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Peter Gabriel
Nov. 13th, 2002 07:30 pmWe arrived at 7:00 for a 7:30 show. It was a very quiet arena. Not many people, even though it was sold out. There was a round stage in the middle of the arena, and we were in the upper level, at one end of the south side. The east and west ends were covered by a curtain. I guess they were not sold, due to being obstructed view.
The Blind Boys of Alabama opened at 7:45. There were three Old Blind Boys. They were seated on chairs on the north, west and south sides of the stage. When they started singing, one of the Boys stood up for the show, and the two others stood up sometimes. There were four musicians/backing singers. Two guitar, bass and drums. They did a somewhat short set of gospel music (five songs). The fourth song was their signature version of "Amazing Grace" sung to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun." The last song was a rousing gospel number, that made it difficult to sit still. One of the Boys was sitting, but couldn't sit still. He was shaking his microphone, and bouncing his knees. After a time, he got up and was starting to jump up and down a little, but almost immediately, the guitarist behind him came over and put a hand on his shoulder to make him sit back down. This happened twice more, but the third time he was shuffling his feet and dancing. Some people thought this was supposed to be a joke, but I don't think so. I think he really wasn't supposed to be on his feet, maybe for fear that he would fall off the stage. I thought his exuberance was definitely not feigned. Either way, it was a very strange little scene.
The stage was round and in the middle of the room. The sound board was on one end of the floor, maybe the light board on the other, and the stage direction boards were on the side between the stage and the wall. The stage was at about eye level, and there were two stairways that led up to near the middle of the stage from under it.
In the middle of the stage was a square area which was a lift. It was used to convey people or equipment up to or down from the stage. During the second song (the first one with the entire band), the drum riser was on it, and it was inside a little house shaped tent thing. After the song, the roadies - I mean stage crew (in bright orange jumpsuits) came out to remove the tent from the drum kit. They laid the pieces on the floor beside it and left. Then they rolled the drum riser out toward the edge of the stage. After the song was over, they came back out, piled the pieces on the lift, and lowered them into the floor. Then they removed them and sent the lift back up to stage level. This took until about half way through that song. For me, sitting in the upper level, the below-stage activity was rather distracting.
Looking with binoculars at the stage, I could see a line on the stage, which went in a circle. It looked like the outer rim of the stage was meant to rotate. I didn't see how that could happen, though, because the keyboard stands and guitar pedal rigs were all on this outer rim, and the cables ran across the stage a little ways toward the middle. A big "duh" hit me a little while later, when the crew rolled everyone's rigs towards the middle, leaving that outer area clear. Peter began walking slowly in place. Pretty soon he picked up reverse momentum and was walking forward, but moving backwards around the stage.
One of the highlights was "Mercy Street." Melanie (the backing singer), got into a small wooden boat, which seemed to sail around a sea of swirling blue and green waves - great lighting effect.
Another highlight was "Solsbury Hill." They again spun the stage, and Peter rode a bicycle around it, first against the rotation, and then with it. He weaved in and out among the band members. I'm pretty sure I've never seen anyone ride a bicycle onstage at a concert.
The light rigging was over the stage, of course, and there was a lot of equipment up there - all the sound gear - amps and such - were up there. And there were no monitors onstage, that I could see.
From the rigging hung a round platform. There were railings around it, and Peter went up there for "Barry Williams Show." He had a camera on a tripod, and filmed the band members and the audience, which were projected onto the curtain behind him. The curtain was cylindrical, inside the ring of the platform. There were lights underneath the platform, and raised and lowered throughout the show for various effects.
Inside the cylindrical curtain were various inflatable objects. The first was a white clamshell looking thing that lowered down over Peter's head for "My Head Feels Like This." It reminded me of a while Audrey II. It was then used as a backdrop for various projected video images. Later the clamshell part was lifted off, leaving a sphere, which again was used a video screen.
After a while of that, the grey cover was removed from the sphere, and it was revealed to be a giant, transparent, inflatable "hamster ball," which Peter climbed into and rolled and bounced around the stage. Very cool. He apparently has had a lot of practice in it, because he could steer it very well. He kept it on the stage, and didn't run into anyone or anything. I half expected him to knock over some drums with it.
