genesis fan - HELL, YES!!!

One final thought - I didn't think long ago that I would want to buy any DVD/BluRay of this tour if they released one next year or later. Well, I was wrong - I would definitely buy one if they release one. The show was engaging both visually and musically and, IMHO, would be worth owning.

Well, I think that's enough of a review for one show. As I alluded to earlier, I was so impressed by this show that I may try to catch Monday's show in Madison Square Garden. If I go, there will be another (shorter) review coming. I'm out...

P.S. Just one more observation… 😄

This was the first Genesis tour since the CAS tour to feature a single drummer; it was also the first Genesis tour with Phil in the band with a single drummer since the “Lamb” tour! 😮

Of course, I always liked the double drummer lineups for Genesis live. However, it was also interesting to see Genesis with a single drummer too, just like the early days. It gives a sense of things coming full circle, in a way.

We all knew that Phil’s vocal range would be limited. That being said I was pleasantly surprised at how he totally nailed Mama. I thought he would struggle with it but he was great. And in all fairness those youtube vids from the European leg did not do Phil or the rest of the band any justice.

Quote from The Lamb

We all knew that Phil’s vocal range would be limited. That being said I was pleasantly surprised at how he totally nailed Mama. I thought he would struggle with it but he was great. And in all fairness those youtube vids from the European leg did not do Phil or the rest of the band any justice.

I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said here. 👍

Quote from rlj1010

Surprised to hear you say that.

I went both nights. I thought Phil sounded pretty strong for the most part. A couple of brief wobbly moments, but overall I thought he did a very good job.

"For the most part" is not acceptable to me. Bands have canceled shows in the middle of the concert for quality problems less than Phil's. They should have hired Gary O'Toole to fill in.

Quote from Smallcrep

"For the most part" is not acceptable to me. Bands have canceled shows in the middle of the concert for quality problems less than Phil's. They should have hired Gary O'Toole to fill in.

Sounds like you'd be better off seeing a cover band. Me, I'm there to see Genesis.

For me, Phil sounded great for 95% of the time in Philly. That's still a solid A. If you expect absolute perfection from a (nearly) 71 year old man, then I just don't know what to tell you. Stay home and play your records. Have a good one!

95% is high. If it wasn't for the money. Tony would cancel the tour now. I do not know of any band that goes out and tours and is not 100%.

Quote from Smallcrep

95% is high. If it wasn't for the money. Tony would cancel the tour now. I do not know of any band that goes out and tours and is not 100%.

Guesssing you haven't been to many concerts in the last 20 years, especially by artists who were big in the 60's, 70's and 80's and are still touring.

Go check out Paul McCartney and let's compare his latter day live vocals to Phil's.

Also, Phil was hardly the only one to make any mistakes in Philly.

Check out about 2:50 for this debacle:

Quote from Smallcrep

95% is high. If it wasn't for the money. Tony would cancel the tour now. I do not know of any band that goes out and tours and is not 100%.

Did you talk to Tony to get that info? Seriously, I am so tired of people ripping on Tony for made-up reasons on this board and others.

Quote from Henry Hamilton-Smythe

Did you talk to Tony to get that info? Seriously, I am so tired of people ripping on Tony for made-up reasons on this board and others.

I’m not so sure he’s ripping into Tony, so to speak, as much as making an obviously ridiculous statement and invoking Tony’s name to make is seem more “reasonable”.

Mentioning Tony in this way really proves the false nature of the statement. When they make a decision about anything concerning the group, it is done as a group - all three are in agreement. If there is even one dissenting vote, the plan is rejected, whatever it is.

Thus, the fact that the tour is continuing must prove that Tony (& Mike and Phil) are happy with how things are going, in spite of one fan apparently not liking the vocals on two songs at one show.

Good for them - onward until the end of the tour! 👍

Quote from Smallcrep

95% is high. If it wasn't for the money. Tony would cancel the tour now. I do not know of any band that goes out and tours and is not 100%.

You must not be aware of many bands…

A late report here... my wife & I enjoyed the Dec 2nd show. I've been a fan of the band since Abacab, but never got to see them back in the 80s, nor on the 2007 tour, so I was very happy to finally have a chance to see them on this final tour. Excellent show, I'm so glad we went! It was rather sad to see how limited Phil's motion is, but he is still an amazing performer and the audience showed he & the band tons of love!

Our seats were "nosebleeds", 2nd-to-last row near the back/left of the arena. We got to our seats a full hour before showtime. I had just finished reading through the tour program when an attendant handed us new tickets to lower level seats with a side-stage view - row 15 behind Tony! As a keyboardist it was great to have a closer view to his rig and watch him play from a closer vantage point.