Subscriber Buenavista sent us this detailed review:
If you weren't a hardcore Gabriel fan, this show may not have been for you.
The adventurous and challenging 61-year-old Brit is currently touring with The New Blood Orchestra in support of his 2010 covers album, Scratch My Back.
What made the show so unique was that there were no guitars and no drums. PG did bring some major strings, horns, and woodwind players, conducted by Ben Foster, along with two female backup singers - his daughter Melanie and Norwegian opening act Ana Brun - to perform alternately somber and dramatic orchestral arrangements of some of his best known songs and covers while stunning visuals were provided on multiple LED screens at the front and back of the stage.
Backstage, Gabriel, dressed in a black vest and pants, explained to me his idea behind Scratch My Back. He sees it as a songwriter’s exchange that will eventually see those artists whose songs he covered, cover his songs.
Then he adds, "Hopefully. Herding songwriters is a bit like herding cats”.
In the meantime, a new album called New Blood, featuring orchestral arrangements of Gabriel songs, many that he performed at the show, is due this year.
Opening with a very serious, sad, slow and almost completely unrecognizable version of David Bowie’s Heroes, it took a few songs for Gabriel and the New Blood Orchestra to hit their stride with Paul Simon’s The Boy In The Bubble and Arcade Fire’s My Body Is a Cage as he grew stronger vocally, hitting some mighty high notes, and the arrangements became more powerful.
He even screwed up the opening of the second song, Wallflower, and joked about it before beginning again.
But nothing could prepare the audience for the tearjerking presentation of Father, Son that followed as Gabriel explained how he had spent a week with his 99-year-old father and a yoga instructor and had burst into tears at one point but his father had caught him and held him.
“What do they say about country music? Three chords and the truth? That was my country moment,” said Gabriel.
As he sang the heartfelt song, black and white film of him and his father together was shown on the LED screens, and there was barely a dry eye in the house.
Gabriel is such an emotionally open and soulful singer that his vulnerability can be truly overwhelming at times.
Still, famously known as a theatrical performer, he was much more static alongside the New Blood Orchestra - with Foster a much bigger presence - until he broke out his South African protest song, Biko, at the end of the first set and got everyone standing on their feet with one arm raised and singing along.
After a short intermission, Gabriel returned for a much stronger second set with such highlights as Digging in The Dirt, Signal To Noise, Downside Up, and Rhythm of the Heat, but they were trumped by awe-inspiring versions of Mercy Street, Red Rain, In Your Eyes, and Don’t Give Up (with Brun taking over Kate Bush’s part) - all from his album So which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year - and the really creepy but effective Intruder.
Gabriel even broke out the tambourine in the second set and finally skipped around the stage during Solsbury Hill right before the encore and not a moment too soon.
SET LIST:
Heroes (David Bowie cover)
Wallflower
Après Moi (Regina Spektor cover)
The Boy in the Bubble (Paul Simon cover)
My Body Is a Cage (Arcade Fire cover)
Father, Son
Darkness
Washing of the Water
Biko
INTERMISSION
San Jacinto
Digging in the Dirt
Signal to Noise
Downside Up
Mercy Street
The Rhythm of the Heat
Blood of Eden
Intruder
Red Rain
Solsbury Hill
ENCORE:
In Your Eyes
Don’t Give Up
The Nest That Sailed the Sky
Let me tell you how great it was to spend some time with someone who has been such an inspiration to me and my songwriting. Without BackstagePassDirect, I doubt that this ever could have happened.
Thanks guys.
Thank you, Buenavista. We appreciate your keeping your brothers and sisters here informed.
If you want to spend some tme and space with your "inspiration", we can help make it happen. Go to BackstagePassDirect and sign up today.
