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Genesis has announced its first North American date since 2007, with the upcoming “The Last Domino?” tour hitting 14 cities in November and December. The leg kicks off on November 15th at Chicago’s United Center and runs through December 15th at Boston’s TD Garden. As it stands now, the band will also take in stops in Washington D.C., Charlotte; Montreal; Toronto; Buffalo; Detroit; Cleveland; Columbus; Pittsburgh’ and Belmont Park, New York on Long Island. Additional nights are expected for most cities.
According to the press release: “All venues will be following all mandated precautions in accordance with state and local regulations so as to provide the most secure, Covid-19-free environment possible.”
In addition to Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, and Tony Banks — the band will be rounded out by Collins’ 20-year-old son Nic Collins on drums and 43-year road veteran, guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer.
Genesis is already set for an 18-show UK and Irish tour this fall, marking the band’s first dates since the 2007 48-date trek. During his recent chat with Percussion Discussion, Nic Collins spoke about the closely-guarded tour setlist, revealing, “There were some songs that I’ve known for ages. It was the deeper cuts and the more progressive stuff. . . I did know ‘Firth Of Fifth,’ and ‘I Know What I Like,’ and ‘In The Cage,’ but there were a few songs that I wasn’t aware of. It’s been really cool to prepare for this gig. As I’ve dug through the material to learn it, I’m finding other material and becoming more of a fan of the band.”
Tony Banks revealed that Nic Collins and Daryl Stuermer have hit the preliminary rehearsals with guns a-blazing: “Normally, after we come back to rehearse after a long period off, y’know, I normally have a bit of time to get my parts back together again. But with Daryl there and Nic thinking much the same, I was kind of behind everybody else, which was kind of a bit embarrassing. But the thing is with Nic, he sounds like — can sound — like Phil. And when you’re doing some of these old songs, it’s interesting; they go back to how they were when we did it on the albums, which was quite fun for us.”
Mike Rutherford recently told us that Genesis’ group and solo hit-making power almost snuck up on him back in the day: “I don’t think I quite realized — the Mechanics for example — I didn’t realize how much it was doing over here until I came to tour, y’know what I mean? It doesn’t really mean that much. It doesn’t change anything, I mean, the songs are good songs. It was the time, too. Because, y’know, MTV came in, so a hit was such a hit. Y’know, you were on in every bar — y’know, it wasn’t the radio stations — you were on in every bar, every restaurant, every gym. We were everywhere. Almost too much, actually.”
During a chat with BBC 6, Phil Collins spoke about the addition of son Nic to the band’s live lineup: “It was something that was working. It was a problem that we had to overcome with me not playing — although, I’m going to be doing my best to play some bits on the tour. So, I’ve got to start, y’know, really seriously thinking. But, I have already been, y’know, workin’ out what I’ve got to do and what songs to play.”
UPDATED: Genesis 2021 tour dates (subject to change):
September 15, 16 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
September 18 – Belfast, Northern Ireland The SSE Arena, Belfast
September 20, 21, 22 – Birmingham, England – Utilita Arena Birmingham
September 24, 25 – Manchester, England – AO Arena
September 27, 28 – Leeds, England – First Direct Arena
September 30 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, England – Utilita Arena Newcastle
October 1 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, England – Utilita Arena Newcastle
October 3 – Liverpool, England – M&S Bank Arena
October 7, 8 – Glasgow, Scotland – The SSE Hydro
October 11, 12, 14 – London, England – The O2
November 15 – Chicago, IL – United Center
November 18 – Washington, DC – Capitol One Arena
November 20 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
November 22 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell
November 25 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
November 27 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center
November 29 – Detroit, MI – Little Ceasars Arena
November 30 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
December 2 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
December 5 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
December 8 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
December 10 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena
December 13 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
December 15 – Boston, MA – TD Garden