Triangle On Domino (Highland HL108/109#G20)
Reichstagsgelande, Berlin, Germany – June 8th, 1987
Disc 1 (58:10): Mama, Abacab, Domino part 1, Domino part 2, That’s All, The Brazilian, In The Cage, …In That Quiet Earth, Afterglow
Disc 2 (66:13): Land Of Confusion, Tonight Tonight Tonight, Throwing It All Away, Home By The Sea / Second Home By The Sea, Invisible Touch, drum duet / Los Endos, Turn It On Again
Genesis’ appearance in West Berlin on June 8th, 1987 comes close to the end of their largest tour. The show in the Reichstagsgelande was broadcast live on SFB and has been in circulation in excellent sound quality ever since. Invisible Tour ’87 (Domino 878801) is a 2LP title issued soon afterwards but missing the “In The Cage” medley. On compact disc the show has been issued on Los Berlin (no label) which does have the medley plus the pre-show taped introduction “Anything She Does.” Invisible Tour (Great Music) is missing the pre-concert tape. Triangle On Domino on Highland, one of their early Genesis releases in 1997, is also missing “Anything She Does” and “Los Endos” cuts out just before the “Squonk” section. The recording is excellent with a slight touch of distortion in the higher frequencies. Among silver pressed releases this is the best version, although an overhaul that would include the introduction and careful remastering would be much welcome.
On a windy evening, before giving the “domino principle” speech, Phil Collins greets West Berlin and, significantly, East Berlin too before greeting all of Germany. Given the close proximity of the Berlin wall, thousands gathered on the eastern side to hear the show and were angry that they could not actually see the performance. Some tried to breach the wall in an event that was covered on German television and the following day thousands appeared at the wall chanting “the wall must go.” Similar events occured when David Bowie and The Eurythmics played in the same location before Genesis and in the following summer when Pink Floyd played in the Reichstagsgelande. Four days after Genesis played on June 12th, President Ronald Reagan delivered his “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall speech” in the same spot.
Like the best of unofficial releases, this makes it transcend the actual music played to reveal a deeper meaning. Good music, by it’s nature, is a shared, communal activity. It works when it establishes a relationship between the listener, artist, and transcendent beauty in one form or another. Obtaining this glimpse of the sublime elicits an ethical/political response in the recipient and although Genesis’ actual political statements (“Domino” and “Land Of Confusion”) were far from being potent rallying cries, the band represented a culture desired by those on the other side of the wall and this concert, along with other events can be placed within the political context of the late eighties.
By this late stage in the tour there were no new additions to the set list. But “Domino” was moved up to third in the show and “Land Of Confusion” was to before “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight.” The oldies medley ends with “Afterglow” instead of “Supper’s Ready.” Tony Banks plays an interesting piano medley in the introduction of “Turn It On Again.” It contains the expected medley of “Everybody Needs Somebody,” “Satisfaction,” “Twist And Shout,” “Reach Out, And I’ll Be There” (by the Four Tops), “You Lost That Loving Feeling,” “Pinball Wizard” and “In The Midnight Hour.” Triangle On Domino is a very good and important release which has, according to many Genesis collectors, has been improved upon subsequent fan based titles. Perhaps a new silver pressed release, with radio reports on the effects of the show, would be a fantastic overhaul.
