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Days of Miracle
and Wonder:
Peter Gabriel
Live in New York City
Radio City
Music Hall - Monday, May 3, 2010
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Like any
Genesis related event I travel to in New York City, it started with rain. Of
course, I felt almost oblivious to the rain given the attempted bombing that
laid heavily on my mind and had been thankfully thwarted just a couple of
days earlier a few blocks from the venue I was traveling to in the heart of
Manhattan, Radio City Music Hall. As the rain subsided in the early
afternoon, walking the busy streets of Times Square, tourists and New
Yorkers seemed completely unaffected by the prior days' botched terror plot,
which certainly gave me a sense of comfort as we made our way through the
hustle of mid-day commuters and seemingly endless sea of shops filled with
'I Love New York' t-shirts, plastic Statue of Liberty salt and pepper
shakers, and other cheap tourist swag.
I have to admit, as much as I appreciate Peter Gabriel's music, I was not a
huge fan of his latest project, Scratch My Back, going into this
concert. The album is a song-swap concept project where Peter Gabriel has
re-recorded other artists songs with an orchestra (sans drums and guitars)
and, in return, those same artists recorded his music with their own
arrangements (the latter of which is supposed to be released later this year
under the aptly titled, I'll Scratch Yours). The artists covered by
Gabriel included Neil Young, Lou Reed, Randy Newman, The Talking Heads,
Radiohead, Bon Iver, The Magnetic Fields, and Paul Simon to name but a few.
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A friend of mine who joined me that night, who was also not a avid
Scratch My Back fan, was equally stunned. Even songs like Peter
Gabriel's take on Paul Simon's "Boy in the Bubble" and Elbow's "Mirrorball",
which were two of my favorites on the album, sounded so much more rich and
powerful here. The 54-piece New Blood Orchestra's take on Arcade Fire's "My
Body Is A Cage" was a other example of a song that comes across as being
so-so on the album, but was a clear stand-out of the night's performances. |
I had heard
through the power of fan blogs and web postings on various Internet forums
that Peter Gabriel started the concert with a complete performance of the
new album before going into any of his solo hits and favorites from his back
catalog. Frankly, knowing my dislike of his latest album, this made me dread
the first set to be performed. Don't get me wrong, while I liked most of the
actual songs and the new "Gabrielized" arrangements for orchestra on
Scratch My Back, it stays in a very somber, low tempo mood straight
through for roughly an hour without any real changes or variety.
On record, for me, that made the album harder to listen to completely in a
single sitting. If you isolated an individual track, it was fantastic but,
as a whole album, I tended to get a little bored with it after 30 minutes or
so - almost feeling a bit sterile. In fact, my main reason for seeing the
show, aside from the fact that Gabriel had not played North America in about
seven years, was to hear the new arrangements in the second half of the
show. At the time, Scratch My Back, was something I thought I would
endure to get to what I really came to hear.
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By the time that
first set ended, I couldn't believe an hour had passed so quickly. There was
no time for bathroom breaks or repetitive trips to the concession stand or
merchandise stalls. That audience was transfixed and the only people jumping
out of their seats were for intermittent standing ovations in between
numbers. The only song that I didn't love (and my least favorite on the
album) was Gabriel's version of Radiohead's "Street Spirit (Fade Out),"
which is probably the weakest of the 12-core tracks that made up Scratch
My Back.
