Peter Gabriel on the Jools Holland Show: A Live In-Audience Report

By

Slipperman

 

MY OVO TRIP

 

When Jools Holland announced that Peter Gabriel would be appearing on a special

live edition of his Later... series on Sunday May 28, he also announced that a

contest for tickets would be held on the show's website. It was late. I logged on

and entered. And thought nothing more of it.

 

The following Thursday - just three days before the show - the BBC rang me at work

to say I'd won. It took a little time to sink in.

 

Even though the 340-mile round trip would have me home in the early hours - the

show would not end until 12:30 or 12:45am, we were warned - when I had to be in

work at 8am the next morning, there was no way I was going to miss this chance to

see PG live for the first time since 1993.

 

One of the first people I told was an old schoolfriend who, like me, had seen every

Gabriel tour since the second outing in 1977. He immediately offered to abandon his

young family for the night and drive me to Southampton Guildhall.

 

We were off.

 

BEFORE THE SHOW

 

Getting into the 1930s art deco Guildhall on the night was a shambles. The BBC had

told us we had to be in by 9:15pm. Fat chance. When we arrived early we were told

that no-one would be allowed in before 9:30. So we ate and went back at 9:10 to see

huge queues forming. These mainly comprised fellow contest winners (all, like us,

still waiting to pick up their tickets at the box office), people on the guest list

and students from local colleges and universities who had been given free tickets.

They queues never moved for over an hour. No-one got in. (At one point, RealWorld

engineer David Bottrill came past, and someone in the line recognised him. The two

obviously knew each other and DB seem surprised his pal was still waiting to gain

admission. DB and friend marched up to the door but even the influence of Monsieur

Bottrill couldn't pull any strings and his dejected friend had to return to his

previous spot in line).

 

For people outside the UK who have never seen Later...With Jools Holland, the show

is usually broadcast from the BBC Television Centre in London's Shepherds Bush.

This was a special 'on the road' edition going out across the whole nation as part

of the BBC Music Live! Festival' which included thousands of musical performances

over the UK's holiday weekend. The format is simple but effective: each week

several bands each play two or three tunes live in a large circle with members of

the audience dotted around the performance space.

 

The big initial disappointment for us that we were allocated spaces in the balcony

overlooking the playing space. So we were not going to be in amongst the bands. We

did get a good overview of the show from our perch up there in the gods, however.

 

So who else was on? Moby, Eels, Billy Bragg, the vocal group Black Umfolosi from

Zimbabwe, UK soul star Gabrielle (who I think had Yes guitarist Steve Howe's son

Dylan playing drums for her) and Southampton chart soul singer Craig David made up

a nice bill.

 

Before the show we witnessed Jools Holland doing a live link-up with London as part

of an appeal to people to donate their unwanted musical instruments as part of a

national appeal - and witnessed the strange power of the TV warm-up man. We were

told how, when and how long to applaud. (How: with our hands above our heads, so it

didn't look like "we were playing with our genitalia." When: less than a nanosecond

after each band stopped playing. How long: for a minimum of 15 seconds after each

act stopped playing' no matter which act had just finished.) This was rehearsed

again and again' proving for once and for all there is no such thing as spontaneous

TV applause.

 

One of the features of Later... is the "opening groove." Each week every band on

the show joins in a simple riff - different each week - that is decided shortly

before the show goes on the air.

 

Holland told us before the broadcast that this show's groove was "an idea thought

up this afternoon by Peter Gabriel": a simple vamp in A and E.

 

This was rather attractive, actually, starting with the string section in Peter's

band, and then being passed around the room until every band on the bill was

playing along as the cameras whirled around to see them picking up the riff. It was

rehearsed three times while the ubiquitous warm-up man made sure we all clapped

along EXACTLY in time.

 

Gabriel looked old, bald and strange but calm and cheerful. (If you don't think he

looks old on the screenshots on the Hill, two different people's first question of

me when I returned was "How old is he now?"*). Even though he was the biggest name

on, there was no sign of ego or rank-pulling and he seemed genuinely interested in

and appreciative of the other acts. When all the artists assembled around Jools

Holland's grand piano for a "team photo before the show" Billy Bragg and E from

the Eels made a point of introducing themselves to him and Bragg seemed

particularly pleased to chat with PG. Gabriel himself, meanwhile, made a beeline

for Moby and introduced himself to him. All of the artists seemed to get on very

well. There were no apparent "bad apples."

 

There was one funny pre-show incident, though. About ten minutes before showtime,

the producers decided to have one last soundcheck. Each band played a minute or so

of their opening song just to check everything was OK sound-wise. Gabrielle went

first' then Moby' then Eels. PG was next in line and I saw him tapping his foot to

the Eels song while he waited his turn. My attention wandered back to the Eels.

When they stopped playing, technicians, knowing there were only a few minutes left

for this soundcheck, raced to PG's position.

 

Only to find that PG had vanished.

