Peter Gabriel makes no compromises in risky, remarkable Fiserv Forum concert in Milwaukee

Peter Gabriel has long done things his own way, and his latest album cycle is no different.

The 73-year-old two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is touring behind “i/o,” his first album of all-original material in 21 years. The tour stopped in Milwaukee Monday.

Except the full album isn’t out yet. Gabriel has been releasing songs one by one this year on each date there’s been a full moon. (As you astrologers know, that’s 10 songs so far.)

All of which should suggest — as have nearly all of Gabriel’s artistic choices in recent decades — that this wasn’t going to be your typical victory-lap arena show at Fiserv Forum.

Of the 22 songs played in his two-hour-and-58-minute set (including a 17-minute intermission), 11 were new. There may be no other rocker playing arenas at Gabriel’s age who is attempting that.

And it came at a cost: The entire upper bowl at Fiserv Forum was curtained off Monday. That wouldn’t have been the case if this had been billed as a greatest-hits show or a "So" retrospective.

Gabriel wouldn’t have it any other way. And in the end, watching an artist driven by his convictions and craftsmanship so late in his career was far more invigorating than an easy, by-the-numbers nostalgia trip would have been.

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Based on the output so far, Gabriel put a great deal of time and care into making "i/o" a thoughtful addition to his catalog, from the unsettling AI cautionary tale "Panopticom" to the harmonious "Olive Tree," which on Monday featured Gabriel gently singing about "the sunlight bright on my back" and the "cool breeze right on my skin," with Josh Shpak's trumpet warmly encapsulating that sentiment.

But it's likely only the diehards in Fiserv Forum were deeply familiar with the new material. For everyone else, inspired staging and a sublime band went a long way.

Gabriel dedicated "And Still," an apparent "i/o" song that has yet to be released, to his mother; the song sweetly glided to a symphonic suite, stirring in its reserve, with Shpak's French horn, Marina Moore's violin, Ayanna Witter-Johnson's cello and longtime Gabriel collaborator (and former King Crimson contributor) Tony Levin playing electric bass with a bow.

And for "Love Can Heal," Gabriel and the band performed behind a transparent wall of screens that resembled windows coated with rain drops. As he sang, Gabriel paced behind the screens, clutching a wand he used to create digital clouds of red, gray, green and purple mist over Don-E's contemplative synths and Moore's radiant strings, his voice dropping to whispered pleas: "Give in to love."

Those screens offered another brain-burning display for "Darkness" from 2002 album "Up"; Gabriel's shadow was repeatedly projected across one slice of the screen, his mirrored movements (including waves of a hat) glitching across the wall behind flashes of static, with the band's brief, violent outbursts mimicking Gabriel's battle over his fears. Another "Up" track, "Growing Up," received its own memorable presentation, part of a palate-cleansing two-song opener (along with "Washing of the Water" from 1992's "Us") that saw Gabriel and his eight backing musicians softly performing together seated in a semi-circle around a campfire underneath a simulated moon.

And, yes, Gabriel gave his fans some hits, including "Solsbury Hill" and "In Your Eyes." On "Red Rain," longtime percussionist Manu Katché really let it rip behind the kit, while Witter-Johnson gently and gracefully sang Kate Bush's vocals for their collaboration "Don't Give Up," the two singers, initially disconnected, movingly joining forces and clutching hands at the end.

Even though Monday's setlist would suggest Gabriel has little interest in his past, he had a blast stomping through "Big Time" and "Sledgehammer," slipping into some synchronized steps with Levin and longtime collaborator David Rhodes on guitar, and busting out oddly endearing dance moves (including double fisted jerks to his noggin) that David Byrne would admire.

But Gabriel being Gabriel, the night didn't end with one of those showstoppers. Instead, for the second encore, the band played 1980's "Biko," inspired by and honoring South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who died in police custody in 1977. On Monday, Gabriel dedicated the song to anyone fighting tyranny. As a picture of Biko's face dominated the stage's suspended circular screen, the band, one by one, left the stage, until only Katché's steady drum beat remained.

And it was clear, from the audience chants across the arena that echoed Gabriel's tribute, that his fans wouldn't have it any other way.

3 takeaways from Peter Gabriel's Milwaukee concert

• As much as the audience enjoyed Gabriel's new-material-heavy set Monday, I'm guessing some folks wouldn't have objected to a couple more signature tunes in the setlist. Among the songs that weren't performed Monday: "Shock the Monkey" and "Games Without Frontiers." And, not surprisingly, he didn't do anything from his time in Genesis.

• Beyond repeatedly acknowledging his fantastic bandmates, who often felt as integral to the show as he was (the band also included multi-instrumentalist Richard Evans), Gabriel also praised the crew working behind the scenes, with several members appearing on the stage's screens to appreciative cheers and applause.

• Gabriel spoke frequently between songs, with heady contemplations about emerging technology being a primary focal point. But there was humor as well. During a three-minute introduction that started at 8 p.m. sharp, Gabriel told the crowd that he was in fact an avatar he had designed to "add 20 pounds and 20 years. … At this very moment, the real Peter Gabriel is horizontal on a Caribbean beach and indistinguishable from a Greek god."

Peter Gabriel's Fiserv Forum setlist

1. "Washing of the Water"

2. "Growing Up"

3. "Panopticom"

4. "Four Kinds of Horses"

5. "i/o"

6. "Digging in the Dirt"

7. "Playing for Time"

8. "Olive Tree"

9. "This Is Home"

10. "Sledgehammer"

11. "Darkness"

12. "Love Can Heal"

13. "Road to Joy"

14. "Don't Give Up"

15. "The Court"

16. "Red Rain"

17. "And Still"

18. "Big Time"

19. "Live and Let Live"

20. "Solsbury Hill"

21. "In Your Eyes"

22. "Biko"

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Peter Gabriel makes no compromises in risky, remarkable Milwaukee show