Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Artists who fake a farewell to merely milk extra money out of fans a few years later are becoming increasingly common, but Peter Frampton is one of the few whose circumstances don’t fall into that category.

Sure, he mounted the massive “Finale” Tour in 2019, but it was prompted by a muscle disorder diagnosis of inclusion body myositis, which had the potential to limit his ability to play guitar.

But as the latest unexpected outing so perfectly proclaims, “Never Ever Say Never” since it turns out he’s progressing much better than expected, resulting in a brisk sell out at the intimate and acoustically ideal Genesee Theatre.

Except for taking a seat for the duration of the extensive evening, the current Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee was the same six-string god as the guy with the long locks on the cover of the iconic “Frampton Comes Alive” double album.

At 73-years-old, his unmistakable voice was on point as well, despite the relatively recent long player being an entirely instrumental covers collection, “Frampton Forgets The Words,” featuring tracks from his former boss David Bowie, The Beatles’ George Harrison, Lenny Kravitz, Roxy Music and Radiohead.

Even so, the Englishmen made a point of performing everything older that was expected, alongside some welcome curveballs, starting on the solo notes of “Golden Goose” and “Lying,” then sampling his prior stint in Humble Pie via “Shine On.”

The mighty call and response of “Show Me The Way” led the trajectory towards many more personal classics, including a lovely, unplugged edition of “Baby, I Love Your Way” and the extended talk box bounce of “Do You Feel Like We Do.”

Frampton also boasted the distinction of making other people’s material seem like originals, such as a wordless stab at the standard “Georgia (On My Mind),” always giving the Genesee every once of strength he could muster and mounting an impressive comeback in the process.

For additional information on Peter Frampton, visit Frampton.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Genesee Theatre include Splish Splash: The Music Of Bobby Darin (Apr. 4); Alice: Dreaming Of Wonderland (Apr. 6); Brit Floyd (Apr. 7); Mariachi Herencia de México (Apr. 11); The Mavericks (Apr. 12); Kansas (Apr. 13); Nikki Glaser (Apr. 19); Evil Woman: The American ELO (Apr. 21); One Vision Of Queen (May 2); “Little Women” (May 4-5); Get The Led Out (May 9); Henry Cho (May 10); Ballet Folklórico Tayahua (May 11); The Family Stone (May 17); Josh Gates (May 30); Pete Davidson (Jun. 15); Rumours: The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Show (Sept. 6); Gavin DeGraw (Sept. 13); Michael Bolton (Oct. 20) and The Piano Guys (Nov. 7). For additional details, visit GeneseeTheatre.com.

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