Growing Up and the art of dealing with an obsession for Mr Gabriel

Peter Gabriel Live at the Alcatraz, Milano ­ 16 and 19/09/2002

Everywhere he goes is news. Today is different. Today is not the sameI've been waiting for this I've been As the lights of the Alcatraz dimmed out and the roaring of the crowd began I could hear these old PG lyrics ringing in my mind. Finally there he was, standing proudly above the sea of faces. It was a strange moment mixed with sense of joy and sadness. The nostalgia of my youth, perhaps, or the realization that Mr. Peter Gabriel was not this god that I had made him to be but an ordinary human being who, as myself, was a victim of the ravages of time. Nine years had gone by since the last time I saw him on stage, but only two years since I had seen him at an OVO press conference in the same city. When the first chords of Darkness filled the air, followed by the explosion of his voice, a more overwhelming thought possessed me until the last note of the concert: Peter Gabriel is no ordinary rock star. He has been lodged in some corner of my brain for over 25 years and he, once again, woke up my empty shell and burned into my memory cells. It's downright obscene the power of this artist in his ability to stir such passion, to revive such longing and always surprise me in his quest for musical perfection.

Milan was not Gabriel's first stop on this mini-promotional tour of Europe. It was preceded by Munich and Arzachena in Sardegna. But as Tony Levin, Peter's legendary bass player, quoted on his web page: Last night, the first ''real'' show of the Gabriel tour, at a large club here in Milan, called Alcatraz. Indeed, this first Milan date was the first test performance in the sense that unlike Munich and Arzachena, Peter had in front of him people who were specifically coming to see him. Munich was a festival of different artists and hence not everyone was coming just to see Gabriel. And Arzachena, was a last minute concert performed in the middle of a village square with hardly any Gabriel fans in sight. Lucky were the few who managed to make that one! (Marcello I want a copy of that tape!)

So anyway, without wanting to go into every detail of these wonderful two evenings (you will find ample interesting minute-to-minute reviews detailing the shows on the best web site dedicated to Gabriel : www.solsburyhill.org), allow me instead to reflect on the aspects of these performances which really stood out for me and this in the perspective of previous Gabriel shows that I have seen in the last 20 years. Of course, Peter's physical appearance has changed and he kind of looks like Marlon Brando these days or some kind of Wizard out of fantasy land with that little goatee beard, uughhand luckily trimmed down since the Munich show. But, what must be said, first and foremost, is that it took a few seconds after he started singing to realise that the most unique feature of any Gabriel show is still, and will always be, his voice, as powerful as ever. More so, it has become even richer with time like a good bottle of wine. So apart from the performance of the band, the light show, the arrangements of the music and the interaction of the crowd, for me the most important feature was to be able to close my eyes, at times, and be lifted into a state of bliss, and attain this 'musical orgasm' inherent in all Gabriel shows. There were some notable examples of these moments, hitting a vocal chord and stretching it out to a peak, as a guitarist would do by pressing on his pedal, in songs like Mercy Street, The Flood and Father Son. It was clear that Peter had not lost his magical voice and that this in itself was worth all the artefacts which are an integral and also important part of his concerts.

The music was wonderfully performed by Peter's band. Both old and new songs were energetic and fully co-ordinated. Of course this is only the beginning as the band has not had much time to smoothen out the edges. So, I am sure that, as the tour progresses, the songs will sound even better. Already comparing the first night with the second, I can safely say that there was an improvement in the former in the way the songs sounded. Better mix from the sound-engineer and a more confident and hence relaxed band. Peter seemed also happier expressing his joy with increased movements across the stage during some of the songs. Compared to the past, he did remain noticeably rather static during most of these concerts, concentrating on playing the keyboards. But, when he did bounce around on numbers like Barry Williams Show, Solsbury Hill, Sledgehammer and In your eyes, he was the Peter Gabriel of ten years ago.

I disliked the fact that he announced practically every song. I thought the element of surprise could have added to the excitement. On the other hand, it was pleasing when he announced on the first night for My Head Sounds Like That and Animal Nation that it was the first time that they were performing them in public. Likewise, on the second night, for Upside Down and The Tower that Ate People.

My Head Sounds Like That is my favourite song on UP and definitely beautifully performed live, the gorgeous blue lights, flashing like a shower of water and adding to the drama. The unreleased Animal Nation, performed on the first night, left me unimpressed perhaps because it reminded me of In your eyes, which is my least favourite Gabriel song of all times. I'll have to give a second chance by a good listen on one of the live audience recordings which will inevitably surface in the coming weeks and circulate amongst fans. Sorry Peter, with all due respect, I don't really want to have to wait another ten years until an official version of this song is finally released.

Best moments of the shows: For me it was Darkness , Growing Up, Mercy Street and Digging in the Dirt on both nights. Father Son, performed only on the first night. And I Grieve, The Tower that Ate People, and The Flood, only on the second night.

Did get the odd goose bumps on Upside down with Melanie Gabriel's beautiful voice opening the song. It was that much stronger for me by the fact that I was witnessing a father and daughter singing in unison. Something rare in the music world. Melanie was criticised by many of the fans as being purely ornamental, not adding any substance to the show. I disagree. Her presence was a plus. Not only is she a beautiful women (always pleasant, right mates!) but I really felt that her back-up vocals added to the songs. I am ready to bet that as the tour progresses she will lose some of her timidity and stand out and shine even more.

