The Musical Box 2008 - the Trick of the Tail tour - Manchester

The tickets for last night's gig at the Manchester Apollo have been sitting here on my desk under the monitor since early March, heightening the anticipation of the evening. Phil & Vicky came over from Chesterfield, and we'd secured tickets for my daughters too, so we were an excited party of seven in total as we took our seats on row J at around 7.30pm.

I'd been disappointed initially, when I saw the set list, that the band were not playing the whole album, but then I remembered Musical Box's trademark adherence to the absolute letter of the original tour experience, from staging, through slides and effects, music, instruments and, of course, content. This being Genesis' first album of the post-Gabriel era, the tour necessarily relied on a lot of their Gabriel back-catalogue, and so only five of the tracks from Trick of the Tail made an appearance.

The set was cleverly bracketed with the opening and closing tracks from the album - Dance on a Volcano for starters and Los Endos (which was to become Genesis' traditional closing number) to finish, and in between we were treated to a selection of the most mouth-watering goodies from the early 70s.

Following Dance on a Volcano, the band performed a medley from Lamb comprising the title track, Fly on a Windshield and (my personal favourite) Carpet Crawlers. And then, with Denis Gagne doing a passable impersonation of Phil Collins' stage antics, it was time for the Cinema Show.

I'm not sure if it was a problem with where we were sitting, or the staging, or the mix, but this time round (the third time we've seen Musical Box) I found the sound very thin, and many of the vocals overtaken by the instruments. Maybe thirty years of listening to the studio versions has coloured my judgement, but I don't remember this being an issue with earlier gigs.

Wasn't a problem for the next number though - back to Trick for Robbery, Assault and Battery, accompanied by the original film footage on the backdrop, and Denis dressed in the traditional flat cap and overcoat. I switched off after that while they did White Mountain from Trespass. Of all the Gabriel-era albums, Trespass is my least favourite and the least-played by a very long way (I've probably only listened to it 2 or 3 times in total), but it wasn't long before we were treated to a note-perfect rendition of Firth of Fifth, followed in quick succession by two more Trick of the Tail gems: Entangled, and Squonk.

By now we were all well warmed up and ready for the highlight of the evening: the whole of Supper's Ready. Before we came out tonight, I'd passed comment that this would probably be the last time we'd fork out to see Musical Box. We were about six bars into Supper's Ready when I decided that no, if and when they come to Manchester again, we'll be here again. It's such a rare treat to hear Supper's Ready live from beginning to end that I don't want to pass up any chance.

There was just time for the "first ever Genesis single" (as it is often badged in the press) I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe) before they hit the roof with the closing number: the aforementioned Los Endos.

We had been expecting both It and Watcher of the Skies as an encore, but they must have been running late, or made a late change to the running order, because Watcher was dropped.

I had been extremely impressed with Denis's drumming during the evening, until Annie revealed that the forum-chatter had given the game away. It's only Phil Collins who can sing and drum, and when Denis walked around the flats in the direction of the drum kit, he never reappeared. A "real" drummer came back on, dressed in identical clothing and with an identical wig and beard a la Collins, and changed back into Denis on the return journey. It was very cleverly done and I didn't have a clue!

All in all a great gig, hugely enjoyed by us all. The chances of a full Genesis line-up touring again any time may be fading into the distance, but while we have Musical Box it (almost) doesn't matter.