For decades, fans of vintage Genesis have been clamoring for a reunion of the original band, and this time they got oh-so close. Peter Gabriel almost signed on to do a "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" tour before deciding, at least in his own mind, he had better things to do.

Given that, hardcore Genesis geeks were better off not dwelling on those possibilities as they entered Mellon Arena Sunday night for the "Turn It On Again" tour.

As it turns out, Genesis made a pretty good choice 33 years ago when they let the drummer sing. Phil Collins was able to quarterback the dreamy art-rock sound for a while before saying, "what the hell" and turning them into the pop machine that made an arena reunion like this even possible.

Collins, having been swinging around with Tarzan, has also held up well, looking somewhat like your gym teacher, minus the whistle. In fact, all the members of Genesis still look handsome and gentlemanly -- although that's hardly even important to the proceedings.

The band still fills a room with glorious sound and light, all on a set that looked like a stadium piece squeezed into an arena. Rather than ramps, Genesis says "let there be lights." They had a high-tech, industrial-looking layout with a giant LED spread that constituted a screen to show the band, eye-popping designs and a few creepy-scary closeups of Collins.

With Collins and Chester Thompson both on their kits, Genesis began smack in the middle of its career with a rousing "Duke/Turn It On Again," and then traveled in both directions. Over the course of a 2-hour-and-40-minute set, they did songs to get people dancing, songs to sweep you away to dreamy places, emotionally scorching ballads and extended pieces to blow you away with musicianship. It's totally weird that it's all coming out of the same band.

In the beginning, we got some of funk-era Genesis with the ever-timely "Land of Confusion." Then Collins asked, "Any old people here tonight...except us?" Obviously, the answer was Yes (and not the Rick Wakeman Yes). With that, Genesis launched into the highlight of the show, a frenzied "In the Cage," powered by the tense layering of keyboard wiz Tony Banks. OK, Collins doesn't hit the goosebump-inducing high notes Gabriel once did, but he sang it strong and then raced to the drums for the proggy jam that ultimately came out the other end with the heavenly melody of "Afterglow."

Longtime guitarist Daryl Stuermer got his chance to shine -- and soar and shred -- on "Firth of Fifth," an instrumental that's like a flight simulator through a fantastical land. It may have been a revelation to some to see how much of the band's sound is guitar-driven.

One of the reasons Genesis became popular in the '80s is Collins' balance of chops and showmanship. Unlike Gabriel, he'll goof with the crowd, as he did on "I Know What I Like," complete with a circus-like tambourine trick, and on the encore "I Can't Dance," with his comical strut. He can also turn sinister, as on the "huh-ha, huh-ha's" of the pounding "Mama," bathing him in a red-light closeup a la Vincent Price.

"On behalf of the group," he joked after that, "I would like to apologize for the disgusting nature of that song," and introduced one that goes to a "place of innocence." It was "Ripples," a thing of pure beauty delicately handled by Banks.

Drum solos are an arena cliche, unless Collins and Thompson are holding the sticks. They started by beating on stools and then eased over to their kits -- Thompson's ginormous, Collins' more kid-sized -- for a workout that balanced flash with nuance, leading into another far-out jam, "Los Endos."

To close out the set and start the encore we got the lights-up, poppy, sing-along Genesis of "Invisible Touch" and "I Can't Dance." The final thought, though, was a shimmering "Carpet Crawlers" that reverted to the original idea of a full-fledged reunion.

It wasn't mean to be this time -- or maybe ever -- but the more popular "and-then-there-were-three" version of Genesis remains a force that can dazzle with beauty, intensity or pure fun.