The music world had to wait for more than eight years before Peter Gabriel
finally went on a tour again. There were a couple of special live gigs
in between, but they could not replace a sophisticated full-scale Gabriel
show. Peter himself made sure to make the European fans in particular
excited about the new material. Three weeks before Up was released he
first (and not really confidently) presented the new songs at the 20th
anniversary of Virgin Germany. Then he played a number of warm-up concerts
which also featured songs that were rarely or not at all performed on
the tour proper. All this ended in October and Peter Gabriel’s band
travelled to America. At that time, no shows on Germany were planned.
The first three concerts in Mexico City took place without the new stage.
Dress rehearsals took place in Quebec in front of an audience of a thousand
people before the curtain finally went up in front of a capacity crowd
in Chicago on November 12, 2002.
Prices
Concerts in Northern America are usually more expensive than in Europe,
but the explosion of ticket prices was noticed everywhere. In the U.S.
one had to pay up to US$140 for top seats, while tickets for the “nose-bleeding”
seats still cost US$45. Things are sligtly different in Canada. While
the ticket prices were the same, the exchange rate was better (EUR 1 =
CDN$ 1.50 [while 1 Euro would only get you approx. 1 US$; translator’s
note] ). That made the tickets much more affordable to people such as
writers for the German Genesis fanclub. The locals did not care much either
way – to them, the ticket are just as bloody expensive as for their
American counterparts. All venues were seating only. A commercial for
the tour was broadcast on American TV. It can (could?) be watched on the
official homepage. Merchandising was
extremely expensive, too. The money you’d have to shell out for
a simple t-shirt could have bought you high-end trekking equipment.
The tour program cost $35, you’d have to pay $45 for a t-shirt,
$60 for a long-sleeved shirt and a special-cut v-neck shirt cost $70.
You could also buy a vest for $80 or a fleeceshirt for $175 (!). If
you still had money left, you could buy a poster ($15), a keyring or
a series of buttons ($10 each). The price for the UP winter cap was
the most extreme. A cap like that can be bought for $5 in any department
store (without the logo, of course), but with the logo it cost $50.
At least one could pay by credit card everywhere.
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Venues
The Growing Up tour took place in large arenas with a capacity
of usually more than 10,000 people. Many venues in North America are bigger
than in Europe and can seat up to 20,000 or more people. One got the impression
that the shows everywhere were not sold out. The Chicago and Montreal
shows, where Peter performed twice because of the huge demand in tickets,
made clear that tickets for the upper galleries had not been offered at
all – the fans would have seen only the upper side of the skystage.
Most concerts drew a big audience, but attendance occasionally dropped
to 60 percent. Fans were most enthusiastic in New York (Madison Square
Garden), Montreal (Centre Bell), Quebec City (La Colisée) and Los
Angeles (Forum). .
The Stage
Like Phil Collins in 1997, Peter toured with a centre stage. The advantage
ist obvious: The stage is surrounded by the audience, the view is theoretically
better everywhere and the venue can seat more people. The outer part of
Peter’s stage can rotate, as opposed to the central area of the
stage on which Ged Lynch’s drum kit is placed. That alone would
not be enough to make it a Peter Gabriel concert or a Robert Lepage stage,
though. Below the ceiling of the venue there is a round kind of platform
construction almost as large in diameter as the inner area of ground stage.
This sky stage, or Up-stage, carries several elements of the lightshow
and something in it is covered by white cloth. During the tour a couple
of elements were changed. Video screens were added on the head and foot
end of the halls, as was a show part for Downside-Up. More about that
later.
Supporting Peter
None other than the legendary, Grammy-decorated and Grammy-nominated gospel
singers of The Blind Boys Of Alabama supported Peter on the North American
leg of the Growing Up tour. Their album Spirit Of The Century marked their
grand comeback on the Real World label. It is no coincidence that Peter
would choose The Blind Boys, because they were to return to the stage
several times during Peter’s own show.
After the terrific Blind Boys there was pure world music. Dr Hukwe Zawose
and his brother from Tanzania tried the patience of the audience. There
can be no doubt that they are extraordinary musicians, but their music
sounds very abstract to Western eyes. Zawose and his brother still did
their best to excite the audience about their music. They played exotic
instruments, wore elaborate clothes and walked barefoot on stage. Their
last number had much more rhythm than the previous songs and reconciled
the audience. The Zawose brothers would return to the stage during Peter’s
show, too.
