Genesis roared back to life in Philadelphia and Columbus
As the last remaining core members of classic prog-rock group Genesis, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks have been working on this concert tour since April. It is their final run.
They played two sold-out shows at Wells Fargo Center on December 2 and 3. It was the band’s first North American tour in 14 years.
The two hour-and-40-minute show featured many exuberant collaborations between Gabriel and Sting, but they also showed a deep appreciation for each other’s music and backgrounds. A few examples included Sting’s lead vocals on Gabriel’s “Shock the Monkey,” which was skittering with electronic currents, and a lyric-free snippet of Gabriel’s Genesis-era track “Dancing With the Moonlit Knight.”
Peter Gabriel sang several solo tunes from his own repertoire while Sting offered up Police songs such as “Walking In Your Footsteps” and the more introspective “Invisible Sun.” The duo even paired up for a couple of their most iconic songs, including “Message In a Bottle,” where Sting expanded upon the original song’s lonesome loneliness into a call for international sanity.
This was a very special show. It was a testament to the power of music and the endurance of its artists. Regardless of the venue and age of the musicians, the audience was always singing along, rejoicing in the music. The eloquent performances and sumptuous visual presentations made for an engrossing concert. The performances of the two iconic artists also showed how far they have come in their careers and how much they have to share with the world.
