One fan's opinion:
My wife and I were very fortunate to attend the November 15, 2021 show in Chicago. As with the Phil Collins "Not Dead Yet" tour I splurged and purchased 4th row VIP dinner seats. The dinner was fabulous with a huge variety of food and drink choices all included. Then came the trivia contest. Egads. By no means have I ever said I was a Genesis trivia expert. I hate competition and started to sweat. From the 10 questions they asked I'm confident I got 9 correct (let's just say I didn't remember the correct order of previous drummers but I got the first name correct on the answer!). While I didn't make the lightning round to win the "special" prize I knew every answer to the 15 or so questions they asked so I walked away feeling ok. They also had a poll of how many time you had seen Genesis and the winner was 33 times!
Then onto the show...I went there not expecting anything and not knowing what they had played previously at earlier shows. I value the element of surprise and knowing that songs change between legs of tours I didn't want to be disappointed expecting to hear a particular song. For the most part I got what I expected. A 2 hour plus show from a band I've been following since 1980. My personal highlight was "Afterglow" which has always been a favorite of mine and was so glad it was part of the show. I grabbed my wife's hand as tears filled my eyes and ran down my face knowing this would be the last time I would hear such a beautiful song live in concert. I was disappointed to read we did not get to hear "Duchess" as that would have been a true highlight for me as well coming from the album that started it all for me.
Nic Collins' drumming was superb and I think it's such a fitting tribute to play for his father honoring the legacy that Phil gave us all those tours ago. I could think of no-one else filling those shoes. Mike Rutherford was more lively than usual being fairly animated onstage I thought then in previous outings I've witnessed. Tony Banks was his usual serious "get the job done" attitude with just a glimpse of a smile at times which is why my wife has always called him "smiley." Daryl was outstanding as usual and with my wife and I being from Wisconsin we have seen him numerous times with his own bands and he definitely never disappoints. Truly a class act every time. The two background singers helped to fill out the vocals for Phil and were a helpful addition in moving things along. We noticed Phil had lyrics for each song printed on laminated sheets which he would deposit into a receptacle after each song. With a few missteps on lyrics throughout the show all in all it was the Phil Collins we all know and love.
My ending thoughts:
I came away feeling it can now be time to close the book on seeing Genesis live for the rest of my life. After seeing Genesis only 4 times and Phil Collins 6 times I feel that I've had a good run. I have to admit I would have rather hoped against hope for a new Genesis album rather than see them go on tour. I still hold hope that could happen and that "Calling All Stations" wouldn't be the final release in their catalog. However, everyone that has followed this band for whatever reason can all agree we have all been part of something special that can't be described to others. We all have the greatest of memories which will live on forever.
Thank you Genesis (past and present) for enriching our lives...