"What you'll hear is a mixture of
new and old" - The Songs
Peter Gabriel played a set tailor-made for the stage show, with frequent
variations both in the order and the selection of songs. The following
set list mentions all songs in the approximate order in which they were
played. The notes also mention at which shows a song was not played or
played for the first time. Here
Comes The Flood
Peter enters the stage alone in dark blue light and plays a piano version
of the classic. The stage begins to rotate during the second verse.
Peter is wearing a microphone headset, but he sings into the microphone
set up on his keyboards. There is a folder on his keyboard that contains
the lyrics. Peter played this song twice as the final encore (in Mexico
City on November 04, 2002, and in Chicago on November 12, 2002). It
was not played in Mexico City on November 03.
Darkness
The first notes of Darkness ring out without particular announcement
while the band take their places. The drumkit is located in the middle
of the stage. It is covered on a house-shaped tent that represents the
“house in the woods”. Rachel Z stand approximately opposite
Peter. Both have turned their back to the audience when they’re
playing the keyboards. Tony Levin, Richard Evans and David Rhodes occasionally
walk about a bit without ever straying to far from their equipment.
Peter walks across the stage and whispers “consequence”,
here we go! During the song Peter walks here and there and sings into
his hand microphone as well as his headset. When the lyrics reach the
line “When I allow it to be” the whole venue is flooded
with white light, while there are threatening strobe light effects during
the aggressive verses.
Darkness was the second song at every show. Only in Mexico City on November
03, 2002 was Darkness played as the opening song.
Red Rain
Before this song Peter would announce that "It's good to be back,
we will play a mixture of new and old, this next one fits the last category,
it's called Red Rain" Big applause everywhere and the stage is
lit in red. It is a powerful version of the song, perhaps in a different
mood from the original’s, but a professional rendition indeed.
Red rain always followed Darkness.
Secret World
Peter played this fan favourite in a slightly different version. The
song is much stronger than on the previous tour. While one enjoys a
beautiful song during the verses, there is a loud bang after the third
verse, the whole band begins to rock and Peter dances across the stage
circling – a process which is repeated after “shh, listen”.
On this tour, the song ends with vocals (“making it up in our
secret world”). Something egg-shaped is lowered from the ceiling
while the song is performed. Secret World always followed Red Rain.
My Head Sounds Like That
A fine version of the new song. At the end, Peter stands in the middle
of the stage and the egg is lowered so that his head disappears in it.
This song was played after Secret World on the first three shows in
Mexico City, at the dess rehearsal in Quebec and on the opening night
in Chicago. During the Mexico City show on November 04, The Barry Williams
Show was played between Secret World and My Head Sounds Like That. The
song was struck off the set list after the first show in Chicago.
Sky Blue
Before the song begins, The Blind Boys Of Alabama sit down below the
egg while Peter announces the song. He stays at the keyboards for the
first two verses. During the third verse Peter walks along the outer
part of the stage which begins to rotate against the direction in which
he moves. When his vocal part ends, he leaves the stage with Melanie
while the Blind Boys’s platform is elevated somewhat. They bring
this song to a breathtaking finale.
Sky Blue was played on every night from November 12, 2002 onwards. It
was not played at the dress rehearsal because the Blind Boys were absent.
Sky Blue was performed without the Blind Boys at the first show in Mexico
City.
Downside Up
Peter and Melanie both sang this song though neither of them does on
the original recording. A melodious drum rhythm was added to the verses.
Though her voice is no match for Elizabeth Frazier’s, Melanie
still does a good job. The skystage is lowered to some 10ft over the
earth stage. After “pull me in” the Orange Men (i.e. the
crew) come up on stage and put up ladders. Peter and Melanie step onto
them, hook in their safety belts and begin to walk around the skystage
upside down (or downside up?) – and they sing on all the while.
This show element met with enthusiastic applause. When the lyrics reach
“slipping into the unknown” Peter and Melanie stop walking
and just hang there horizontally in their belts and the song ends.
Downside Up was played at every show. The upside-down walk was not performed
at the first shows. It was premièred on November 18, 2002, not
done on November 19 and became a fixed part of the show from November
21, 2002 onwards.
The Barry Williams Show
The skystage was lowered all the way down so that it sat on the center
stage. Peter then stepped onto the skystage which is, basically, a circle
with railings and a whole in the middle through which the egg was lowered
for Secret World. There’s a camera on wheels on the skystage.
