The whole raison d'etre for this journey was to see Phil Collins, a musician whom I have loved for over 35 years, which just made me sound incredibly old. I have been lucky enough to see him solo, with Genesis and once with Eric Clapton. A few years ago, when he released "Going Back", he did a limited number of shows in New York City and Philadelphia, and I thought about going, but eventually decided against it. Even though he has said those weren't the best shows he ever did, I still wish I would have gone, so when he announced his limited shows in Europe, with no promise of US shows, I knew what I had to do. I missed out on the London tickets, but was able to grab two tickets to two shows in Paris, including a sound check package, and both nights with decent seats. That was way back in October, and it seemed like it would never get here, but it did. The first night, Sunday, 18 June, was the night of the sound check package, which included a souvenir book, pre-concert drinks and nibbles and a chance to listen to the sound check with Phil and the band. We were escorted down into the front of the hall, not the very front, but pretty close, and a lot of the people cheered and tried to get Phil to acknowledge us, which he sort of did; Leland Sklar, the bassist, did wave to us, as did a few of the others. They ran through a few songs (I can't remember any of them, sorry), and after only about 20 minutes, it was over. A little disappointing (I heard this from several of the people there) considering how much the ticket cost, but even so, it was a pretty unique experience.
The sets were the same both nights, and in fact, have pretty much been the same for all of the shows thus far, except for him dropping a song in the encore for the two shows I attended. Phil's energy seemed much better the second night, he was a lot more engaging, making jokes, a little more chatty than Sunday night (night number two was Tuesday); I put it down to the heat, because it was like a sauna in the AccorArena in Bercy Sunday night. Phil walked on stage, with a cane due to back and nerve problems, to a massive welcome, and he took a seat at the front of the stage. He opened the night with "Against All Odds" which is not my favorite song, but live I can tolerate it. The band moved into "Another Day in Paradise" and then "One More Night" before doing the slightly rockier "Wake Up Call" from the Testify album (an underrated album, but I really like it), and then Phil introduced a song from his Genesis years, which received rousing applause, "Follow You, Follow Me" accompanied by video clips of his past band mates, including Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett, which gave me goosebumps (and I'm not alone in that). The audience sang along, and it was a great treat.
"Can't Turn Back the Years" is from Both Sides, which Phil has said is his favorite and most personal album, and I have listened to it quite a lot, and it can be hard to listen to because it's pretty heavy and almost like you're eavesdropping on a personal conversation. The tempo picked up again with "I Missed Again" and "Hang in Long Enough", two of my favorites, mainly because they incorporate the horn section so well, which is one of Phil's strengths, in my opinion. The horns rocked, and really got the audience on their feet. "Separate Lives", the Stephen Bishop song featured in the film White Knights, was next and Bridget Bryant came down to join Phil. Not one of my top twenty songs, but it's a way to feature a great vocalist like Bridget (the trio of back up singers including Amy Keys, Lamont Van Hook and Bridget Bryant are tremendous vocalists). The first set ended with "Only You Know and I Know" from No Jacket Required, and is another one of the songs I could listen to over and over. There was an intermission which featured some clever 'adverts' selling products with Genesis and Phil Collins song titles, "Invisible Touch Air Freshener" and the hair salon "Su-su-sudio".
The second half of the show kicked off with a great drum duet with Nic Collins (yes, Phil's 16 year old son) and percussionist, Luis Conte; it was reminiscent of the drum duets that Phil used to do with Chester Thompson. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss Chester, not that Nic wasn't fabulous, he honestly was, I was hoping for the dueling drums, but realize now that two full sized drum kits would have been overkill. Nic was great, playing hard when he needed to, and gently when called for, just like his dad was so great at doing, playing the right stuff at the right time. He was even wearing Converse sneakers like Phil used to wear when playing the drums. The drum duet led into "Do You Know, Do You Care" from "Hello, I Must Be Going", which is a better album than a lot of people think, even Phil. "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" got the crowd going again, before we sat down for a very touching moment, with Nic playing piano on "You Know What I Mean" from "Face Value", just father and son, it was very emotional.
Then, you could feel it "In the Air Tonight", which was not as powerful as it was when Phil would do it, walking menacingly around the stage, and then the two drums, but it was still very good, and everyone still did the air drumming. It was the one song Phil said he was going to try and drum, but he wasn't up to it. The old chestnut "You Can't Hurry Love" was next, and I love Motown, but I am a little tired of that song. "Dance into the Light" from the album of the same name was next, and I have never heard that live, not seeing that tour, but it is a song that I enjoy; it was another one that made great use of the band's tremendous sound. A lot of people have heard "Invisible Touch", but not like this: horn section and backing vocals, and a little different arrangement and everyone was dancing. "Easy Lover" the song Phil wrote with Philip Bailey and Nathan East for Bailey's Chinese Wall album (Phil produced the album and it's quite good) was up next, and has gotten different treatments over the years, depending on the backing vocalists; this version featured Amy Keys and Lamont Van Hook singing with Phil, Amy playfully rubbing his bald head, and Phil responding, enjoying the teasing. "Sussudio" ended the night, and streamers and confetti came down on the band and parts of the audience; again, not one of the songs I have in my rotation, but it seems expected, and live, it takes on a different feel. I would say this is true with Phil and Genesis songs; there are many songs that I find to be weak on the albums, but when heard live, they come alive and have a totally different feel. The concert was officially ended with "Take Me Home", which made me kind of sad, knowing this could be the last time I see Phil Collins play live, depending on if he tours the US, and if I can go. I want to make sure to mention, the band; most of the musicians have toured with Phil before, some have played on his albums as well, and they really seem to enjoy being onstage together. Daryl Steurmer, who toured with Genesis and has toured with Phil since the beginning of his solo days, was on lead guitar, and plays so many of those familiar notes, was rock solid; Ronnie Caryl, Phils' mate for over 50 years was on acoustic and rhythm guitar; Leland Sklar, who, along with Nathan East, has played bass with Phil since "No Jacket Required", and he is so great to listen to, and I could really pick up the bass in the sound; Luis Conte on percussion; the Vine Street Horns, led by Harry Kim add something to every song they play on, and while Phil couldn't move around, they did, as well as Bridget, Amy and Lamont, which helped the energy; Brad Cole has been Phil'slongtime keyboardist and he did a little something different with the intro to "In the Air Tonight"; and Nic Collins on drums and piano, I don't know if he is better than Phil at his healthiest, but I don't like those kind of comparisons, he was really freaking good, and seemed to enjoy the time with his dad and being a part of a great band.
The whole evening had a weird bittersweet feel (for me), seeing a man whose music I have enjoyed for such a long time and enjoyed his active and lively shows have to sit down for the whole time. His voice isn't what it used to be, and there were moments he let the back up singers just sing, or the audience, but, I still had a blast. There were videos from the early concerts, and I was worried, because he didn't sound good, but he sounded better than good the nights I saw him, and he enjoyed it, and I didn't meet anyone who was disappointed. Of course, there is a list a mile long of songs I wanted to hear, but you can't have everything. I'm so glad I went.
