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I am a huge PG fan, first seeing him fronting Genesis at the Maurice Richard Arena in Mtl in 1973. I have seen PG and this unit deliver transcendent moments of musical magic. rythms that go on forever and lyrical delivery that emotionally dissects the audience. Brilliant stuff. Probably seen him 15+ times over the years in all sorts of venues. Last night for me, nothing seemed to work toform a cohesive whole. The band never really caught fire and the show never really lifted off, mainly becasue of all the weight it seems to becarrying around. While it was muscially a solid show, with an interesting first third with acoustic takes on SHOCK THE MONKEY and others, but it really had the "been there, done that" vibe. Tony Levin was not his engaging self and PG delivered nothing new, except for a disappointing song 'in progress'. The Davids (Sancious & Rhodes) are hugely talented artists, but they hung back, just playing the tunes, their talents wasted. He's still using the same old choreo from Robert Lepage shows from 15 years ago (albeit slower and clunkier). Even the closer, BIKO failed to ignite. I have seen him perform that song many times with fire and passion and he'd have 15,000 people in tears and testifying to man's inhumanities.. last night... nothing. Visually, it was interesting, but far from arresting. There was lots of cool, processed live video (sometimes with a Blair Witch vibe) that gave fresh context to some of the old songs. But there were also 6 meaningless cranes topped with varilites and cams, pushed around the stage by count 'em 18 crew (!!), creating useless clutter that at times just made me laugh out loud. Lighting was stark and plentiful, but nothing special. And the eight (8!!!) close-in followspots, with 8 operators hanging in slings for 180 minutes were only deployed 3 times ... unbelievable. It's been a long time since I've seen so much deliver so little... a shame, really. I'm going to write it off to: - 3rd gig on the tour, - back to back show after Mtl gig, and - no director. Robert Lepage was sadly missed.. While it was mostly a pleasure to hear SO performed al the way thru, these days, if you are gonna charge $175 for a ticket, you gotta bring it, brother. I'll look forward to the inevitable Blu-Ray document next year that will hopefully be way improved from what I witnessed the other night.