A More Than 'So'-So Show, In My Eyes -- Chicago Concert Review: Peter Gabriel - 'So': Back to Front

Concert Review

Peter Gabriel
United Center, Chicago
September 27, 2012
@@@@1/2

I have always considered Peter Gabriel an artist of great integrity, all the more so because he has resisted milking the cash cow of a Genesis reunion. So it seemed somewhat askew that without having released a new album of original music in 10 years, and only 2 in the last 20, he is touring around the conceit (gimmick?) of playing his most commercially successful album—1986’s So—in its entirety.

That the current tour brought him back to the United Center just 15 months after his more unique outing with the New Blood Orchestra failed to fill the joint—even if Thursday’s gig was also well shy of full—made the occasion seem all the more economically enterprising.

So be it.

I am all for extoling great albums—and the art form itself—and even if the recent trend of classic rock tours being marketed around in-full live renditions of landmark recordings saps some of the surprise and spontaneity out of concert performances, you know you’ll be hearing stuff you like for at least 40 minutes.

And while I don’t think So is Gabriel’s best solo album—that would probably be his third eponymous one, released in 1980—nor is it precisely its 25th anniversary anymore, it still holds up as an excellent piece of music that was a joy to hear in full (only purists will care that “In Your Eyes” was moved to the end onstage and played as an extended version).

Of course, being the brilliant and innovative artist that he is, Gabriel didn’t just take the stage with his band—musicians who had played on So and its terrific tour I caught in 1987—and dive into album opener “Red Rain” (following three nights of “Purple Rain” at the same venue).

Having, at 8pm sharp, introduced a pair of background singers—Swedes Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson—who delivered a pleasant 4-song opening set in lieu of Ane Brun who had dropped off the tour due to illness, Peter reappeared at 8:40, sitting a piano with the house lights up and initially accompanied only by bassist Tony Levin, to begin his performance with a new song in progress called “OBUT.” It sounded pretty good on a first hearing.

Given rock concert convention, it felt a bit odd that even as guitarist David Rhodes, drummer Manu Katché and original E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious joined the action (along with the background vocalists), the house lights remained up for the next 3-1/2 songs. But luckily the crowd remained respectfully quiet and in a weird way, I was able to better focus on the compositions themselves as Gabriel delivered emotive acoustic versions—during what he called the first of the concert’s three parts—of “Come Talk to Me,” “Shock the Monkey” and “Family Snapshot” from albums that preceded and followed So.

During the last song above, a jolt of electricity surged through the band as the house lights came down. With greater amplification and a bit more punch, the ensemble mined Gabriel’s stellar catalog for six songs, including a sweet version of “Solsbury Hill.”

Although this was supposedly still part of the appetizer before the entrée of So in full, I was impressed by how unrushed Gabriel and crew were in delivering lengthy, delicate and/or complex renditions of lesser-known gems like “Secret World,” “The Family and the Fishing Net,” “No Self Control” and “Washing of the Water.” (Though I’m naming most of it, you can see the full setlist on Setlist.fm.)

After about an hour, with scant introduction, Gabriel launched into “Red Rain.” Although his voice, at age 62, is a touch gruffer than in his younger days, it is still a terrifically impressive instrument, perhaps even with added gravity due to the slight rasp. And though he is not the onstage dervish he was in delivering the 1987 show I still recall as outstanding, despite a bit of paunch he brought some fun physicality to “Sledgehammer.”

Though I have never considered it my favorite song on the album, “Don’t Give Up” was probably the most sublimely rendered on this night, with Abrahamson sounding fantastic on the Kate Bush part. Gabriel sang “Mercy Street” theatrically lying on his back and aptly illustrated that there was much artistry to a “filler” song like “We Do What We’re Told,” which came off better than the more commercial “Big Time.”

Although I have heard slightly more ebullient renditions of “In Your Eyes,” the elongated live version featured great drumming from Katché and as a set-closing showcase, reiterated that it has long superseded “Sledgehammer” as So’s centerpiece song.

Gabriel ended the highly enjoyable evening—which suffered only slightly from the premeditated pacing—with a 2-song encore. I didn’t recognize the first tune, “The Tower That Ate People,” but it sounded good and featured the show’s most elaborate set design, with a pretty nifty twist at the end (see photo below).

