TORONTO -- A mere eight months after first performing his Growing Up show at the Air Canada Centre last December, Peter Gabriel returned with a more intimate and stripped down version of the concert last night at the Molson Amphitheatre.

And while the visionary production, designed by Quebec theatre and film director Robert Lepage, didn't pack exactly the same punch as it did the first time, Gabriel's 2.5-hour performance still proved to be an uplifting and emotional experience.

Perhaps even more so.

Without all the bells and whistles of the circular and rotating stage that dominated the ACC show, the 53-year-old Gabriel and his six-piece band -- including daughter Melanie on backing vocals -- were forced to improvise and get more up close and personal. Literally.

On more than one occasion, special moments between father and daughter dominated the setting, whether they moved comically around the stage on people movers during Games Without Frontiers or more poignantly sang together for Don't Give Up and Come Talk To Me.

Gone last night was Gabriel's upsidedown walk alongside Melanie (during the new song Downside-Up), and both his bike ride and her boat ride (on Salisbury Hill and Mercy Street, respectively).

In fact, Gabriel kept material from last year's latest album, Up, to just four songs -- Darkness, Growing Up, More Than This and Signal To Noise.

Mercy Street began beautifully with everyone but drummer Jed Lynch joining Gabriel at the front of the stage for a stirring a capella opening while Salisbury Hill saw the singer and most of his band come off the stage and wander the aisles.

Thankfully returning last night was the show-stopping transparent plastic sphere that Gabriel travelled around the stage in -- hamster-style -- during Growing Up much to the delight of the 11,500 in attendance.

He bounced up and down, rocked back and forth, and even threatened to flatten guitarist David Rhodes at one point.

It was so absurd it was cool.

Gabriel also employed an incredible-looking camera-on-the-head contraption which showed the crowd extreme closeups of his face during Digging The Dirt.

Opening the evening with the incredible Red Rain, Gabriel hit his stride early with another oldie Secret World.

But, like last time at the ACC, the show's high points proved to be the dance-happy

Sledgehammer -- which saw Gabriel don his lightbulb suit one more time -- and the stirring encore number In Your Eyes with opener and Uzbekistan pop star Sevara Nazarkhan returning to the stage to blow away the crowd with her startling vocals.

Another unexpected surprise was the show-ending Biko. (More on Peter Gabriel)

SET LIST

* Red Rain

* More Than This

* Secret World

* Games Without Frontiers

* Mercy Street

* Darkness

* Digging In The Dirt

* Don't Give Up

* Tower (That Ate People)

* Growing Up

* San Jacinto

* Salisbury Hill

* Sledgehammer

* Signal To Noise

FIRST ENCORE: In Your Eyes

SECOND ENCORE: Come Talk To Me, Biko