Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Mike and the Mechanics at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool. February 2019. Photograph taken by, and used with the kind permission of Alan Hewitt.

Perhaps a first for a Liverpool audience, a sight of the strange turned talking point, to be greeted by the physical image of representations of four hot air balloons above the Philharmonic Hall stage, a symbol maybe of the heights that Mike and the Mechanics have strode for, to see beyond the horizon, a depiction feasibly of Phileas Fogg and his earnest wish to prove to the world that the impossible can be achieved with the right attitude and cast iron will.

Whatever the reason for the scene that greeted the crowd as they made their way through the open doors, minds full of memories and hoped for invoking of a Saturday night joy, a lifting of souls into the right atmosphere, it was all to be granted that extra special place as founder member of the band, and a hero of the Progressive Rock genre, Mike Rutherford led his troops out to stamp on the passports of all that a February night could be just as warmly received as a hot June day.

Across the two sets of the evening, songs such as the opening salvo of The Best Is Yet To Come, Another Cup Of Coffee and A Beggar On A Beach Of Gold were joined by new songs from the forthcoming album, Out Of The Blue, One Way, What Would You Do and the album’s own title song, The Andrew Roachford 1989 hit Cuddly Toy, the Genesis tracks Follow You Follow Me, I Can’t Dance and the explosive, but still sadly relevant Land of Confusion and the hits that enhanced Mike Rutherford’s name beyond that of the Progressive Rock giant, Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground), The Living Years and Get Up, Mike Rutherford, Andrew Roachford, Tim Howar and the bay of mechanics who kept the musical engine of the night purring, gave a sterling performance, one that set out to lift the spirits and which turned into a feast of style.

No matter the evening, Mike Rutherford always seems to bring a show worthy of his incredible past to the fore, regardless of the time spent at the helm of Genesis, it is to Mike and the Mechanics that he envelops his being, and it shows, his connection with Mr. Roachford and Mr. Howar is impeccable, homely, an evening of panache, of fun, the odd moment of whispered anarchy, it is what makes this king of his realm, a man with the common touch of goodness and joy in front of all who come to see him and Mike and the Mechanics.

Ian D. Hall