The show closed with “Biko,” one of the greatest songs of social activism every written and one of rock’s most gripping show closers ever, but on this night it felt somewhat forced and out of place. Particularly when, instead of the crowd continuing to chant “Uh-uh-ohhh” long after the musicians walk off stage—as in the past—the chanting stopped when the song did, and was almost immediately followed by an announcement that you could buy an official bootleg of the show by going to Peter Gabriel’s website.

“Biko”—about slain South African anti-aparteid activist Stephen Biko—is so good as to never be bad to hear, but as I’ve shared with Mr. Gabriel (though his Facebook page) it would’ve been special to hear “Games Without Frontiers” or even Genesis’ “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.” The latter would’ve been an especially huge surprise, but on an evening that was So prefabicated, this monkey would’ve enjoyed being shocked by a rather unexpected ending. (And not the kind Prince delivered on Monday.)

From a Musical Genius, an Evening of Often Absorbing New Blood If Not Quite Regenesis -- Concert Review: Peter Gabriel

Concert Review

Peter Gabriel & the New Blood Orchestra
June 20, 2011
United Center, Chicago
@@@@

I can't say that I've listened to--or even thought about--Peter Gabriel all that much in recent years, but I still consider him one of the great musical innovators of my lifetime. As well as one of rock's best vocalists ever.

While his work with Genesis and then on his own bespeaks vast and enduring brilliance, at 61 it appears that his most fertile creative years are behind him. In the quarter-century since the So album--and its groundbreaking videos--made him a megastar, he has managed to release only two records of original songs on which he sings. I was oblivious to his 2010 Scratch My Back collection of cover songs and though I enjoy the sound of a symphony, I hadn't initially bought a ticket to see him backed by the New Blood Orchestra.

But after being reminded that friends were going to his Monday gig at the United Center and reading several stellar reviews from earlier tour stops, I was fortunate to find a half-price ticket on the lower level. Getting nearly three hours of high quality music from dozens of musicians for just $45 certainly qualifies as worthwhile and I respect that Gabriel didn't undermine the integrity of this foray by, as he put it, affixing an orchestra on the back of a rock band. There were no guitars to be heard.

Photo Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune

Having also respected Gabriel for not cashing in on a Genesis reunion tour--despite overtures from his ex-bandmates--I can't say I expected him to simply deliver his greatest hits with violins and bassoons (especially having perused past setlists, roughly the same as performed here).

But respect and rapture are two different things, and especially during the first hour of the show, when Gabriel mined many of the covers found on Scratch My Back--including David Bowie's "Heroes," Paul Simon's "The Boy In the Bubble" and Arcade Fire's "My Body is a Cage"--along with some lesser-known songs of his own, things tended to languish. While I cringed when some buffoon yelled, "This is boring me!" I couldn't entirely disagree. It wasn't until the wondrous-in-any-form "Biko"--one of the best socially-conscious songs ever written--that the first set really caught fire. Only to lead into a 15-minute intermission.

Fortunately, rendering the performance an overall success, the second set and encores featured several highlights, not just in showcasing some wonderful Gabriel songs--"San Jacinto," "Signal to Noise," "Mercy Street," "The Rhythm and the Heat," "Red Rain," "Solsbury Hill," "In Your Eyes,"--but with some appropriately angular orchestral interpretations as well.

I did feel that the orchestra often seemed a bit too restrained, or perhaps constrained. I would have loved to hear them swing a bit on the omitted "Shock the Monkey," "Big Time" and/or "Sledgehammer" and hearing an innovative arrangement of "Games Without Frontiers"--or even "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"--would've have been thrilling (and also a smart nod to the fact that some folks did spend over $200 apiece for this atypcial "rock concert" that filled only about 2/3 of the arena).

I still remember the performances I saw Gabriel deliver in 1986--as part of Amnesty International's Conspiracy of Hope Tour--and 1987 as being absolutely phenomenal. Though it had its moments, the show I saw in 2002 didn't wow me nearly as much. So it makes sense that he would now explore something different and tour with an orchestra.

With the timber of Peter's phenomenal voice remaining robust, even if he isn't the kinetic stage performer he once was, the evening had enough quality music to make it very enjoyable. But I can't deny that I likely would have been just as happy--if not more so--with more of Peter Gabriel's own songs played in a more conventional fashion. Going into the show, the punster in me was planning (or at least hoping) on calling the show a re-Genesis. But as the title of this post suggests, the "New Blood Tour" didn't deliver that strong a testament.

---
Here's a clip of Biko from Monday night; not shot by me