Review: Peter Gabriel returns to Columbus with stunning visuals, masterful band

Before Peter Gabriel's show inside Nationwide Arena, Roland and Sally Reeb of Pickerington were excited, even though the Reebs, both 60, had seen Gabriel many times.

"He always puts on a great show," Roland Reeb said.

"We're major fans. We've never been disappointed," Sally Reeb said.

What did her husband hope to hear? "Solsbury Hill," he said.

That was Gabriel's debut single as a solo artist in 1977, after leaving Genesis. On Monday night, a 73-year-old Gabriel, clad in a black vest and pants, was skipping along the stage, like a schoolboy, as he took an enthusiastic crowd back to England while singing "Solsbury Hill" to end the second set of a 21-song show, along with two encores during what was at times an intimate show in a large venue.

Gabriel's tour started earlier this month, and his show leans heavily into "i/o," his first full album of original songs since 2002's "Up," which isn't set to come out until the end of 2023. But Gabriel has been releasing individual songs on every full moon since the beginning of the year.

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Gabriel told the crowd "i/o" means "input and output," and the output from the album was 11 songs during the three-hour concert.

They included "Panopticom," with references to AI and a visual of a red hurricane overhead, as well as "i/o" −"We all belong to everything," Gabriel said − and "This is Home," with visuals of bookcases and red-patterned wallpaper behind the band.

Darrell Gesell of Maineville, Ohio, northeast of Cincinnati, said he's not usually a fan of a lot of new material at concerts. But for Gabriel, it's different, he said, because the songs are so strong, and his voice, "so fresh," with Gesell comparing it to Gabriel's voice on Genesis' 1973 album, "Selling England by the Pound."

Before the show started, a clock dial was shown on a large disc suspended above the stage, with the clock hands erased and redrawn by an orange-clad worker on the screen as showtime approached.

"Time may be the big boss, and we may be in its claws," Gabriel told the audience after he entered the stage alone and joked that the crowd was looking at a "very fine avatar," while the real Peter Gabriel was lying on a Caribbean beach.

But if Gabriel was contemplating mortality, his strong voice belied his age, even as he sometimes struggled but successfully hit those high notes on songs he recorded decades ago.

He started the show with a keyboard on his lap and Tony Levin, his bassist of more than 45 years, by his side for the opener, "Washing of the Water," from 1992's "Us" album. The rest of the multitalented eight-piece band then joined him sitting in a semicircle for "Growing Up."

Gabriel's concert was also about mood, from the joy of 1986's "Big Time" and a dancing crowd, to the ethereal "Don't Give Up." It was here where cellist and vocalist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, filling the Kate Bush role, joined Gabriel on a riser at the back of the stage to emotionally sing to him. She was a standout all night, with her playing and soaring vocals.

Of course, "Sledgehammer" brought the crowd to its feet to dance, with Gabriel sauntering across the stage and stepping in time with Levin and guitarist David Rhodes (more than 40 years with Gabriel).

The 200 level of the arena was empty, but the floor and 100 level were filled with, let's say, veteran fans, most of whom remember the '80s.

One, Greg Sora, 54, of Union, Kentucky, near Cincinnati, was wearing a black Genesis T-shirt, and said he's been a fan since about 1985. He said he remembered hearing some Genesis back then while his mom watched the soap, "Days of Our Lives."

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An extended and joyful "In Your Eyes" was the first encore, complete with a fan on the floor holding up a sign decorated like a boombox − it's hard to believe "Say Anything" is 34 years old − and Gabriel dancing in sync on stage with Rhodes and Levin.

But before that, he thanked the his crew, clad in orange jumpsuits, who worked the cameras and soundboard and other duties.

The second encore was "Biko," the 1980 song about the South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who died in police custody. The disc over the stage became an orange halo over Gabriel, with Biko's photo appearing on it as Gabriel and each band member individually left the stage as the song reached its end, with Manu Katché drumming until it was his turn to depart.

"Whatever happens is up to you," Gabriel said before he left.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Peter Gabriel focuses on new album in Columbus show Monday