Just wanted to send a quick note about what a wonderful time I had at
WOMAD USA this past weekend. This was my fourth WOMAD concert I have
been at, and the my third time going to Seattle for this great festival.

On Saturday night I was listening & dancing to DJ Peretz (Perry Farrell
from Jane's Addiction / Lollapalooza founder) and looked back and
couldn't believe my eyes that PG himself was about three rows back, just
standing there (no visible security or assistants). (in fact at first I
wasn't sure it was him, I mean it looked like him but, could it really
be him). Now being a big PG fan and having a lot of great respect for
him as an extremely talented artist and atruristic person I was so
nervous, but I thought this is once in a lifetime opportunity to meet
him, so I must be bold enough to meet him. (I was worried about looking
like a crazy fan and didn't want to intrude)

I went up to him and said, "Peter Gabriel?" , and he said "Yes, I am
Peter Gabriel". I stated my name and that I was from Minneapolis and
was so honored to meet him. He said it great meeting fans and he said
"So what do you think of the festival, are you enjoying it" I stated
yes that I was having a wonderful time and that this was my fourth
WOMAD. "He said, "Great!" I asked him how the new "Up" was
progressing, he stated he working on a couple of final tracks and mixing
and it should be out by Spring of 2002. I told him that I am looking
forward to hearing it and that I really enjoyed his "Ovo" release. I
thanked him for his time and told him looking forward to hearing him
tomorrow night, he stated it was nice meeting me too.

After I met him and thought about our conversation, there is a thousand
things I would have love to talk about, but I had no idea that I would
ever get a chance to meet him and I was so nervous. WOW, I finally got
to meet PG and we was so nice, warm, and very personable, but what else
would you expect from Pete ! :-)

I just had to share this with you.

Rod Krueger

by GingerGirl

My first WOMAD: how could I know that it would change me forever? I have found the most precious and wonderful of worlds; I didn't even know I was looking for it; and actually, seems that IT found ME.

I was almost unable to attend WOMAD, because I thought I was too poor; financially, that is... (Mac Cat, you might remember my woeful, whiny emails.."oh, whatever will I do? *sniff sniff...") But then, I discovered, via Solsbury Miscellany that the Great One, himself was putting a set together, AND taking requests! "Oh, my" I thought, "surely if I don't attend WOMAD now, I WILL DIE!" I threw caution and common sense to the wind and activated a new credit card :)
Not even the crabby flight attendants dampened my spirits. I jumped up and down anxiously in my seat, the whole way there. I stumbled off the plane and almost forgot to get my luggage. I was ready to WALK all the way to Marymoor Park.. Thank goodness my sweetie pointed out that we should just take the damn shuttle.

Firstly, I must say that when one is part of the CAMPING community at WOMAD, one breathes, eats, and port-a-potties the GREAT ONE's spirit. Three days and two nights of camping right outside WOMAD's door: now THAT's living! When you camp at WOMAD, you have NEIGHBORS. They say 'good morning' when you emerge from your tent and share herb [What? Oregano?:)--Ed.] when you look like you need it. :) They smile patronizingly when you babble about Peter. They've heard it all before. But no matter. They too, know he is the reason that we're all here. They bring instruments, especially drums. NOT the kind you beat with a stick. They form drum circles before and after the day's festivities. They invite you to join. They dance with abandon and pure joy. And before they leave you, they say "see ya next year!" I STRONGLY recommend camping at WOMAD. Even if you're local. The true spirit of WOMAD is extremely contagious and air-borne when you're a camper. Besides, if you DON'T camp at WOMAD, you just might regret not being there early enough to hear Peter's beautiful voice creep into your sleep, rousing you from RealWorld dreams, and beckoning you to the main stage where he is doing a sound check. :)

On all three days we walked the long (ok, it wasn't THAT long, perhaps I'm a little outta shape) pilgrimage to WOMAD's glorious entrance, the gate that would surely take me to heaven. The first day was full of anticipation and excitement, just to be there. The second day was a long, slow build-up, as I counted the hours. Would I be saved on the third day? Yes.....yes I would! It was a beautiful day to see and hear Peter....and Tony Levin; and David Rhodes; and Peter's lovely daughter, Melanie. Forty-five minutes of that wonderful, soothing voice: aaaaaahhhhhh! I cried during "Mercy Street" and "Here Comes The Flood". I jammed to the funked-out "Come Talk To Me". When I heard "In Your Eyes" I felt like I was floating. And when he joined Afro Celt later I just went wild!

