Genesis - The Final Show (London O2 Arena | March 26, 2022)

May 27, 2022 8:43 PM

Genesis - The Final Show (London O2 Arena | March 26, 2022) [2h28m] is a multi-cam fan shot edit of what is probably the last show ever of the rockers. A concert that stretches across their career, features stellar playing from everyone involved (Phil's son on the drums!), and continuing their legacy of groundbreaking light shows and concert presentation going back decades.
posted by hippybear (19 comments total)

So Genesis was a Revelation?

[I’ll show meself out.]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:40 PM on May 27, 2022 [6 favorites]

A bittersweet show, given Phil’s condition. I wouldn’t consider myself a superfan, but I’ve enjoyed their music and it has definitely been part of the soundscape of my life since the ‘80s. It was awesome that they gave this one last performance for the fans. And seeing Phil pass the torch to his son is very touching. Peter Gabriel was there, too!

(This is all the more poignant that comes in the same week that Alan White and Andy Fletcher passed. An era continues to draw to a close.)
posted by darkstar at 9:48 PM on May 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

9-minute excerpt video with Phil’s intro chat and announcement, leading into Land of Confusion.
posted by darkstar at 9:58 PM on May 27, 2022

[I’ll show meself out.]

You should because their first album was From Genesis To Revelation (1969) [44m]
posted by hippybear at 9:59 PM on May 27, 2022 [6 favorites]

Peter was in the audience, but wouldn't even sing one song with his old mates. Jeesh.
posted by Beholder at 10:46 PM on May 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

At one point, Collins announced that Gabriel was in attendance and joked: “Maybe he’s the one shouting for ‘Supper’s Ready’ — I don’t know!” -via
posted by fairmettle at 11:04 PM on May 27, 2022 [5 favorites]

What no Anthony Phillips?
posted by whatevernot at 2:56 AM on May 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

I love old Genesis with a passion, mostly from the albums 'Nursery Cryme' all the way to 'Duke.' After that, they had some good songs, but they really weren't "Genesis" to me anymore.

Sometimes I sing the opening vocal parts of 'Supper's Ready' and 'Selling England by the Pound' out loud when I'm home alone. And I sing bits and pieces of the 'Lamb Lies Down on Broadway' double album quite a bit too. I'm only 51, so their best stuff was from a little before my time, but it really resonates with me, and I listen to these albums around once a year still.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:49 AM on May 28, 2022 [7 favorites]

I haven't watched it yet so this may be covered but: as a fan edit, where is the footage from? People in the crowd? Or were there official videographers, and the fan(s) re-edited their material? Or something else?

Either way, I am going to play it all morning next week when I am the only person home, and turn it up. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:40 AM on May 28, 2022

I was able to catch their show at Madison Square Garden back in December. I had never seen them live before, and have been a big fan since the late 70s. Whenever I see a concert these days, I post my review on my FB page. So rather than type all of this out again here, I'll just cut and paste my previous review below (apologies to those who are professional music critics).

Ok, so here are my thoughts on last night's Genesis show:
1. I have loved this band for like 50 years. Which was the average age of the audience. I was among my peeps, and it was a good thing.
2. The band got a standing O when they walked out onto the stage, which was pretty cool.
3. Phil sat during the entire performance, due to back issues. It was a bit unsettling at first, but after a while, it was perfect. He was the wizened narrator of this amazing musical and lyrical trip that we were on, and it fit.
4. Most of my favorites were front-loaded for the first half. Mama, Home By the Sea (and a fantastic extended Second Home by the Sea), Turn it On Again, Follow You, Follow Me. There were some nice surprises, though: an acoustic Lamb Lies Down, No Son of Mine, Tonight, Tonight, Tonight.
5. The light show and the images on the backscreen were so awesome. And timely. Whoever was in charge of the effects knew what they were doing (and knew the audience).
6. The band was so incredibly tight - Nic Collins sitting in for his dad on drums was SO great. Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks were so on - these dudes are in their 70s and it did not show! Fantastic. And if you know Genesis, drums figure quite prominently - Nic did not disappoint!
7. Phil sang some of the songs in a lower register, which I get, because he's getting older. Still sounded great. When he would talk between songs, the entire venue got quiet and listened. I've never heard a large venue that silent in all my years of large scale concerts. It was so cool.
8. Interestingly, nothing from Abacab (?). There were a few tunes that I was not familiar with, but was awestruck at them anyway. Like I said in a different comment, there was something for all Genesis fans.
9. During Follow You, Follow Me, the entire place lit up their cellphone lights, swaying back and forth and it was so awesome. I swayed my phone AND my lighter (because, I still have one, lol) 🙂
10. This show exceeded my expectations by far. I'm so glad I was there! I'm sure there is more, but I just wanted to get this down. If you love Genesis and have the opportunity, go see them - this is their last tour, and you will regret not seeing them one last time.
posted by sundrop at 6:59 AM on May 28, 2022 [16 favorites]

Also, thanks for the post!
posted by sundrop at 7:01 AM on May 28, 2022

I love old Genesis with a passion, mostly from the albums 'Nursery Cryme' all the way to 'Duke.' After that, they had some good songs, but they really weren't "Genesis" to me anymore.

this is me in a nutshell, though I'd add that from the 1978 departure of Steve Hackett onward, I felt a growing sense of bemusement toward the band previously known as my All Time Fave, which finally manifested in something akin to loathing by the time Invisible Touch was hogging up all the airwaves (though I did have time for that Land of Confusion video).

