This concert's cast  featured a special line up consisting of Genesis’ most notable guitarist, Steve Hackett, and both the bassist and the singer of Agents of Mercy (a side project featuring Jonas Reingold and Nad Sylvan, respectively). It's apparent in Sylvan’s music that he has been heavily influenced by Peter Gabriel. So they could not have picked a better stand-in for the legendary frontman. Sylvan sang Gabriel’s parts competently with guttural intonations, genuine excitement, wardrobe changes and imaginative theatrics.

Likewise, Reingold did the impossible and enhanced the music. While there may have been apprehension to take the material out of its protective wrap, the bass lines were bubblier than ever without damaging the merchandise. This takes skill of the highest order.

As for the others, there wasn't a single slouch in the bunch. None of them showed a chink in their velvet, corduroy or polyester. The saxophonist, Rob Townsend; the keyboardist, Roger King; and the drummer, Craig Blundell; each had multiple solos where they carried the baton and passed it on seamlessly to the next player. The drum solo, in particular, that preceded the break was so precise and bombastic that it rivaled a fireworks finale; leaving the audience breathless, yet wanting more.

As a team, they performed exceptionally well such that the sum was greater than the parts. They played ditties that were decades old and delicatessens that were still warm and crisp. These  included “Every Day,” “The Virgin & The Gypsy,” “Tigermoth,” “The Red Flower Of Tai Chi,” “Clocks” and the title track from Spectral Mornings, which recently celebrated a forty year anniversary. Added to the menu were “Under The Eye Of The Sun,” “Fallen Walls & Pedestals” and “Beasts In Our Time” from At The Edge Of Light, which was just released in the current year.

Still, any way you slice it, the centerpiece was Selling England By The Pound in its entirety, and it was certified fresh with shrewd solos, assiduous nuance, and clement peppering provided by Hackett and his support staff. His work was so flawless, masterful and ever-present to be almost beyond specific mention. After all, it was the reason for this particular musical season. Also important to point out, the flute, sax and piccolo provided by Townsend oftentimes deviated from the source material dutifully and dotingly in worthwhile experimentation.

Even with carefully chosen selections from Hackett’s solo efforts and Genesis’ most acclaimed album, the acme of it all was found in the encore with the opener, “Dance On The Volcano” and the closer “Los Endos” from A Trick Of The Tail (an album that surfaced at the onset of the second wave of Genesis in the Phil Collins-led era).

The concert clocked in just under three hours with a twenty minute break between the opening hour of Hackett's own personal collection and Genesis' collaborative masterpiece. The event ended in a thunderous applause that was much deserved. Fans and purists alike can be rest assured this incarnation of Genesis keeps continuity with the canon intact.