The advantage to being in the nosebleed seats was that we could see just about everything. I appreciate being able to see all of the musicians at one time. If I were on the floor, some of them would be hidden behind others, at times. Unfortunately, there were things we couldn't see, like the light display on the underside of the platform. We could see the patterns of lights on the stage itself, like the "waves" during "Mercy Street." I'd say that being down on the floor would be the better place to sit, though. Optimal would be on the sides, a few rows up.
The musicians were:
David Rhodes - guitars and backing vocals
Rachel Z - keyboards and and backing vocals
Ged Lynch - Drums
Tony Levin - bass guitars, electric upright bass, electric cello and backing vocals
Melanie Gabriel - backing vocals
Richard Evans - Mandolin, guitars, dobro, whistles and backing vocals
They were all wearing black. The outfits were all a little different. Rachel wore a stocking cap, tight shirt and hip hugger jeans with a wide belt. Tony and David wore what looked like silk robes. It looked like Peter had a skirtlike shirt tail hanging out from under another shirt. I figured they were all told to wear something black, but I see on Tony's website that the "costumes" were chosen for them. Suddenly the choices seemed really weird. Some of the musicians were not happy about the outfits. And all the guys were bald. Well, Peter and Richard were only nearly bald.
The opening song, "Father, Son", was an homage to aging gracefully with a parent. It was just Peter and Tony.
I didn't care for "Barry Williams Show." Too much like a TV theme song (yeah, I know that was the point, but that doesn't mean I have to like it), and too repetitive. That was about my only big complaint, though.
The special effects were impressive (see above).
I guess he played all of his latest record. He stuck to his more recent music, anyway. The only song any older than So was "Solsbury Hill". That song, I've always felt a certain melancholy nostalgia, in among the soaring hope. Live, however, it is transformed into a rousing anthem.
"Mercy Street", was the highlight of the show, for me. It's not normally listed with my favorite Gabriel songs, but here, it was magical.
"In Your Eyes" was more of a freeform jam than the record version.
The closing song, after I wasn't sure whether he'd be back out, was "Here comes the Flood." Solo, piano and voice. Very nice. A beautiful ending to a spectacular and long show.
The Blind Boys of Alabama opened at 7:45. There were three Old Blind Boys. They were seated on chairs on the north, west and south sides of the stage. When they started singing, one of the Boys stood up for the show, and the two others stood up sometimes. There were four musicians/backing singers. Two guitar, bass and drums. They did a somewhat short set of gospel music (five songs). The fourth song was their signature version of "Amazing Grace" sung to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun." The last song was a rousing gospel number, that made it difficult to sit still. One of the Boys was sitting, but couldn't sit still. He was shaking his microphone, and bouncing his knees. After a time, he got up and was starting to jump up and down a little, but almost immediately, the guitarist behind him came over and put a hand on his shoulder to make him sit back down. This happened twice more, but the third time he was shuffling his feet and dancing. Some people thought this was supposed to be a joke, but I don't think so. I think he really wasn't supposed to be on his feet, maybe for fear that he would fall off the stage. I thought his exuberance was definitely not feigned. Either way, it was a very strange little scene.
The stage was round and in the middle of the room. The sound board was on one end of the floor, maybe the light board on the other, and the stage direction boards were on the side between the stage and the wall. The stage was at about eye level, and there were two stairways that led up to near the middle of the stage from under it.
In the middle of the stage was a square area which was a lift. It was used to convey people or equipment up to or down from the stage. During the second song (the first one with the entire band), the drum riser was on it, and it was inside a little house shaped tent thing. After the song, the roadies - I mean stage crew (in bright orange jumpsuits) came out to remove the tent from the drum kit. They laid the pieces on the floor beside it and left. Then they rolled the drum riser out toward the edge of the stage. After the song was over, they came back out, piled the pieces on the lift, and lowered them into the floor. Then they removed them and sent the lift back up to stage level. This took until about half way through that song. For me, sitting in the upper level, the below-stage activity was rather distracting.