I cried again when it was all over. "Could we just live at WOMAD forever?" I asked my sweetie. "I don't wanna go back to the so-called real world. I wanna be in RealWorld!" "Hey," I said excitedly, "we could sell all our stuff and buy a small plane with the money...I could take flying lessons...we'll just follow WOMAD around all damn year!"

Thus, my thirst for Peter has NOT been quenched, not one iota. Ya'd think seeing him live would at least curb my obsession, if not cure it. But nooooo. No, it's much more than a silly obsession now. It's a SICKNESS. *sigh

But instead of demanding more, what I SHOULD be doing is thanking the man, himself for creating such a beautiful and peaceful environment in which to experience music at its finest. Where else could I have seen such talented artists from across the globe? A place where everyone is smiling (everyone's just so damn happy at WOMAD, I swear) no one litters, and it doesn't matter where you come from, or if YOUR country is fighting with MY country. Besides being the greatest musician that ever lived and a true hero for my heart, Peter Gabriel is, above all, a humanitarian. Through WOMAD, he has truly brought the world together. And for this, we owe him BIG TIME.
Thank you Peter. Thank you soooooo much (on my knees) for everything you have created; for everything you are! I am dead serious when I say that you have changed my life. I only wish I had something to give you in return.

Hello my fellow Peter fans,
I've never written to you before, but am an avid fan and visit your
site constantly for the latest Peter news.
I got back from WOMAD at 1:30 this morning, absolutely fabulous!!!
Peter came on early and stayed late, playing ten songs, all of the ones
that are listed on his official site plus Here comes the Flood,
There were a few minor gliches, but as I have never seen him live before
I thought it was fantastic.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen was even there rocking out and singing
along to most of the songs.
I have no idea how many people were there as my friends and I were up
very close to the right of the stage. (Near the camera boom) The whole
Gabriel set was recorded as well as the AfroCelt set, so maybe, it will
be played at a later date on TV?!!!
Peter's youngest daughter sang with him, as well as David on guitar, Tony
on Bass, one of the AfroCelt guys played with him, and the drummer whose last
name was Lynch. So it was not just an Acoustic set, a band was there and the
crowd was awesome.
I had a great time, I hope everyone else that went did too.
I would write more, but I need to head to work, even though I would rather
sit at home and listen to all of Peter's albums over and over again "sigh"

Leslie

Excellent site. Enjoy visiting a site that's frequently updated, for once. Anyway, thought I'd drop off a quick review of this evening's show in Redmond...

Set list was pretty much as posted, with minor exceptions: He opened with "Here Comes the Flood" and he moved around the order of the songs (closed with "Father, Son").

The only song that sounded strayed much from previous live versions was "Come Talk to Me"... sounded much more "chipper"... a bit "funkier", I guess. Didn't really fit the tone of the song, though, but oh well, I can't complain.

Peter also had an unusual female background vocalist: His daughter! Apparently this was her first gig... not too surprising: she looked a bit nervous, and could hardly be heard.

Peter's performance was good -- his voice is holding up (even gruffier than when I heard him in '93)... though the man looks old! I can't believe this is the same guy I saw hopping around on the stage 8 years ago! Now he looks like he'll break all his bones if he even tried! He pretty much stayed at the keyboards for the entire show, except for a minor prance around the stage during "In Your Eyes."

He also performed "When You're Falling" with Afro Celt, as expected (closing song of the night). As is usual for Peter, he flubbed the vocals pretty bad. Even broke in with some comment like "I'll try to get it right this time" halfway through. Ah well, at least he can laugh at himself.

All in all, well worth the $25 to get into the show. Hell, I'd have payed 10 times that, given the infrequency of his jaunts over here in the U.S.

Thanks,

Jake