“Phil Collins proves he’s not dead yet” - in concert at the TD Garden, Boston, MA, USA on October 9th 2018. Review and photographs by Michael J Shogi.

On Tuesday 9th October 2018 Phil Collins and his band performed a two hour set of his greatest hits and lesser known tracks at the TD Garden here in Boston Massachusetts. Collins’ Boston stop is part of the US leg of his “Not Dead Yet” world tour which has been ongoing for the past year and a half.

After walking on stage, aided by a cane, Collins took a seat and referenced his physical condition, stating: “Old age sucks”. He also admitted that he was not planning to tour anymore, but that he missed his audience. This provoked a rapturous ovation from the crowd, as Collins and his band launched into Against All Odds.

It became immediately apparent that Collins’ voice no longer possesses the power it once had, and the keys of Against All Odds and several other songs in his set were noticeably lower. However, Collins gamely tackled every song in his set list and in most cases, he met the challenge - faltering noticeably only on Easy Lover and Sussudio - with In The Air Tonight being a particular highlight. Collins’ sense of humour was also intact, as he repeatedly interacted with his audience, band and backing singers - who rubbed his heart, shoulders, and head whilst singing Easy Lover, eliciting laughter from the audience.

Collins’ band was typically tight and professional. His seventeen year old son, Nicholas acquitted himself admirably as the sole drummer in his band and as a pianist on th lesser known Face Value track; You Know What I Mean (my favourite song of the evening). Nicholas does not play drums with the fire of his dad in his prime but his future as a professional musician is certainly bright. Given Collins’ physical state, I was also pleasantly surprised to see him perform a hand percussion instrumental with Nicholas and percussionist, Richie Garcia.

All in all, Phil Collins’ show proved to be an enjoyable experience. I was sceptical that he could still perform with a measure of his old fire, but he surprised me. I recommend the tour to his fans - both old and new!

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