Peter Gabriel & Sting live – Rock Paper Scissors 2016 – review

As 2016 began, everyone was waiting for signs of a new Gabriel album. I/O was long overdue. But instead of news about that, Gabriel and Sting made a surprise announcement on 16 January that they would be going on a double headliner tour together. Everyone was amazed.

Preface

Sting had already been on tour with Paul Simon in 2014/15. The concept of the concerts was then: both perform with their own backing bands, play one or a few songs together, and otherwise each has their own solo sets with only their own songs and their own bands.

This concept obviously worked so well and was so well received by the audience that, following North America, the tour not only came to Europe, but Sting then considered doing something like this again. According to his own statements, he wondered who he could do this with next and came up with Peter Gabriel.

Both had already been on the compact tour Human Rights Now! together in 1988 in aid of Amnesty International and knew each other well. Both liked the idea, so they started planning.

In the promotional video posted online to announce the tour, both mentioned how appealing it would be to juxtapose their songs and then experience how the music would influence each other.

The title of the tour was set as Rock Paper Scissors. In the promotional video Gabriel explained that 'Rock' stood for the music they make, 'Paper' for the offer they were presented with and couldn't refuse, and "Scissors" for the fact that they would be splitting up again after this deal (English 'we cut away'). You have to judge for yourself how much of this is satire and how much is serious.

Preparations

The rehearsals for the tour took place in London at the end of May 2016 for Gabriel's band. Afterwards, they moved to the American continent to continue rehearsing with everyone involved for the last two weeks before the first show (21 June 2016) at the premiere venue in Columbus. The final set list was also decided here.

Gabriel also took care of the visuals for the show (lighting and video inserts). Those were not so important to Sting.

Twenty-one shows were scheduled across North America, each in large arenas. A few were open air. You can find the link to our page with the complete concert dates here.

In the end, 311,000 visitors attended, generating approximately £20 million in revenue (according to Wikipedia, at least).

Fans of both musicians eagerly anticipated a continuation of the tour throughout Europe, but this never happened (more on this below).

Bands

As with Sting and Paul Simon's double tour, both headliners brought their own solo bands with them. Sting was accompanied by the gifted Vinnie Colaiuta on drums. He had toured with him extensively in the 1990s and then again in 2011 for the Back To Bass Tour. He was also accompanied by percussionist Rhani Krija, backing vocalist Jo Lawry and violinist Peter Tickell. All three had also accompanied him in the past.

Gabriel basically brought the band from the Back To Front Tour, which had ended two years earlier. The only exception was that Angie Pollock was back on keyboards. She played keys in 2007 on the Warm Up Tour and in 2009 on the tour through South America). On drums was Ged Lynch, with whom Gabriel had been touring since the beginning of the millennium (with the exception of the Back To Front Tour).

It is interesting to note that David Sancious was also there. He had played in the bands of both in the past. Most recently, he had also been part of Gabriel's Back To Front line-up, but now he was part of Sting's band. Sancious had also been on the road with Sting, as had Colaiuta since the early 90s. However, Sting and Sancious had met through Gabriel. Sancious was part of the original tour band for the So album and was therefore also part of the Human Rights Now! Tour.

Manu Katché, who had also accompanied both Gabriel and Sting in the past, did not play in either band this time around – which is a little surprising, but perhaps also fair.

In any case, there were two complete bands on stage and a total of 14 people (see complete list at the bottom).

What was also special was that both bands remained on stage for almost the entire show and always played together. Although sometimes one band took the lead in the arrangements and sometimes the other, basically all the songs were always played together. This also applied to the two main performers, who were not above supporting each other with backing vocals.

It should also be mentioned that both bands were mixed in their positioning on stage, but wore accessories in blue (Sting) and red (Gabriel) on their black costumes as identification.

Setlist

For an overview, see the standard set list at the end of the article and all individual set lists here.

Gabriel had the honour of opening the evening (with The Rhythm Of The Heat) and closing it (with Sledgehammer). This was certainly a polite gesture on the part of the 'host' Sting. The opening, with its creeping drama, obviously worked very well.

As the evening progressed, the two main performers mostly took turns playing one of their own songs each. Sting played 7 songs by The Police and only 5 of his own solo songs throughout the evening, while Gabriel also played 12 songs. In principle, the selection from both consisted only of their greatest hits.

It should be noted, however, that the two also covered one of each other's songs. Gabriel took on If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free, turning the lively, upbeat piece into a dark, sexy blues rock number with plenty of tongue-in-cheek humour. Sting played Shock The Monkey in a powerful version that was every bit as good as Gabriel's own live performances from his heyday. For the first two-thirds of the tour, Sting also played Kiss That Frog, which he surprisingly brought back from obscurity and also performed with a lot of energy and groove. His version was perhaps even better than that of the master, who only included the song in the Secret World Tour.

In addition, and to everyone's surprise, Sting sneaked a fragment of Genesis into the set by using the intro to Dancing With The Moonlit Knight as the introduction to Message In A Bottle. Gabriel remained on the sidelines. But he thrilled quite a few fans when he took over the lines at the final concert in Edmonton, creating a small but thoroughly emotional moment. He sang it publicly for the first time in over 30 years.

Another noteworthy fact about Gabriel: he already played the song Love Can Heal here. The track would be released on the album i/o seven years later. The preliminary version presented here was already very close to the final album version. Also noteworthy: a recording of the song from the concert in Edmonton (other sources say: from the soundcheck) was used in parts in the album version.

