Peter Gabriel - New Blood - KC, USA June 18, 2011

 

Over the course of the tour, PG has scaled back the material from the new album from a full set to 5 songs, all in the first set. He opened with David Bowie's "Heroes" which was a reasonable warm up song. I'm not a huge fan of the original, but this served to get the audience accustomed to the sound, and the sound engineers to figure out levels. Immediately he moved into "Wallflower" and of course the crowd response began to improve. Regina Spektor's "Apres Moi" came next...a song that highlighted the problem with the entire album. The song starts with an upbeat, tense orchestral section but then settles back into the slow, spare style than was simply to sedate for an entire album. Live, the dynamics were much stronger, so even with the slow pace more energy was communicated.

 

To begin the next song, "Boy in the Bubble," Gabriel told the story that during the process of trading covers, he spoke to several of the artists involved, including Paul Simon. He dryly recounted that "Your song has driving African rhythms, dancing energy, and a power joy of life...I'm going strip all that away." Everyone laughs in a slightly uncomfortable moment. "And reveal a spectacular lyric." After many listens, this is exactly how I'd felt about the album performance. I initially hated it, but came to realize that the slow, open arrangement did communicate something of "the age of miracle and wonder" that the busy original rushes by. In fact, Gabriel's admission of knowing the point of the song he'd eviscerated and making a conscious choice to try a different tack in some way redeemed the whole album a bit for me.

 

The last song from SCRATCH MY BACK was Arcade Fire's "My Body is a Cage," arguably the strongest song on the album. Here, the elaborate electronic video show got more complex and would continue to evolve throughout the performance. "Father, Son" followed with video of Gabriel and his 99 year old father without being too kitschy, with "Washing of the Water" and "Biko" rounding out the set.

 

The entire second set was filled with old favorites. "San Jacinto" opened and had many interesting twists. As it is perhaps my favorite Gabriel solo song, I would have enjoyed a more traditional treatment, but the orchestral version was still very good. In a strange moment, Peter seemed to have way too much fun singing the stalker lyrics to "Intruder." One of my biggest worries was assuaged when "Rhythm of the Heat" was still spectacular live, with the tribal drum section being replaced by a fast, elaborate orchestral arrangement that communicated the intensity in a new way. I'd read that Gabriel had originally said "No guitars, no drums" for this project, and dreaded this song without percussion. However, prominent tympani and percussion were still present and the song retained its signature primal pulse. Perhaps the song that benefited most from the orchestra was "Mercy Street" which opened up even more than the original. "Digging in the Dirt" was just as bouncing and energetic as the pop version, and by the time the favorites like "Solsbury Hill" rolled along, the orchestra just seemed like the normal accompaniment.

 

The New Blood Orchestra was composed of half touring musicians from England and half from local players, but the perforances seemed perfectally rehearsed and polished. (The violin teacher of a friend of mine is actually doing the Milwaukee show, so this seems to be the norm for the tour.) Many of the band got little spotlight sections, mainly the Scandinavian singer Ane Brun who opened the night with two brief solo songs. But flute, violin, double bass, bassoon, and piano all got special attention, and Gabriel was gracious with his praise.

 

While I was extremely skeptical at first with the format of the concert, I left completely satisfied. Gabriel was humourous, friendly (even quickly shrugging off a call for "Supper's Ready" without any anger), and seemed to be energized by the new format. This was the first time I had gotten a chance to see the old master live despite being a fervent fan for 25 years. While live Gabriel veterans may cite more definitive performances in the past, I think they would even appreciate the new takes on old classics. I have no problem recommending this concert tour to anyone.