Looking with binoculars at the stage, I could see a line on the stage, which went in a circle. It looked like the outer rim of the stage was meant to rotate. I didn't see how that could happen, though, because the keyboard stands and guitar pedal rigs were all on this outer rim, and the cables ran across the stage a little ways toward the middle. A big "duh" hit me a little while later, when the crew rolled everyone's rigs towards the middle, leaving that outer area clear. Peter began walking slowly in place. Pretty soon he picked up reverse momentum and was walking forward, but moving backwards around the stage.
One of the highlights was "Mercy Street." Melanie (the backing singer), got into a small wooden boat, which seemed to sail around a sea of swirling blue and green waves - great lighting effect.
Another highlight was "Solsbury Hill." They again spun the stage, and Peter rode a bicycle around it, first against the rotation, and then with it. He weaved in and out among the band members. I'm pretty sure I've never seen anyone ride a bicycle onstage at a concert.
The light rigging was over the stage, of course, and there was a lot of equipment up there - all the sound gear - amps and such - were up there. And there were no monitors onstage, that I could see.
From the rigging hung a round platform. There were railings around it, and Peter went up there for "Barry Williams Show." He had a camera on a tripod, and filmed the band members and the audience, which were projected onto the curtain behind him. The curtain was cylindrical, inside the ring of the platform. There were lights underneath the platform, and raised and lowered throughout the show for various effects.
Inside the cylindrical curtain were various inflatable objects. The first was a white clamshell looking thing that lowered down over Peter's head for "My Head Feels Like This." It reminded me of a while Audrey II. It was then used as a backdrop for various projected video images. Later the clamshell part was lifted off, leaving a sphere, which again was used a video screen.
After a while of that, the grey cover was removed from the sphere, and it was revealed to be a giant, transparent, inflatable "hamster ball," which Peter climbed into and rolled and bounced around the stage. Very cool. He apparently has had a lot of practice in it, because he could steer it very well. He kept it on the stage, and didn't run into anyone or anything. I half expected him to knock over some drums with it.
The advantage to being in the nosebleed seats was that we could see just about everything. I appreciate being able to see all of the musicians at one time. If I were on the floor, some of them would be hidden behind others, at times. Unfortunately, there were things we couldn't see, like the light display on the underside of the platform. We could see the patterns of lights on the stage itself, like the "waves" during "Mercy Street." I'd say that being down on the floor would be the better place to sit, though. Optimal would be on the sides, a few rows up.
The musicians were:
David Rhodes - guitars and backing vocals
Rachel Z - keyboards and and backing vocals
Ged Lynch - Drums
Tony Levin - bass guitars, electric upright bass, electric cello and backing vocals
Melanie Gabriel - backing vocals
Richard Evans - Mandolin, guitars, dobro, whistles and backing vocals
They were all wearing black. The outfits were all a little different. Rachel wore a stocking cap, tight shirt and hip hugger jeans with a wide belt. Tony and David wore what looked like silk robes. It looked like Peter had a skirtlike shirt tail hanging out from under another shirt. I figured they were all told to wear something black, but I see on Tony's website that the "costumes" were chosen for them. Suddenly the choices seemed really weird. Some of the musicians were not happy about the outfits. And all the guys were bald. Well, Peter and Richard were only nearly bald.
The opening song, "Father, Son", was an homage to aging gracefully with a parent. It was just Peter and Tony.
I didn't care for "Barry Williams Show." Too much like a TV theme song (yeah, I know that was the point, but that doesn't mean I have to like it), and too repetitive. That was about my only big complaint, though.
The special effects were impressive (see above).
I guess he played all of his latest record. He stuck to his more recent music, anyway. The only song any older than So was "Solsbury Hill". That song, I've always felt a certain melancholy nostalgia, in among the soaring hope. Live, however, it is transformed into a rousing anthem.
"Mercy Street", was the highlight of the show, for me. It's not normally listed with my favorite Gabriel songs, but here, it was magical.
"In Your Eyes" was more of a freeform jam than the record version.
The closing song, after I wasn't sure whether he'd be back out, was "Here comes the Flood." Solo, piano and voice. Very nice. A beautiful ending to a spectacular and long show.
