Peter Frampton Comes Alive Again and Again at the Genesee Theater
Don’t Count Peter Frampton Out for Another Tour
Legendary guitarist Peter Frampton brought his “Never EVER Say Never” 2024 Tour to the historic Genesee Theater in Waukegan, Illinois late in March. The show was a little over halfway through his current tour.
Frampton has been playing and touring for over 50 years. He joined his first band, The Herd, in 1966 as guitarist and lead singer. Two years later he became part of Humble Pie. He struck out on his own in 1971 and released his first album, Wind of Change.
After three more studio albums released to middling success, Peter Frampton recorded and released his seminal live album, Frampton Comes Alive! Released in January 1976, it became the best-selling album of the year with sales exceeding 8 million copies, eventually reaching triple platinum. For many, including me, that album established Frampton as the literal personification of rock and roll.
Frampton’s later albums, through the 1980s, were received with mixed results and his popularity waned a bit. Frampton has acknowledged that the opportunity to record and tour with David Bowie in 1987 helped to give him a career bump and bring his guitar skills back to the forefront of popularity. Since then, he has continued to record, tour, and collaborate on projects with other musical legends. Frampton achieved his first Grammy award for his 2006 instrumental album, Fingerprints.
Peter Frampton has been quite public about his health issues. In 2019, he disclosed his diagnosis of inclusion body myositis (IBM), a degenerative muscle disease characterized by muscle atrophy and weakness. Because of the uncertain prognosis for the disease and the impact it might have on his ability to perform, Frampton embarked on the “Finale: The Farewell” Tour in 2019. This was followed by 2023’s “Never Say Never” Tour and by this year’s “Never EVER Say Never” Tour.
Despite his physical issues, Frampton has maintained a positive, optimistic outlook on life and has refused to allow his disease to keep him from playing and performing. His most visible concession to his illness is the cane he uses to walk and the swivel chair on which he performs.
Peter Frampton at the Genesee Theater
Which brings us to his performance on Saturday, March 30.
Admittedly, the average age of the sold-out show skewed more toward retirement age than college age. Yet, there was an almost youthful feeling and sense of anticipation in the auditorium as if the other members of the audience, like me, were fondly remembering their younger days with Peter Frampton’s music.
Peter Frampton’s traveling band for this tour consisted of Rob Arthur (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), Pat Bergeson (guitar and harmonica), Alison Prestwood (bass), and Dan Wojciechowski (drums). Perhaps out of respect for Frampton’s condition, each of his bandmates performed while seated.
The evening’s setlist reflected a mix of songs from Peter Frampton’s full career, including his greatest hits and crowd favorites. The first song of the night was “Golden Goose” from the 1974 album, Somethin’s Happening. Frampton’s frenetic pace continued with “Lying” and “Shine On.”
The tempo mellowed a bit with “I Got My Eyes on You,” leading into “Lines on My Face.”
Peter Frampton’s guitar playing and singing were simply sublime on “Lines on My Face.” His fingers danced over his guitar strings in a way reflecting a loving caress as he sang the lyrics that were so touching and emotional.
His soulful expression on “Lines” and others may have been enhanced in some ways by his illness. Frampton has said that his disease has “weakened” his fingers and that he doesn’t attack the guitar as he has in the past. He also believes his guitar playing is “in some ways better,” in that he can put more soul into his playing.
After “Lines,” a woman immediately to my right shouted out “Peter—show me the way!” to which Frampton responded, “To where?” With a chuckle and almost as if that had been a cue, the band launched into “Show Me the Way.”
The evening included extended videos that highlighted a veritable Who’s Who of Peter Frampton’s legendary career, showing images of his encounters, friendships, and collaborations with the likes of David Bowie, BB King, Jimmy Page, Cheryl Crow, Chris Stapleton, and so many others. The videos also portrayed Frampton as a devoted family man, with images of his children and grandchildren.
If his guitar prowess has lessened, it certainly wasn’t noticeable Saturday night. Over and over, however, one could sense a certain reverence in his playing, almost as if his music offered a lens to look into Frampton’s essence and soul. This was evident in the feeling with which he performed the instrumental “Georgia (on My Mind),” his tribute to Ray Charles.
Peter Frampton’s trademark may, indeed, be his use of the talk box—the tube attached to his mic allowing him to shape the sound of these words. The talk box’s presence was felt frequently during the night beginning with “Show Me the Way” and, of course, on “Do You Feel Like I Do.”
