London based tribute band Invisible Touch returned to the Grey Horse, Kingston once again last night. The result was a mixed bag of old favourites and some new additions to the set. I'll go through in order, section by section...

Mama - Abacab - Domino - Jesus He Knows Me

Less than perfect job done by the sound engineer from the start, so he had his butt kicked again. Things improved after "Mama" though, by which time Ken had taken over on the desk. Good crowd from the start this time though! "Abacab" in particular was played both energetically and professionally.

Eleventh Earl Of Mar / Squonk / Firth Of Fifth - Land Of Confusion - The Fountain of Salmacis - Blood On The Rooftops

The only real slip up of the night was during the first medley, with a hesitant start to "Firth of Fifth" - just a bit more practice perhaps, but once "Firth" got underway, it was a great showpiece for Dave Woodward's guitar work. The ensuing versions of "Salmacis" and the never-performed-live-before (by anybody, I believe) "Blood on the Rooftops" were simply wonderful, a real treat.

In the Cage / In That Quiet Earth / Apocalypse - Home By The Sea - Invisible Touch - I Can't Dance

The new additions in the set had refreshed the band's confidence by now, and the third quarter of the set, more familiar stuff, was as effective as ever - "Second Home" just seems to get better and better! And I won't mention where some incognito individuals ended up doing "the Walk". *Ahem*

Dance On A Volcano / Drum Solo / Los Endos - Dancing with the Moonlit Knight / The Carpet Crawlers - Turn It On Again - The Knife

Phil managed to top her solo from last time (how? Dunno - just seemed polished to perfection!), and the whole band retained their performance and confidence to the end, which left the crowd shouting for more.

This time it took until midnight to clear the room of chatting bodies. The appreciation factor was up another notch from last time, with some real hardcores in the audience (including the new ReGenesis drummer - you heard it here first). And I'm not going to mention the mad girl.

Next stop, Gravesend, this coming Friday!

I must admit I was worried that the sound would dog this gig until the end, but fortunately by the time "The Last Domino" was upon us these fears had been dispelled. Another thing was that the audience were a little restrained. I am happy to say that things quickly improved following a killer performance of "Jesus He Knows Me", with some great guitar work from the now firmly established and floppy bootpolish-haired Dave Woodward.

"Fading Lights" was another wonderful rendition, with the very effective (no offence to the Daves!) stripping down to the trio of Tony, Richard and Phil. With these three on guitars, keys and drums respectively, the emptied stage enhanced the mood. The band then thundered through "Dodo/Lurker" and "Abacab" with powerful precision - this piece as ever a showpiece for Tony Burton's bass and pedal skills. I must say the opening section of "Eleventh Earl of Mar" sounded really strong, and maybe they will consider doing the whole song?

Ah yes, the Cage medley... For me this was a turning point of the set - bloody great! I experienced one of the best 'shiver-down-the-spine' moments I have ever had (I could really feel the goosebumps!), and "As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs" had me in a trance... By the time of "Home By The Sea", the audience were really enjoying themselves, and Dave Whitehouse was clearly enjoying the interaction, in fact the whole band seemed to be enjoying themselves now.

"Dance On A Volcano" led into Phil's best drum solo to date. It turned out that the band all knew she was going to extend it - and quite right too, but when Richard, Tony and Dave were back on and ready for "Los Endos" she teased them a bit by extending the solo further, making them wait another minute or two before finally rocketing towards it. This all went down very well (and deserved it was), and then it was time for encores.

"Moonlit Knight" and "Crawl" had everyone singing along and then they rattled through "Turn It On Again" so to give them sufficient time for the real finale - "The Knife", of course. Then suddenly it was all over, but people were very slow to leave afterwards, which is always a good sign.

In conclusion then - not the best gig technically, but one from the heart rather than the head (or indeed hands!). I think there were quite a few people who went away with every intention of coming back. And in not too long either. On the strength of this gig, Invisible Touch will be back at the Grey Horse on November 27th, so don't miss it!

