Peter Gabriel Proves That Age Is Just a Number, Puts on a Fantastic Show

 

Even after writing and performing for over 50 years, Peter Gabriel still marches to the beat of his own drum. Back in 1974, as a member of Genesis, he performed their then new album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in full in Chicago, in spite of the album not being released yet. Now, nearly 50 years later, he’s done the same thing…only not quite. As of this writing, the album he’s touring behind, I/O has not seen a release. 10 of the album’s 12 songs, however have trickled out every full moon so far this year. The strategy is understandable given the long wait fans have had to endure for the album (it’s been 21 years since his last album of original material was released), and the fact that albums don’t really matter as much in the music industry as they used to these days. Thankfully, the tour supporting the long-delayed album has been fantastic. Peter Gabriel has always had a flair for the visual, and the Chicago stop of his I/O Tour was no exception. During his opening comments, he whistled for a ball of light that descended from the ceiling and used it to “light” a fake campfire on stage and performed the first two songs acoustically with his band huddled around the false blaze. After those songs were finished, Peter and his band took their places on the stage behind them, where they performed for the rest of the night.

 

The concert was wonderful, the band was professional, and Peter Gabriel sounded great for a man his age. He was very mobile, walking around for every song that didn’t require him to play an instrument and being theatrical when the moment desired it. (Such as climbing up and down a hidden staircase with cellist and singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson during a stirring performance of “Don’t Give Up” or posing hammily during the satirical boasting of “Big Time”. He even danced a bit during “Sledgehammer”, showcasing he still has some moves for a performer his age.) Harkening back to that visual element I mentioned earlier, the strong performance of Gabriel and his band was accompanied by a spectacular light show that made use of seven rectangular video screens behind the band and one large circular screen hanging above the stage. All of the screens would move around and change positions and images throughout every song, except for two of them. For the first two songs of the second half of the show (there was a 15 minute intermission at the halfway point), Gabriel and his band performed behind a rectangular screen positioned in front of the stage, with shadowy and colorful visuals projected onto it. As wonderful and impressive as the show was, it was not without the occasional technical difficulty. When the screen the band performed behind was being raised, only half of it was lifting while the other one stayed put. “Don’t worry,” Gabriel assured the crowd as he then joked “We go professional in a few days.” After that brief mishap was rectified, the show went on along as planned.

 

 

            While it was a great show, it was still challenging in a way. 11 of I/O’s planned 12 songs were played live at this concert, including two that have yet to be released as of this writing. While die-hard fans like myself enjoyed seeing and hearing these songs be played live, not everyone was into them, likely due to the lack of familiarity with the newer material. That’s why when Peter introduced “Sledgehammer” as the final song of the first half, the crowd erupted with glee as soon as that horn section blared it’s intro. The second half of the show included more familiar tunes, such as “Don’t Give Up”, “Big Time” and “Solsbury Hill”, the last of which closed out the main set. All were performed well and gave some much needed energy to the crowd. I do hope the new songs will catch on more with his fanbase after the album finally releases, since “Panopticom” sounded much better live than its studio counterpart. Ditto for “Four Kinds of Horses” and “i/o”. The only new song that didn’t sound that great in the concert to my ears was “This Is Home”. While I appreciated the cozy visuals that accompanied the song on the screens behind the band, something about the song’s rhythm just didn’t work well for the live setting. One new song that I am eager to hear is “Live and Let Live”. The tune was a gospel-ish number that worked well as an anthem of sorts, almost sounding like a song you’d hear watching the closing credits of a film. Unfortunately, since the song’s studio incarnation is unreleased as of this writing, the crowd didn’t seem very enthusiastic for it, even when images of themselves were projected on the screens with a rainbow-colored filter hovering over them. Thankfully, they at least perked up once again with the aforementioned “Solsbury Hill” performance. The crowd began dancing in the aisles during that song, and all the couples embraced when Peter came back out for his first encore: “In Your Eyes”, one of his best love songs. The second and final encore of the night was a stirring performance of “Biko”, Gabriel’s song dedicated to the late anti-apartheid activist. “I’ve done what I can. The rest is up to you.” He spoke to the crowd, imploring them to take action involving human rights as Biko’s image was projected onto the large circular screen that slowly began to lower in front of the stage while Gabriel and his band began leading the crowd in the wordless chant that closes out the song. A powerful performance, for sure.

 

            The concert was a memorable one for all the right reasons, and I do hope a DVD/Blu-Ray release of it will be on its way after the tour finishes and the album finally releases. The light show was fantastic, the performances were great, the concept was tasteful and forward-thinking. Definitely a night to remember. If you can see him in concert, I suggest you do so. If not, I implore you to check out videos of it on YouTube when you can. If only to see the light show and hear the performance of Peter and his excellent band. Just like his more recent material, it’s worth a look. (Or listen!)