Both Sides: Phil Collins and Genesis celebrated
Night Owl Shows is a UK company presenting a suite of shows depicting the lives of some of the most influential singer songwriters of the 20th Century. Described as immersive productions, note, not tribute shows; this Fringe, they are presenting Phil Collins and Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, Amy Winehouse and Queen shows.
Phil Collins was an English singer, drummer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer, and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis from 1970 -1996. He is described as an ‘everyman’ persona who blended his high energy and unique drumming with emotional and sometimes controversial vocals. Ranked10th in ‘The Greatest Drummers of all Time’, as a singer, he is known for a raw, emotional delivery and impressive vocal range. A trained, well-regarded actor, Collins also had a successful solo music career, achieving three UK number-one singles and seven US number-one singles as a solo artist. Thus, celebrating the diversity and impact of his musical career is no small feat.
Like the band Genesis, this show has four musicians and an award-winning lead singer, Angus Munro who, like Collins played more than one instrument. As well as delivering powerhouse 4 octave vocals, Munro narrates the story and is a dab hand on keyboard and a talented saxophone player. A nice touch is the use of short audio-visual clips, often up close and personal with Collins in his heyday. The 60-minute show opened with one of the band’s signature songs, ‘Sussudio,’ and the following 11 songs, all hits and favourites, included ‘In the Air Tonight,’ ‘Another Day in Paradise,’ and ‘I Can’t Dance’.
The 300 strong crowd members were significantly old enough to know the lyrics, enthusiastically swelling the sing-along opportunities. A crowd pleaser was Collins Oscar nominated song, ‘Two Hearts’ from one of his acting forays, Buster, controversially centred around the 1963 great train robbery.
Munro is a charismatic, modern powerhouse style singer. Whilst predominantly using a head voice, and whilst lacking subtlety, his performance is passionate, energetic and sustained. The band are all highly skilled musicians, uncredited, but including one local performer, who jam joyfully. All of the band are excellent, but for me, somehow appropriately, my favourite was Max, on drums. Given the Collins pedigree, that seems apt.
Performing in a tent has an impact on sound and musicality and the work of skilled sound mixing is complex. Fringe shows that I have seen this year, have tended to capitalise on power and volume, great for many rock and R&B performances and on more than one occasion with this show, because of volume and mixing, I could not recognise the song until I listened, at length to the lyrics. What is lacking for me in this show, is the beautiful, emotional subtle seduction that Collins music weaves. Mid 1970’s Genesis committed to writing shorter, more emotional songs; many were gentler, softer, textured stories and this is not showcased in this celebration show.
Having said that, the audience appeared enthralled, captivated and joyfully reminiscing. Being with like-minded fans was celebration enough. The energy and passion of all five performers ensures that this entertainment, whilst not perfect, is really good entertainment.
Jude Hines
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