Stage and Performance

The stage was kept quite simple, as it had to accommodate the many performers. Greater significance was attached to the 14 elongated screens, which were suspended above the stage and displayed accompanying images. For Games Without Frontiers, for example, the symbols that gave the tour its name: 'paper, rock, scissors', highlighted in blue and red (analogous to the colours assigned to opponents in boxing matches, for example). A thoroughly playful extension of the idea of 'play' (without frontiers).

At other points, however, close-ups of eyes were shown on the fourteen screens. They then reflected the actual eyes of the fourteen musicians on stage. The number of screens was therefore not chosen at random. It was a concept that Gabriel had already used on the Back To Front Tour and later again on the i/o Tour.

Other invigorating moments included smaller choreographed interludes, such as when Sting and PG strutted back and forth across the stage during Games Without Frontiers, or when the three backing singers shook their stuff to Sledgehammer, dancing around the two singers. The usual little steps to In Your Eyes, in which the members of Sting's band also participated, hardly stand out.

The musical performance as a whole was of an extremely high standard. Sting's rather lean and often sharply defined arrangements occasionally contrasted with the dark massiveness of Gabriel's music. Sting also seemed to have a good influence on Peter Gabriel. Some of his songs now sounded clearer (Games, for example).

It wasn't always clear whether the two main personalities were a good match. At times, it seemed that Sting's latent arrogance and his strict, well-organised manner didn't always fit well with Gabriel's certain sluggishness, which repeatedly led to some typical 'fuck ups'.

In all, there was little talking. Hardly any announcements about the songs were made. Right at the beginning, after the two opening numbers, both stepped forward and explained a little about the evening – with Gabriel always adding a moody and self-deprecating remark at the end that he was now doing power yoga again thanks to Sting and that since then no-one backstage could tell them apart…

In addition Sting explained that the sarcastic intro to Dancing With The Moonlit Knight was a response to the recent Brexit vote. Gabriel dedicated Love Can Heal to Jo Cox, who had been killed in an assassination shortly before.

No continuation

After this successful tour of North America ended at the end of July 2016, everyone expected that there would be a follow-up tour of Europe. At first, it was a logical step, and Sting and Paul Simon had also done this in 2015.

Surprisingly, however, no announcement was made. There was no word from Gabriel. Sting played a few concerts in late summer and released a new album in November (57th & 9th). Without comment, there was no continuation of the tour.

Many assumptions were made among fans. These ranged from 'not commercially successful enough' to 'the two didn't get along'.

We now know that Gabriel's wife Maebh fell seriously ill at the end of 2016. At times her chances of survival were not very good. It can therefore be assumed that Gabriel cancelled all his plans and devoted himself entirely to her and his family. Fortunately, Maebh was able to recover with the help of innovative medical technologies. The Gabriels are now doing well again.

However, since both Gabriel and Sting have long since moved on to other continents with their personal endeavours, there is unlikely to be a Rock Paper Scissors tour for Europe.

Conclusion

The response to the tour was exceptionally good. The press praised it, fans from both camps were thrilled. And there were probably quite a few who appreciated both headliners. Because despite all their differences (both musically and in terms of personality), they surprisingly appeal to similar audiences. This is probably even more evident than with Sting and Paul Simon, who also had their heyday in different decades.

Those who were unable to attend one of the shows themselves can only get a glimpse of what it was like via the internet. In fact, all the clips give the impression of evenings full of musical highlights that outdid each other, and even when the tempo slowed down, the great intensity (and also the skill) of the two main performers and their fellow musicians was evident.

The concerts make an astonishingly cohesive impression – despite the contrast between Sting's straightforward rock pop numbers and Gabriel's often extravagant soulscapes. Seeing both stars in one evening must have been quite impressive. Envy goes out to all those who had the chance to experience one of the shows.

Autor: Thomas Schrage
Photos: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images. Used with kind permission by Real World

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Line Up

Peter Gabriel – Vocals, Keyboards
Ged Lynch – Drums
Tony Levin – Bass, Vocals
David Rhodes – Guitars, Vocals
Angie Pollock – Keyboards, Vocals
Jennie Abrahamson – Vocals, Flute
Linnea Olsson – Vocals, Cello

Sting – Vocals, Bass
Vinnie Colaiuta – Drums
Rhani Krija – Percussions
Dominic Miller – Guitars, Vocals
David Sancious – Keyboards
Peter Tickell – Violin, Mandolin
Jo Lawry – Vocals

Setlist

remained the same throughout the entire tour – with a few exceptions

The Rhythm Of The Heat
If Ever Lose My Faith In You
– Welcome –
No Self Control
Invisible Sun
Games Without Frontiers
Shock The Monkey [sung by Sting]
Secret World
Driven To Tears
Fragile
Red Rain
Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (intro) / Message In A Bottle
Darkness / San Jacinto [both songs alternating from Detroit onwards, sometimes no song at this position]
Walking In Your Footsteps [not performed after Milwaukee]
Kiss That Frog [sung by Sting, not performed after Milwaukee]
Don't Give Up
The Hounds Of Winter
Big Time
Englishman In New York
Solsbury Hill
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free [sung by PG]
Roxanne
Love Can Heal [new song by PG]
Desert Rose
In Your Eyes
ENCORES
Every Breath You Take
Sledgehammer

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Links

Original tour announcement including promotional video on petergabriel.com.
Information and some press quotes at petergabriel.com.
Our tour dates overview.
Our setlists overview.