 

Oh, the band were still there. But Gabriel had just disappeared. Consternation

ensued. The crew rushed round to Billy Bragg, who quickly began his soundcheck

while others rushed round to find Gabriel. They found him with a minute or two to

spare, talking to someone in the audience diagonally opposite his stage position -

about as far as it was physically possible for him to get away from his band and

still be in the room. He ambled back to the piano like he had all the time in the

world and calmly led his band though the opening verse of Downside-Up.

 

The more I think about this, the more I think it was deliberate. I've read about PG

deliberately turning up at the last possible minute for trains, buses and planes

while on tour, just to add a spot of danger. And this little display reminded me a

lot of those stories. It was amusing to see the absolute panic which broke out. He

must have known it would happen.

 

GABRIEL'S PERFORMANCE

 

PG had a huge ensemble. Holland mentioned it many times throughout the show,even calling out individual players' names.

 

The line-up was, back row, left to right: the eight-piece Electra Strings, led by

Eyes Wide Shut composer Jocelyn Pook; Tony Levin on bass; Dominic Greensmith from

the band Reef on drums; David Rhodes on electric guitar; Richard Evans on 12-string

electric guitar; and the entire Black Dyke Band, all dressed in their traditional

uniforms and conducted by James Watson.

 

Front row, left to right: PG on piano, synth and vocals; Elisabeth Fraser on

vocals; Paul Buchanan on vocals; and Charlie May on keyboards.

 

Gabriel could be seen animatedly talking to Greensmith and miming out beats

immediately before the broadcast, obviously emphasising details of how he wanted

the song playing.

 

Both songs were an object lesson in the difference between TV sound and live sound.

There was no PA in the room' just the individual bands, amplification, and the

sound mix was designed for the TV viewers at home rather than the live audience.

Bands closer to us, like Moby and the Eels, sounded vibrant because we could hear

the sound of their drummers really close.

 

But we mainly heard Peter's mega-band through small speakers not much bigger than

those on your average hi fi system. And he was at the other end of the hall. This

made Downside-Up, the first number he did, sound a bit of a mess. The strings and

brass were inaudible and Fraser and Buchanan - who are great, but hardly the most

outgoing of performers at the best of times - sounded tentative and a little

overwhelmed in their delivery. Levin drove the piece superbly in the mid-section,

though, and David Rhodes delivered the most exciting and vivid piece of guitar work

I've ever heard from him.

 

Later in the show, Peter redeemed this with a spellbinding "Father, Son." This

sounded superb and PG himself delivered the vocal with impeccable emotion, despite

one lyrical glitch (he sang "hotel room" rather than "empty room" in the opening

lines). Levin's bass work was subtle, tasteful and superbly effective and the brass

band delivered a stunning emotional punch in the closing stages. It was an

absolutely excellent performance.

 

(When I saw the show on videotape, however, I was taken aback at how different it

sounded. Downside-Up - while still a little uncertain - sounded much more powerful

and, far from being audible, the strings were crystal clear and the brass almost

overpowering. The tape also confirmed the stunning quality of Rhodes and Levin's

work. In contrast, "Father, Son" - while still very impressive - was more emotive in

the room than on-screen. The TV mix was more 'muted' with the brass mixed down and the bass almost gone).

 

After Downside-Up, PG went to many of the band members, thanking them and hugging Fraser, Buchanan, Rhodes and Levin. All of them apart from PG, TLev, May and the brass band then vanished as they weren't needed until the closing shots of all the performers.

 

Gabriel watched all the other bands with interest. One of the audience

participation highlights was the performance of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by Black

Umfolosi, which featured the singers encouraging the audience to wave their arms in

the air in increasingly animated ways. Most of the bands joined in as well, as did

Gabriel sitting at his piano.

 

There was also a short interview with PG by Jools and, although this didn't really

contain anything new, he was amusing and acquitted himself well. He defended the

Millennium Dome (as did Holland, who played there at the New Year's Eve opening

gala) from the rather vitriolic treatment it is receiving at the hands of British

politicians and the press. Although the plan is for the Dome to be sold off at the

end of 2000, PG said quite passionately that it should remain in public hands. He

also said that OVO had been a "contentious title" and when Holland quizzed him

about its origins pointed at his eyes and nose and said "Two eyes and a bit

in-between. Then came his ritual washing power joke: "OMO" got there first. This

led to Holland relating how, decades ago, adulterous British wives used to put the

OMO soapflake packets on their kitchen window ledges as a signal to their lovers'

the initials being used to stand for "Old Man Out." Amused, Gabriel replied: "You

obviously know more about this than I do."

 

AND FINALLY....

 

Although I felt exhausted for about 48 hours afterwards, I wouldn't have missed the

show. It's been nearly seven years since I since saw the old bastard play live and

it's about time he did it some more. OVO is a real treat and several of the tracks

would sound great in a new live set. Roll on 2001!

 

PS: Moby and the Eels, featuring the awesome Lisa Germano, were also great but I've

gone on long enough as it is.

---

*Geez, the Solsbury Committee got a mid-life crisis just reading this! Note to Gabriel: Don't listen to these people! They're jealous of you and your stunning good looks! Although, you may want to stop shaving your head, as people will no longer be able to tell the difference between you and Tony Levin!