Peter begins with the words "Some people say, you are what you
eat. I say - you are what you watch - and you watch The Barry Williams
Show" – and we’re off. There’s a white curtain
forming a column in the middle of the sky stage. Peter’s images
are projected onto it. One can also watch his own camera work on the
big screens. While he is singing, he films himself, the audience and
the band. When he reached the lines “my daughter’s selling
sex” and “I live my daughter’s rapist” he usually
filmed Melanie who, cheekily, would put out her tongue at him. The live
performance was very strong and rocked much better than the CD version.
The Barry Williams Show was a fixed item on the set list. With the exception
of the shows on November 3 and 4, 2002, it followed Downside Up.
More Than This
Peter announces More Than This while the skystage is pulled up again.
He explains that this song was about things that are influenced by the
moon, e.g. the menstrual cycle (which he admits to not knowing much
about). At the end of the song a moon appears below the skystage with
the appropriate lights on it.
More Than This was always played after The Barry Williams Show at the
centre-stage shows.
Shock The Monkey
Familiar sounds, a dancing Gabriel, thundering drums – a powerful
Shock The Monkey jumps out of the speakers. And Gabriel did it, too
– the old familiar Shock jump. So it’s still possible at
52. Gabriel boisterously runs across the stage and at several times
stands in front of the audience, provoking them. David Rhodes would
dance with him, as did Tony Levin. Shock The Monkey was first performed
directly after Secret World in Montreal on November 29, 2002. It was
a big surprise there (and in Quebec City on November 30). In Toronto
(Dec 02, 2002) and Detroit the band played this number after More Than
This while Los Angeles heard it after Digging In The Dirt. It was the
second encore in Oakland, San Jose and Seattle.
Mercy Street
A boat is placed on the stage and the band assembles around it. Peter
Gabriel tells the well-known story of the song and the band sing an
a capella intro before they all return to their instruments and begin
to play the song. Melanie sits down in the boat, and the outer stage
begins to rotate again. Near the end Peter steps onto the rotating part
of the stage and follows the boad. Richard Evans plays the flute on
this song.
Mercy Street always followed More Than This (except for the shows in
Toronto and Detroit).
No Way Out
The song remains close to its studio version, though the dynamics are
much stronger live and the aggressivenes of the chorus comes out. Gabriel
struck this song off the setlist after the shows in Mexico City. It
was not performed on any centre-stage shows.
Digging In The Dirt
A familiar beat and a “Digging!” by Peter… Digging
In The Dirt is one of the strongest performances of the night. Several
times Peter asks the audience to sing along. After “I got hurt”
the stage is lit in hectic spots and Peter hunts his fellow musicians.
During the song the cloth covering is removed from the ball that had
represented a moon earlier on (during Mercy Street). It uncovers a Zorb
ball in purple lights, and its hour was soon to come.
The Tower That Ate People
This song was performed much like the version included on the Red Planet
soundtrack. Very intense, very strong, further proof that songs can
grow in stature when they’re played live. Unfortunately, this
song was performed in Mexico City on November 03, 2002, only and struck
off the setlist for the rest of the tour.
Growing Up
The climax of the show certainly is Growing Up. Gabriel stands in the
centre of the stage and the ball is lowered onto him. He finally vanishes
in it and begins to sing after he has brought the ball into starting
position. After the intro he begins to roll across the stage in the
ball and begins to bump up and down during the verses. Tony Levin’s
bass guitars often had to suffer from it. Peter rolls across the stage
without external help. He stays in the ball for the whole song. The
audience was ecstatic about the performance.
Growing Up was always played after Digging In The Dirt after the centre-stage
shows.
Animal Nation
Growing Up was a demanding performance, so Peter needed some time to
catch his breath. The crew would use the opportunity to deflate and
stow away the ball. Peter talks about his experiments with bonobo monkeys
and how they inspired him to this song. Animal Nation was released on
the Wild Thornberries soundtrack and will be released on Peter’s
next album IO. This made it the second song (after Downside Up) that
was almost completely unknown to the North-American audience.
Musical support was provided by Dr Zawoke and his brother who came back
and chirped on their exotic instruments. They can also be heard on the
studio version. During this long song Peter always had the audience
sing along.
Animal Nation was always played after Growing Up.
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