Post by Triple J on Sept 13, 2004 18:34:28 GMT -5
On Saturday, September 11th, I went to see Phil Collins at the Gund Arena in Cleveland. I had never before seen him in person, and he was billing this as his "First Final Farewell Tour," 
so I figured now was the time to go see him!
I always like to get a program book at every show I go to, and the one for this tour was very nice! It came with a printed cardboard slipcover, and in the book, lots of GREAT rare photos, including one with a bearded Phil singing on stage with Peter Gabriel, probably taken towards the end of Peter's stint with Genesis.
There were very few empty seats at the Gund, considering the date of the show. I sat waaaaaaaay up in the back, but I could see everything. The stage was gigantic! Two sets of staircases on both sides, a long platform in the back, and behind it a huge wide screen that looked like a giant Lite Brite. There were two more big TV screens, one on each side. The show started with "dueling drums:" a trio of Phil, his drummer Chester Thompson, and percussionist Luis Conte. The crowd loved it! Then the rest of the band came out, the stage lit up, and we were officially under way. Phil's voice did not sound very strong at first, but soon got a lot better. After the first few songs, a very funny moment when Phil was talking to the crowd, and saw a woman in the front with a cell phone. He asked her if he could borrow it, and he said on the phone "I was just saying... we're going to perform songs from the last 25 years of my career..." That was great!
The band included: Brad Cole on keyboards, Ronnie Caryl on guitar, the Vine Street Horns with Gerald Albright on saxophone, the bearded one Leland Sklar on bass, and of course Daryl Stuermer on lead guitar. And there were six, count 'em SIX backup singers! The setlist was the major reason why I wanted to go... it was unbelievable... hit after hit after hit! Only one Genesis song, "Misunderstanding," and there were three newer tracks from Phil's latest album "Testify." Here are the songs:
Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
Against All Odds
Don't Lose My Number
You'll Be In My Heart
One More Night
Can't Stop Loving You
Hang In Long Enough
True Colors
Come With Me
Groovy Kind Of Love
I Missed Again
Another Day In Paradise
Misunderstanding
Separate Lives
In The Air Tonight
Dance Into The Light
You Can't Hurry Love
Two Hearts
Wear My Hat
Easy Lover
Sussudio
Encores:
It's Not Too Late
another drum trio
Take Me Home
I REALLY enjoyed it! I was bopping my head and playing "air drums" in my seat the whole time! Throughout the night, Phil displayed his sense of humor with some wacky dance moves, and some clowning with the backup singers, especially during "Wear My Hat." The audience really ate up "In The Air Tonight," with its spooky light effects and haunting guitar by Daryl. Phil sloooooowly walked up the stairs to the back platform, where a drum kit was sloooooowly rising up from a trap door, and then when Phil sat down and banged on those drums, the place went nuts! Later on, Phil walked down to the front row of the audience and let one person after another sing "ohhhhhhhh, SU-SU-SSUDIO!" And at the finale "Take Me Home," he urged the crowd to sing "take me ho - whoa - home... take me ho- whoa - oh - whoa - hooooome..." and then he went "take me ho - whoa - oh - whoa - oh" for like 20 seconds, and then motioned for the crowd to sing that whole thing! The whole "First Final Farewell" thing is just so coy. Phil said a few times "this is the last tour..." and the fans let him know "NO IT'S NOT!" You just never know with a guy like Phil. Anyway, I had a BLAST! This was one of the most fun times I ever had at a concert.
so I figured now was the time to go see him!I always like to get a program book at every show I go to, and the one for this tour was very nice! It came with a printed cardboard slipcover, and in the book, lots of GREAT rare photos, including one with a bearded Phil singing on stage with Peter Gabriel, probably taken towards the end of Peter's stint with Genesis.
There were very few empty seats at the Gund, considering the date of the show. I sat waaaaaaaay up in the back, but I could see everything. The stage was gigantic! Two sets of staircases on both sides, a long platform in the back, and behind it a huge wide screen that looked like a giant Lite Brite. There were two more big TV screens, one on each side. The show started with "dueling drums:" a trio of Phil, his drummer Chester Thompson, and percussionist Luis Conte. The crowd loved it! Then the rest of the band came out, the stage lit up, and we were officially under way. Phil's voice did not sound very strong at first, but soon got a lot better. After the first few songs, a very funny moment when Phil was talking to the crowd, and saw a woman in the front with a cell phone. He asked her if he could borrow it, and he said on the phone "I was just saying... we're going to perform songs from the last 25 years of my career..." That was great!
The band included: Brad Cole on keyboards, Ronnie Caryl on guitar, the Vine Street Horns with Gerald Albright on saxophone, the bearded one Leland Sklar on bass, and of course Daryl Stuermer on lead guitar. And there were six, count 'em SIX backup singers! The setlist was the major reason why I wanted to go... it was unbelievable... hit after hit after hit! Only one Genesis song, "Misunderstanding," and there were three newer tracks from Phil's latest album "Testify." Here are the songs:
Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
Against All Odds
Don't Lose My Number
You'll Be In My Heart
One More Night
Can't Stop Loving You
Hang In Long Enough
True Colors
Come With Me
Groovy Kind Of Love
I Missed Again
Another Day In Paradise
Misunderstanding
Separate Lives
In The Air Tonight
Dance Into The Light
You Can't Hurry Love
Two Hearts
Wear My Hat
Easy Lover
Sussudio
Encores:
It's Not Too Late
another drum trio
Take Me Home
I REALLY enjoyed it! I was bopping my head and playing "air drums" in my seat the whole time! Throughout the night, Phil displayed his sense of humor with some wacky dance moves, and some clowning with the backup singers, especially during "Wear My Hat." The audience really ate up "In The Air Tonight," with its spooky light effects and haunting guitar by Daryl. Phil sloooooowly walked up the stairs to the back platform, where a drum kit was sloooooowly rising up from a trap door, and then when Phil sat down and banged on those drums, the place went nuts! Later on, Phil walked down to the front row of the audience and let one person after another sing "ohhhhhhhh, SU-SU-SSUDIO!" And at the finale "Take Me Home," he urged the crowd to sing "take me ho - whoa - home... take me ho- whoa - oh - whoa - hooooome..." and then he went "take me ho - whoa - oh - whoa - oh" for like 20 seconds, and then motioned for the crowd to sing that whole thing! The whole "First Final Farewell" thing is just so coy. Phil said a few times "this is the last tour..." and the fans let him know "NO IT'S NOT!" You just never know with a guy like Phil. Anyway, I had a BLAST! This was one of the most fun times I ever had at a concert.
Phil has always been one of my favorite drummers.
