"No Misunderstanding" - Phil Collins Live In Concert at the United Center Chicago Illinois 8th September 2004. Reviewed for TWR by Frank Musillani.

It was a week ago to the day I had seen my first Phil Collins show in six years the Wednesday before. This would be the second show I have caught on this tour and my fourth Phil show overall. I ran home, got ready and met up with some fellow fans for an early supper. The show started late which was a good thing; because horrendous traffic kept us stuck outside the United Center. Finally, we made our way inside, sat down and about ten minutes later the house lights went down. Out walked Phil, drum sticks in hand; dressed in black from head to toe. Without saying a word he nodded his head and walked to his drum kit. The drum duet began with Chester Thompson taking to his kit; stage left across from Phil. "Drums, Drums, And More Drums" (as it is called on the upcoming DVD) was then joined by percussionist Luis Conte, forming a drum trio was then soon joined by the rest of the band as they began Something Happened On The Way To Heaven.

It as hit after hit, I was happy to see some of the newer material represented live. Can't Stop Loving You sounded great live, especially Daryl Stuermer's razor like playing. During Hang In Long Enough; Phil grabbed one of the many cell phones from the crowd and danced round the stage singing into it (I wonder of the person on the other end knew what was up?). True Colours is terrific live and very soulful. I Missed Again was very punchy; I enjoyed it a lot better than on the Both Sides tour.

The song was accompanied by the video shown on the Jumbotron screens. Misunderstanding was my favourite song of the evening; the majority of the crowd didn't see it coming in the set but it was a nice nod at the Genesis past. The extended In The Air Tonight allowed Phil to disappear to get mic'd up for his drum solo in the middle of the song. When that moment came; huge graphics of lighting bolts were shown on the screens behind him with the drum kit in the middle. It was very much like Domino on the We Can't Dance tour. I have seen this song performed live four times; this was different, it was the only time I got goose bumps and it was very well done.

Next up was Dance Into The Light and the You Can't Hurry Love medley which was followed by Ssudio ending the set. The encores were preceded by a heartfelt speech from Phil, thanking the fans for their support throughout the years. A mostly acapella Its Not Too Late was followed by another drum duet leading into Take Me Home which sounded harder edged this time round thanks to Ronnie Caryl's guitar work. Soon the word "Chicago" was up on the screens, and the house lights were up.

It was with a bit of sadness that I walked out of the venue, knowing that I would never attend another PC show. Overall I really enjoyed it. I thought that there were maybe too many ballads in a row at the beginning of the show, but I enjoyed them all. One thing I wondered about was what happened to No Way Out? I was surprised it was dropped mid tour and I thought it came across great live. I am glad I was fortunate enough to catch I the week before. Another thing that left me scratching my head was the increase in price of the tour merchandise; all the T shirts went up $5 more than they were on the west coast...