I really did not like what Phil Collins huge solo success in particular and the 1980s in genera had done to them. And I saw them live in 1984 or thereabouts -- the Mama Tour. And yeah it was big and grand and all that ... but way too much of the setlist just left me cold. Clearly, I was not the target audience anymore.

Anyway, about a month ago I happened upon a clip of the band performing Afterglow from the recent tour ... and there was Mr. Collins sitting, straining to hit the notes (and mostly pulling it off) and my heart suddenly went out to him, to all of them, to all the joy and inspiration they did bring me for a decent chunk of time. It got me listening again to "the old stuff" for the first time in a long time. And the beauty is, it's all still there, ambitious and complex and oft times outright astonishing. Some of the best music anyone anywhere has ever revealed to the world.

So yeah, here's to all that. I've gotten way more than my money's worth over the years




And this is pretty good background -- a series of interview clips from a few years back:

GENESIS REUNION : PETER GABRIEL, TONY BANKS, MIKE RUTHERFORD, PHIL COLLINS, STEVE HACKETT discuss ...

Link is to the first of four clips but the other three are easy to find from there.
posted by philip-random at 1:11 PM on May 28, 2022 [2 favorites]

I really did not like what Phil Collins huge solo success in particular and the 1980s in genera had done to them.

Duke was an interesting inflection point for the band, coming basically at the same time as Face Value and them both being Phil whinging about his divorce. But Duke still shows Genesis to be Tony's band, which of course it was from the beginning. And Tony is still fighting to retain the band even as it's evolving with Phil's success. Abacab is such a peculiar object, it nearly seems to be a direct response to the pop success of Duke and Face Value, and of course it ends up being hugely popular because Genesis is at its best when it is at its weirdest.

But even on the Genesis album and beyond there's Tony making sure he's got his long songs full of lengthy keyboard solos. And goodness, some of those are magnificent. The live version of Fading Lights from the We Can't Dance Volume II The Longs is one of the most thrilling live recordings I've heard them do, and I've heard a LOT by this band.

Anyway, I pretty much love all their stuff individually. I have pieces of it I prefer over others, but there isn't a song that someone can name the title of that doesn't start automatically unspooling in my brain. I was having a devil of a time getting Get 'Em Out By Friday out of my head a couple of days ago FOR NO GOOD REASON.

Saw them in Charlotte in November on this tour. Was so very glad I did (even if that was a cross-country trip for me).
posted by hippybear at 6:55 PM on May 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Wow, I got all kinds of details wrong about that. Fading Lights from The Way We Walk Vol II The Longs [11m]

I know the audio version best, but I believe the CD is identical to this.
posted by hippybear at 7:41 PM on May 28, 2022

a series of interview clips from a few years back

John Edginton has a whole series of really interesting raw interview footage online, from all manner of people. He's really someone worth checking out.

I think these interviews were done for the DVD parts of the full album releases with new mixes and 5.1 surround. It's really great to see them all just sitting and talking. The body language is REALLY fascinating.

Honest to dog, Peter really should have been there to sing Carpet Crawlers. Even as a last minute impromptu thing, that could have happened so easily. His ego is so difficult.

But he's so friendly in these interviews, especially the early ones. And Tony, he so much wants everyone to be friends. Bless him.
posted by hippybear at 8:45 PM on May 28, 2022

Peter Gabriel has given us so much, I don't believe he owes us anything.
posted by fairmettle at 9:18 PM on May 28, 2022 [3 favorites]

Given the state of his career over the past several years, he seems to agree with you.
posted by hippybear at 9:34 PM on May 28, 2022

some of my best friends love the more recent Genesis.

As for Mr. Gabriel, the last album of his I ever genuinely cared about was Passion -- the best thing about Martin Scorcese's Last Temptation of Christ.

[warning: link is to a messiah being crucified]
posted by philip-random at 9:56 PM on May 28, 2022

I thought So, Us, and Up were a worthwhile trilogy about relationships and self-reflection. But the Scratch My Back/I'll Scratch Yours and the New Blood efforts felt much like he had run out of ideas. Maybe he'll create something that perks me up again, but I'm not holding my breath.
posted by hippybear at 10:21 PM on May 28, 2022 [1 favorite]