My wife and I went to the Genesis “The Last Domino?” concert at Madison Square Garden last night. We barely caught a 6:29 train into Penn Station and got through the health and security screenings fairly quickly through the VIP entrance where much merch and swag bags awaited those who purchased suites and expensive packages. We made our way to our upper level aisle seats for the 8:15 start of the show. This crowd was visibly old with a lot of hip and knee replacements in the crowd and folks struggling to navigate the stairs. A guy seating behind us had a nice consistent cough going but at least he was wearing a mask. When the band hit the spacious stage Phil Collins appeared sitting in an office rolling chair (Dave Grohl had enough sense to perform on a throne while on a stadium tour when he broke his leg a few years back). I know that Mr. Collins has had his share of medical issues but it was unsettling, and sad, to see how unwell he looked. This is likely a final tour for the band; I get the nostalgia angle and victory lap, but while the sound and band sounded pretty good, Collins’ vocals were awful; Phil’s voice is shot. Who had the bright idea to book two nights in a row at the Garden; one can only hope for those who shelled out the $300 plus dollars for tickets on Sunday night heard a better performance from Phil Collins, who unfortunately can no longer play percussion (his son mans the drums this tour) and is relegated to looking uncomfortable in his chair during long instrumental passages. I was not digging the concert right from the start, but when the smoke machine filled the stage a few songs in, it made me think how the Spinal Tap movie might have turned out if it had been about a progressive pop band. When you are checking the railroad schedule an hour into the performance it is rarely a good sign. The concert made us sad so we left early to beat the crowd as these indoor events in this time of Covid is a little unsettling even with vaccination requirements to attend.
Land of Confusion
Rock on!
GQ