Newbury Weekly News

Must-see for Genesis fans

Mama tribute a real crowd-pleaser for a packed Arlington Arts

- Review by BRIAN HARRINGTON

Mama, Genesis All Eras Tribute at Arlington Arts, Snelsmore on Saturday, September 10

Vocalist John Wilkinson has got the sound of Phil Collins absolutely nailed while the rest of the band, Jon Vakitiotis on guitars, Dave Jones on bass and guitars, John Cornish on keyboards, and James Cooper on percussion, are all accomplish­ed musicians with the ability to capture faithfully the sound of Genesis

GENESIS are, of course, giants of Prog Rock. Loved and followed by millions of people across the world, they have an enormous back catalogue which includes huge hits and progressiv­e masterpiec­es.

Their Last Domino tour of 47 shows (55 were scheduled) took place from September 2021 to March 2022 and marked the end of a 13-year hiatus in the live performanc­es of the band. Tonight’s Mama setlist recreated that of the Last Domino tour, in order, as performed by Genesis, with just a couple of very minor deviations.

Quite simply, if you love Genesis this show by Mama is a must-see event. Not surprising­ly, Arlington Arts was packed and Mama did not disappoint.

Vocalist John Wilkinson has got the sound of Phil Collins absolutely nailed while the rest of the band, Jon Vakitiotis on guitars, Dave Jones on bass and guitars, John Cornish on keyboards, and James Cooper on percussion, are all accomplish­ed musicians with the ability to capture faithfully the sound of Genesis.

For the many fans of Genesis there really was something for everyone in this show, from quirky classics such as I Know What I Like (in your wardrobe) to complex epics like

Home By The Sea and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, plus massive hits like Land Of Confusion, I Can’t Dance and That’s All.

Domino was superb, as was Mama. The two small changes were the inclusion of Entangled, a track

Mama played acoustical­ly at a previous venue after a power failure on stage and had proved popular, and moving Selling England By

The Pound a couple of places up the setlist.

The final track of the, richly deserved, encore The Carpet

Crawlers was wonderful.

A great show and a genuine crowdpleas­er.

Mama are a fitting tribute to Genesis. Superb.

 ?? Picture: Brian Harrington ?? Mama, Genesis All Eras Tribute at Arlington Arts
Picture: Brian Harrington Mama, Genesis All Eras Tribute at Arlington Arts

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