Frampton’s stage presence played right into the hearts of the audience. He playfully interacted with the audience frequently responding directly to shoutouts from the audience. One guy shouted, “Peter—I love you!” With a wry grin, Frampton responded, “Love you too…in a special kind of way!”
Frampton’s playful side also came out throughout the night. In “All I Wanna Be (Is By Your Side),” when Frampton got to the line “I don’t care, now that I’ve cut my hair,” he cast his eyes wistfully towards his balding pate, after which he called out to the audience to sing the chorus “By your side.”
Peter Frampton’s relationship with his audiences is also one of his enduring and charming traits. Frequently, he called out for the audience to sing his choruses and even held a little raffle to hand out an autographed vinyl of the re-released Frampton Comes Alive! to the guy named Bob in row I, seat 102. The affection from the crowd was palpable throughout the night with standing ovations.
Frampton paused mid-song and reflected on how excited and honored he felt to be nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. A QR code then flashed on the screen offering the audience the opportunity to instantly cast a fan vote. Laughing, Frampton said he would wait while folks voted on their phones, as the Jeopardy theme song played in the background.
Peter Frampton played much of the concert with his legendary black 1954 Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar with the three Humbucker pickups. There is quite a story about that. Gifted to Frampton in 1970, the guitar was by his side for a decade and can be heard on Frampton Comes Alive! It went down in a fiery crash of a cargo plane in South America during Frampton’s 1980 tour, presumably lost forever. However, it was found in the hands of a local guitarist and ultimately returned to Frampton over 30 years later.
Anyone questioning Frampton’s ability to shred with the best would have been disabused of that notion with “Do You Feel Like We Do.” After the final chorus, Frampton brought the house down with his intensity in the closing movements of the song.
“Do You Feel Like We Do” was the logical end of the set prior to an encore. Frampton said that that was the time they would normally rush off and do some drugs before coming back on stage for the encore. “We don’t do that anymore,” he admitted, then saying, “In fact, it takes me a half hour to get off the stage!”
The final songs of the evening began with a Humble Pie song, “Four Day Creep,” allowing bassist Alison Prestwood’s sultry voice to come through on “I want you to love me!”
A rollicking “I Don’t Need No Doctor” came next featuring extended solos from each of the band members, including a wild harmonica from Pat Bergeson.
The final song set was Frampton’s pièce de resistance for the evening—his version of The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” A soulful cover with Frampton’s unique interpretation.
After the last strains of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and bows with his band mates, Peter Frampton returned, slowly, to center stage. He acknowledged his struggles but said his illness would not define him and that he would keep touring and playing as long as he was physically able to.
He closed with a heartfelt and empathetic plea to the audience to think of others and to be sensitive to the challenges they, as well as all of us, face on a daily basis.
More touring to come from Peter Frampton?
We have all seen artists who continue to tour and perform well past their prime. In some cases, it may even be painful to see an artist or band live, while remembering them from their much better days.
But this is not the case with Peter Frampton. Not now and perhaps not for the next year or so. The energy and enthusiasm of Frampton’s 2 1/2 hour set belies any apparent effects of his illness. Peter Frampton played with the heart and soul of his much younger self much to the joy of the crowd.
And that goes to the heart of why this is the “Never EVER Say Never” Tour—witnessing this performance could convince you that Peter Frampton’s touring days are not over yet. At least one more tour may be in the offing.
That makes this baby boomer quite happy!
Click this link for the remaining dates on the “Never EVER Say Never” Tour through April 14: https://www.frampton.com/
Peter Frampton deserves to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!
Peter Frampton’s career and musical contributions certainly make him worthy of inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Arguably, he should have been included in 1998, his first year of eligibility. So, now that he has been nominated, please consider casting a fan vote for Peter Frampton! Here is the link to cast a vote. You can vote daily up until April 15, 2024.
See the Full Gallery of the Night Here!
If you captured any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.
Peter Frampton Setlist
Genesee Theater, Waukegan, IL
Golden Goose
Lying
Shine On
I Got My Eyes on You
Lines on My Face
Show Me the Way
Georgia (On My Mind)
The Crying Clown
Baby, I Love Your Way
All I Wanna Be (Is By Your Side)
I Wanna Go to the Sun
Black Hole Sun
(I’ll Give You) Money
Do You Feel Like I Do
Four Day Creep
I Don’t Need No Doctor
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
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