Irish newspaper review of Point gig

Genesis

The Point Depot

By Kevin Courtney

Within the first hour of Sunday's gig at the
Point, the new model Genesis had dipped
into different stages of their 30-year
career, from the progressive Peter Gabriel
years (The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
and Firth Of Fifth) to the chart-topping
Collins dynasty (Land Of Confusion and No
Son Of Mine), right up to their new album,
Calling All Stations, which has yet to
emulate the success of their mega-selling
1991 set, We Can't Dance.

Making this an all-seater gig was probably
a smart move, because it gave older
Genesis fans time to adjust to the change
and get comfy with the new singer. Ray
Wilson is well up to the job, adding a
rougher edge to Collins's vocal lines, and
performing new songs like Congo and
Calling All Stations with youthful
confidence. His stageside manner is
endearing, as he cracks Daniel O'Donnell
jokes with the audience and laughs about
his own role as a surrogate Phil Collins.

An acoustic interlude allows Wilson to
dabble in such ancient Genesis relics as
Dancing Out With The Moonlit Knight,
Follow You, Follow Me and Supper's
Ready, but he acquits himself best on the
band's new single, Not About Us.

As the show went into its second half,
however, it seemed to lose its punch, and
even a duelling lead guitar exchange
between Mike Rutherford and Irish guitarist
Anthony Drennan failed to lift the sound
above mere musical competence. Mama
was a mischievous, cod-oedipal epic, but it
was the newer, lesser-known track, The
Dividing Line, which saw Genesis Mk.
271/4 really hit their stride.

Invisible Touch, Turn It On Again and
Throwing It All Away brought the crowd to
its feet, after which Wilson did a bit of a
Bono, bringing a young lady up from the
audience for I Can't Dance. In the end, the
verdict was unanimous: he can't dance,
and he's not much cop on the harmonica,
but he can certainly conduct a cracking Phil
Collins sing-along.