By the time the Scratch My Back performances were complete, we both
certainly felt that we'd gotten our money's worth - and we still had a
second half to go! Then, after a brief
intermission of about ten minutes, Peter Gabriel re-emerged to bring out Lou
Reed, who premiered his rock guitar version of Peter Gabriel's hit "Solsbury
Hill," which despite how that might sound, actually sounded pretty good. So
much so in fact, that it gives me great hope that I'll Scratch Yours,
may truly be something to look forward to. Reed, who only appeared at
the Monday night show, vanished after his song and the Peter Gabriel
concert quickly resumed. |
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The concert began with Peter Gabriel emerging to explain the concept of the
song swap and that he would be performing the new album in its entirety. He
also mentioned that there would be an intermission followed by a special
surprise and Gabriel's return to do some older favorites, which drew huge
applause. With that explanation, he announced the opening act,
Ane Brun, a
Norwegian guitarist singer/songwriter who performed two songs and is also
part of the backing vocal duo for Peter Gabriel's current live tour, which
also includes his daughter,
Melanie
Gabriel. After the two song set, the Peter Gabriel 2010 New Blood Tour
began, and I braced myself for what I thought would be a rough first hour of
Scratch My Back filled with occasional breaks at the concession
stand, the merchandise stalls, and the toilet to keep me from boredom. Much
to my surprise, I was dead wrong.
Peter Gabriel & The New
Blood Orchestra Performing "The Book of Love"
Keeping with
Scratch My Back's original track order, Peter Gabriel and the New
Blood Orchestra (conducted by Ben Foster) started the evening with his cover
of David Bowie's iconic "Heroes." Song after song, whether it was the
stunning visuals on stage, the presence of the live orchestra placed
prominently center stage, or just the amazing conviction of Gabriel's vocals
on that glorious Monday night, something happened... My perception of this
new album completely changed. It sounded far more dynamic, far more
passionate, and genuinely moving as I sat there memorized (or perhaps
dumbfounded) in my seat. It was a completely different experience for me
than it ever was in the dozen or so times I had played the album on my
stereo. It was jaw-dropping. The orchestral arrangements (actually done by
John Metcalfe - not Gabriel) were incredibly bombastic and awe
inspiring. I don't think there was a seat in the venue - Gabriel purist or
not - who would have expected it to sound this damn good!
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The second set comprised of some great orchestral versions of Gabriel
classics like "San Jacinto" and "Rhythm of the Heat" from Security
(also known as Peter Gabriel 4 outside of North America);
"Downside-Up" and "The Nest That Sailed The Sky" from Ovo (which was
surprising since it still has not been commercially released in North
America); "Mercy Street", "Red Rain", "Don't Give Up", and "In Your Eyes"
from So (including some great backing vocals by Ane Brun on the
latter two); "Solsbury Hill" from Gabriel's debut album
(playfully featuring a brief excerpt of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" for good
measure); "Digging In The Dirt" from Us; "Signal To Noise" and
"Darkness" from Up; and more!
In the end, this concert tour could very well be the most theatric series of
shows Peter Gabriel has done since he donned a Slipperman costume with
Genesis in 1975; and that's a strong statement since Gabriel, now 60 years
old, barely moves on stage in this production! The breath-taking, big budget
visuals; the stunning sound of this massive orchestra; and the wonderful
arrangements make this ensemble something any Peter Gabriel fan should see -
regardless of what you (initially) think of Scratch My Back on record.
On my three plus hour commute home that night, I threw in Scratch My Back
and gave it a new listen with fresh ears. I have to admit, The New Blood
Tour has has given me new enthusiasm for the album, and I never enjoyed
Scratch My Back in the two months I have owned it as much as I did
driving home that night at 1:30 a.m. on Route 295 in New Jersey. I truly
hope this tour is released on video (something Peter Gabriel has done with
most of his recent tours), because only allowing a select group of fans to
see this concert with its limited number of performances in North America
and Europe would be an absolute shame. Bravo, Mr. Gabriel, Bravo! With shows
like this, I'll scratch my wallet for more Peter Gabriel concert tickets any time!
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SCRATCH MY
BACK (2010)
2-CD Special Edition Version features the complete 12-track album by Peter
Gabriel covering songs by Lou Reed, Neil Young, The Talking Heads, Paul
Simon, David Bowie, Elbow, Bon Iver, Randy Newman, The Magnetic Fields,
Regina Spektor, and Arcade Fire! Plus, a bonus disc of 4 extra tracks
(including a great non-album Peter Gabriel cover of The Kinks' "Waterloo
Sunset"!
CLICK HERE TO BUY IT! |
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