Gabriel has zeal but ‘Up’ lacks appeal

Peter Gabriel is such a thoughtful and caring artist that his concerts can feel as much like a missionary crusade as a traditional pop tour. He’s not interested in just entertaining us, but in bringing us together -- individuals and cultures -- in a cleansing, inspiring experience.

With the underlying humanitarianism in his music and manner, his performances could be held in a cathedral as easily as an arena.

In fact, a cathedral setting might have helped him on Tuesday at the Arrowhead Pond by bringing a fresh, distinctive edge to a concert that seemed distant and stale for much of its 2 1/2 hours.

Gabriel, who also was scheduled to perform Wednesday at Staples Center, certainly tried to keep things lively, presenting himself as a cross between a monk (with his short-cropped gray hair and solemn black clothing) and a circus ringmaster.

The English singer-songwriter and his four-piece band performed theater-in-the-round style on a stage in the center of the Pond floor. In addition to letting the rotating stage give, so everyone got a close look at him, Gabriel moved around in all sorts of ways: running, riding a bicycle, walking around upside-down (thanks to straps attached to a ceiling rig).

But none of the workouts quite made up for the stiff, lifeless tone of much of Gabriel’s latest album, “Up.”

Gabriel, 52, has been one of our most valuable artists for three decades, someone who believes in music’s power to help us through moments of darkness and despair. He addressed those themes brilliantly in “So,” the 1986 album that was his creative equivalent of U2’s “The Joshua Tree.”

But “Up” is less inventive musically and less convincing thematically. Little of it approaches the poetic grace of such landmark tunes as “In Your Eyes” or the sheer emotional rush of the joyfully nostalgic “Solsbury Hill.”

In “Darkness,” one of several songs from the album performed Tuesday, Gabriel speaks about crippling fears, then whispers, “It’s not the way it has to be.” It’s a lovely thought, but a bit too obvious.

Other songs tend to be vague or equally predictable. In “Sky Blue,” which he also performed, you know right away when he speaks about “being so many miles away from home,” that he’s not talking about subway stops but spiritual and social needs.

There was a family feeling on stage that went beyond the fact that Gabriel’s daughter, Melanie, sang backing vocals. A warm host, Gabriel introduced both support acts, the Blind Boys of Alabama gospel group and Tanzanian musicians Hukwe and Charles Zawose. He also brought them on stage during his set, with the latter duo adding special vitality to a new number titled “Animal Nation.”

Still, the evening’s most enchanting moment was at the end when Gabriel, backed only by bassist Tony Levin, stepped away from the grandeur of his social themes and flashy stage maneuvers to sing “Father, Son,” a recent song not on the “Up” album.

The tune is about seeking a meaningful connection at the most basic, family level, and his raspy, earnest vocal reached a personal intensity that was lacking earlier. The moment was a reminder of the depth of Gabriel’s best work and offered a promise of better nights (and albums) to come.