New boy Guitar Dave strikes the ripping stonking pose

Well folks, here we go again, another gig but this one was slightly different. At long last I finally got the chance to see the "other" Genesis tribute band: Invisible Touch. Eventually the band took the stage to the drum beat of "Mama" which took me by surprise opening the set and indicating that this was a band who were going to take no prisoners. Dave Whitehouse took the song by the scruff of the neck and delivered a storming vocal performance aided and abetted by the rest of the band. This was quickly followed by a thunderous version of "Land of Confusion" which gave the drummer, Phil Duke, a chance to show her mettle.

The old chestnut story about the "Domino Principle" got a few laughs from the crowd but this was soon converted to gasps as the band tore through this highlight from the band's repertoire. A nice contrast was had between this song and "Jesus He Knows Me" where "Vicar" Whitehouse preached to the converted in fine style.

A personal highlight followed with "Fading Lights", which wasn't helped by a personal dedication to yours truly. This was one song which the band themselves had expressed some doubts about playing when I saw them in rehearsal a couple of weeks before this gig. Well, let me tell you guys: I assure you it was f*****g AMAZING. I honestly thought I was back in Roundhay Park watching Genesis, it brought tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat and definitely set the seal on the fact that this band have ARRIVED as a force to be reckoned with!!

The band were determined not to give their audience any respite and they thundered straight into "Dodo/Lurker" which once again gave everyone a chance to demonstrate their individual and collective talents. Special kudos here to Messrs. Woodward and Burton who wove a blinding series of guitar parts over some powerhouse drumming from Phil - way to go!! We were still reeling from this aural onslaught when this was followed by "Abacab" and special kudos here to Dave Woodward who ripped the air apart with the guitar playing on this track - a stonking performance!

Richard maintains concentration during the "Apocalypse In 9/8" keyboard solo, despite the threat of an impending meteor strike

Then we were off on a "Trip down Memory Lane" with "Eleventh Earl of Mar/Squonk" followed by the band's rendition of the truly awesome 1986 medley comprising "In The Cage/In That Quiet Earth/Apocalypse in 9/8". It was here that the band really took off and I am sure that by the end of it I was not the only one seeing "visions of angels". Everyone played their hearts out on this one and I was totally blown away by the performance. Finally we were allowed a little rest with "Throwing It All Away" which was definitely the quiet before the storm as this was followed by "Home By The Sea" and although there were no visuals to speak of - who cares? The music did it all for me.

Invisible Touch got the crowd really going and everyone was heavily involved in the audience participation but that was as nothing compared to the participation in I Can't Dance. Next time we must synchronise our dance routine better guys!

How can you describe the next bit? Well, it usually is described as the "Five Minutes of Thunder" but this time it was the Full Monty as we were given both "Dance on a Volcano" AND "Los Endos" in a truly mind blowing workout which left everyone drained both emotionally and physically and I was left wondering where Phil finds her energy! Having captured the audience the band took their bows and left the stage... But not for long, they were soon back for their encores beginning with a delicious combination of "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" and "Carpet Crawl" which blended the sweet with the sour quite nicely. I suppose no Genesis show is complete without "Turn It On Again" and we were not shortchanged here either, once again Messrs. Whitehouse and Woodward played this one with gusto.

The band's finale was as astounding as their opener as they dragged the audience through a magnificent version of "The Knife". I can honestly tell you that the cries of "We have won" were spot on - this was a performance of majesty, power, grace and any other superlative you can think of. I had screamed myself hoarse but by God, I was so glad to be there. Thanks again guys for making this happy fan VERY old!!

Donner und Blitzen! Time for Phil's drum solo...

After a year in limbo, the London based tribute band Invisible Touch are back in business, and better than ever. Last night's performance marked the first occasion in the band's history when they made me feel the same way that ReGenesis can and usually do. Something good has happened to this band since they last gigged, at the same venue 12 months ago. The Red Lion always seems to attract plenty of young people but even those who hadn't come specifically to see the band seemed to enjoy the set.