Wonderful flute work by Richard Evans on Mercy Street as well as his acoustic guitar playing. It brought back justice to the original album version of Solysbury Hill where other than the first tour, this noble instrument was sadly always left out.

Comparisons are inevitable and Ged Lynch versus Manu Katché on drums was predictably going to be brought out on the table. I will say that both drummers are excellent each within his own style. While Manu has a more colourful and wider range in tonality, Lynch is more monolithic and incisive sounding, which perfectly suits the new numbers, i.e. dark and ominous. I'm no musical expert but I found no flaws in his playing and I hardly missed Manu's sound on the songs from SO and US. Lynch had that edge which brought back memories of the grand Jerry Marotta. David Rhodes seems to stand out more and more with each consecutive tour. Peter, has always placed the guitar on a second plane in his music, ostensibly not allowing it to supersede the main instrument: his voice. Hence it has never dominated his music but has always been omnipresent nonetheless, harmoniously entwined in the intricacies of the sound textures. On the other hand, the bass, played by Maestro Antonio Levino, as Peter lovingly re-named him, remains a central pillar in the Gabriel sound. But, today, both guitar and bass share an equal footing merging hand in hand around the voice. The keyboards have followed the same path becoming very prominent on some of the newer numbers, especially the more mainstream numbers or 'hits' such as Barry Williams Show, Sledgehammer and In your eyes. Rachel Z was buoyant with energy and loads of fun to watch. As energetic and enjoyable to hear these latter songs live, they were the least interesting for me. They just don't rock my boat and I could not escape the inevitable yawns. I spent more time checking out the crowd at these times and getting a kick out of the gesticulations of the younger Gabriel fans, of the female contingent above all, who were not even born when Peter was singing such classics as White Shadow, Family Snapshot, and San Jacinto and who would not be able to fathom their musical profundity. Hey, speaking of which, what ever happened to these three early albums from which these songs are extracted? Why were they completely omitted on this tour? This was to me the biggest disappointment that such classics were confined to oblivion. But I can understand the priorities of a touring artist of today: music has become more of a business and the priority must be given to the new creation, UP and to its immediate predecessors, material which is more likely to cater to the younger generation than the older 'Moribunds'! I do imagine that statistically the older fans of twenty years ago are slowly but surely starting to be outranked by the teenagers fed on So and US. Luckily, these few moments of boredom were compensated, at least on the second nights by pleasant surprises like the majestically interrupted The Tower That Ate People from OVO. The new More than this, on the other hand, did not move me. I would have much preferred to see the awesome hymn of Signal to Noise.

I am convinced that the newly released UP will definitely seduce younger listeners. I can already tell you that my sixteen year old au-pair girl has already snatched my copy of UP after she has been 'brainwashed' by my incessant playing of it both at home and in the car. However, my six-year old boy, was rather freaked every time the haunting screeches of Darkness came on, and at one point so much so I was forced to replace the disk with some Mozart to calm his nerves.

To conclude, this Gabriel adventure has all in all been most satisfying with both a great new album and a great start to a world tour. No, I will not play this game of comparing UP with previous albums. All I will say is that as all Gabriel albums it has its strengths and weaknesses and there is no sense to dwell on these. Like all art forms, music remains a subjective experience: Les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas, as says the French adage. Unlike most hardcore fans, I thank Peter for having waited so long to release it. In the process I have been able to save time and money. Think about all the money I would have had to dispense buying records and going to see his gigs if he had stuck to the routine that many rock stars fall in, so much loathed by Peter himself, of the album-tour-album-tour vicious circle, like a dog biting his own tail! Not to mention that Peter has not been inactive these last ten years giving us some magical moments with OVO and the recent Rabbit Proof Fence soundtrack and his numerous side contributions in promoting other world artists. What an artist, what an interesting person to speak to. I was lucky enough that on both nights I was able to get backstage despite the heavy security (and I won't reveal my secret) and meet Peter and his band, shake their hands and talk with them at length! And, yes lads, Melanie is beautiful with daddy's deep blue eyes and that killer smile! What a thrill drinking a Heineken in Peter's dressing room and talking about past and present. One question that I did manage to ask him was what he had thought of the Canadian early Genesis cover band, The Musical Box. "Yeah, I did manage to go see them in Bristol with my daughters. They were really good in recreating the past but there were some moments of the show which worked for me and others notBut yes, they were great musicians." I wanted him to go more in depth but did not want to insist too much as other people were roaming around him like flies wanting also to get their moment of glory with the star of the millennium. I'll bring my can of insecticide next time around!

A warm thanks to Monika Pinto, lead singer from the excellent warm-up band Spaccanapoli for taking a snap shot of Peter, myself and the famous Mr. MOZO from Milano. Can't wait to see this photo.

I am already 'hungry' for more Gabriel concerts and cannot wait for his return to Europe with the complete stage show next February. Or, am I crazy enough to fly to the USA and catch him in November in one of the 20'000 seater venues? I don't own a good pair of binoculars! Only an artist like Peter Gabriel can bring out the teenager in me and tempt me with such an endeavour, but then again, Peter's music is so precious that reason inevitably kicks in and gives me the needed patience to see him perform his quality music in a more intimate setting not exceeding the 2'000 to 3'000 capacity venues of the old continent. A presto Peter!

Roger Salem
Arosio, 24.09.02