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| We Can't Dance (tour) | |
|---|---|
| Concert tour name | We Can't Dance Tour |
| Artist | Genesis |
| Album | We Can't Dance |
| Start date | 1992-09-08 |
| End date | 1993-07-10 |
| Number of shows | 75 |
We Can't Dance (tour) was a concert tour by Genesis in support of their fourteenth studio album, We Can't Dance, running from September 1992 to July 1993. The tour traversed venues across North America, Europe, and Australia, featuring an extended setlist that mixed tracks from the new album with classics from the band's catalogue, including material associated with Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins solo careers. Production elements reflected collaborations with designers and technicians who had worked with artists such as Pink Floyd, U2, and The Rolling Stones.
Genesis announced the tour following the commercial success of We Can't Dance and the hit singles "No Son of Mine" and "I Can't Dance", amid continuing mainstream visibility from Phil Collins's solo projects and Mike Rutherford's work with Mike + The Mechanics. Planning involved coordination between the band's management, including Tony Smith's company, and promoters such as AEG Presents and Concerts West. Logistics drew on previous large-scale routing experience from the Invisible Touch Tour and the Abacab Tour eras, negotiating stadium and arena dates with local promoters in markets like Madison Square Garden, Wembley Stadium, and Melbourne Cricket Ground equivalents. Technical rehearsals were staged in London, integrating staging concepts tested in workshops that referenced production techniques used by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush.
The itinerary comprised four legs: a North American leg beginning in September 1992, a European arena and stadium run in late 1992, a North American summer stadium leg in 1993, and a short Australian and Japanese finale. Venues included iconic locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Manchester, Barcelona, Sydney, and Melbourne—cities central to the band's international market. The schedule balanced arena residencies and open-air stadium shows, with routing devised to minimize ferry and freight transit times between continents; routing partners included freight forwarders used by Pink Floyd and U2's tours. Several dates sold out rapidly in markets like Toronto, Paris, and Berlin, prompting additional shows in some cities.
The setlist blended tracks from We Can't Dance with staples from albums such as Genesis (1983), Invisible Touch, Selling England by the Pound, and earlier progressive-era compositions. Typical shows opened with up-tempo numbers and included extended medleys featuring excerpts from The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway-era songs and passages associated with Phil Collins's solo hits. Songs performed included "No Son of Mine", "I Can't Dance", "Land of Confusion", "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", and "Invisible Touch", interspersed with ballads like "Hold on My Heart" and "Throwing It All Away". The band incorporated video sequences referencing directors who had worked on their promotional clips and used visual motifs similar to those in Peter Gabriel's concert films. Audience interaction often highlighted Phil Collins' drumming breaks and Mike Rutherford's guitar solos, while keyboard passages by Tony Banks were featured prominently.
Stage design emphasized cinematic lighting, large-format video screens, and hydraulic moving elements, with input from production designers experienced on tours by U2, Madonna, and The Rolling Stones. The rig used an integrated sound system by manufacturers favored by arena tours and a lighting plot that replicated the studio textures of the album. Video content included custom animations and recorded sequences, created in collaboration with visual effects houses that had worked for Peter Gabriel and David Bowie. Rigging and stage engineering adhered to standards deployed at major stadium events, and production rehearsals involved road crews associated with long-term Genesis touring personnel.
Contemporary reviews from publications covering music and live performance praised the band's musicianship, the emotional range of the setlist, and the scale of production, with commentary appearing in outlets that had previously reviewed tours by U2, Pink Floyd, and The Rolling Stones. Critics noted the interplay between Genesis' pop-era hits and their progressive roots, with some reviewers comparing Phil Collins' stage persona to his solo performances and assessing Tony Banks' keyboard textures relative to those on earlier albums. Dissenting reviews questioned the balance between spectacle and intimacy, echoing discussions contemporaneous with Madonna and Aerosmith tours.
The tour achieved substantial commercial success, with high grosses in North American and European markets and numerous sold-out dates in major cities like New York City, London, Los Angeles, and Sydney. Box-office reporting placed several shows among the year's top-grossing concerts, and attendance figures rivaled those of stadium tours by U2 and Pink Floyd in the early 1990s. Merchandise sales, including tour shirts and a commemorative program, contributed to the tour's revenue alongside sponsorship arrangements common to large-scale tours of the period.
The touring lineup featured core members Phil Collins (lead vocals, drums), Tony Banks (keyboards), and Mike Rutherford (guitar, bass), supported by longtime touring musicians including guitarist/bassist Daryl Stuermer and drummer Chester Thompson. Additional keyboard and backing vocal support came from touring staff who had previously worked with artists like Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins on solo tours. Guest appearances occurred sporadically, with local artists joining for encores at select dates.
Some performances were recorded for radio broadcasts and archival purposes, contributing to bootlegs and later official releases in box sets that document the band's live history alongside releases like live albums by Genesis and solo live recordings by Phil Collins. The tour is remembered for consolidating Genesis' late-career mainstream audience and influencing stagecraft approaches adopted by subsequent arena tours from acts such as Coldplay and Muse. Its legacy endures in discussions of early 1990s rock stadium production and the career trajectories of the band's principal members.
Category:Genesis (band) concert tours