What was immediately apparent to me was how good the sound (not the PA) was. A year ago, "Mama" which here opened the set had not sounded nearly so powerful. Now, the band seemed to be playing with a regenerated vitality. The guys then steamed through "Land of Confusion" and "Domino" thereby proving that the promising start had not been a lucky fluke - We knew from the first ten minutes that the night was going to be host to a great gig. "Fading Lights" was so much better than before, with both Daves leaving the stage in turn to leave the trio that remained to tackle the lengthy (and beautiful) middle section. A year ago, this song looked like a chore to play, now it appeared as a labour of love. "Dodo/Lurker" and "Abacab" followed to remind us of how well they can play the more energetic stuff before a Mama tour inspired "Squonk" with the "11th Earl" intro.

...And then The Cage medley with "Supper's Ready". Three words: amazing, emotional, powerful.

"... must reinforce rhythm section... must reinforce rhythm section... " - Tony concentrates hard

The latter part of the set went well, I'm sure its been a while since I enjoyed Invisible Touch to anything like the extent I did during this performance, and the "Volcano/Endos" thing was one of their best. A blissful "Carpet Crawl" and a frenzied "The Knife" were contrasting highlights of the encores, proving yet again the diversity of the styles which this outfit can now pull off better that ever before.

In short - the performance and (majorly) sound has undergone a change for the better. Could the improved sound be something to do with a young man by the name of Dave Woodward? Dave only joined Invisible Touch in May, and already he is up to speed - He could have playing this music publicly for years, and looked like he was enjoying every minute of it. Before they began, Dave said he felt a bit nervous, but none of it showed for the whole 2 and a half hours of Dave's *first public gig*.

The dependable Phil Durga Duke pounded away on drums, keen as ever to show off her studentship of drumming Collins-style. The obligatory and effortless Drum solo lead as usual into a "Los Endos" which was possibly her high point of the set.

Dave Whitehouse continues to impress, making the most of the audience as he always does, while retaining a good mixture of familiar introductions and ad-libbed banter between songs. More importantly though, his voice was (as always) powerful where required and controlled likewise.

Richard Mills' keyboard work was excellent throughout, especially during an astounding Cage medley, which for me was the highlight of the evening. Richard managed to get away with a couple of occasions during the set where he appeared to come in an octave down before correcting, but other than that, he was pretty much flawless.

Tony Burton's bass work always reinforces the rhythm section, and Saturday was no exception. It was interesting to see that Tony had inherited the intro to "Dance on a Volcano", whereas the reprised line was played by Dave Woodward in "Los Endos". Hmm!

To conclude - if you've seen Invisible Touch before but missed this one, you missed perhaps a coming of age - there is life in the not-so-old dog yet. Go see them in action soon and you will be delighted at the progress they have made. If you haven't seen them before - why not? There is a way to compensate this gap in your experiences: Invisible Touch will next appear at the refurbished Grey Horse, Kingston, on Friday 8th October. If you loved Supper's Ready at the convention, then I'm sure you'll love this too...

Dave Woodward has not gigged with the band before, and his composure was admirable from the start, when he kicked off with an impromptu "Horizons". After about a minute, the tune changed a bit and bled straight into the intro to "Supper's Ready", giving us a version à la CAS tour. Some "old stuff" turned out to be a rendition of the "Moonlit Knight/Carpet Crawl" of the Duke Tour, which worked marvelously. Top marks on that one, especially Dave Woodward's excellent guitar work - this guy is a real talent! "I Can't Dance" followed, and the guys relaxed a bit and enjoyed it. "Afterglow" was next, the change of style was very refreshing and the audience continued their appreciation.

The band will next be appearing (in full) at the end of next month. Please come and check them out if you can, because time and effort (and some new raw talent) has gone into this outfit and they deserve your attention.