Scratching Back

Before you get any ideas about that title, it actually belongs (in part) to Peter Gabriel's latest album Scratch My Back, a collection of cover songs. I mention this because, thanks to our friend Marci, Caesar and I attended Gabriel's concert Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl, featuring the songs from the new album along with many classics.

Walking up the hill toward the Bowl, every other table or booth peddled Peter Gabriel trinkets: CDs, postcards with album cover images, and t-shirts, most with two red blood cells hugging each other while the rest read "Drums. Guitars. Orchestra." I'd read about this tour, the fact that Gabriel decided to use a full orchestra rather than electric guitars and synthesizers and other electronics. "Should make for an interesting concert", I murmured.

We found our sets around 6:30, watched the stage crew test the lights and electronic screen on the stage. The show was scheduled to start at 7, but only a few people trickled in behind us. As 7 came and went, the trickle turned into a steady stream so that by 7:30 most of the Bowl's seats were filled. Good thing the show hadn't started. In fact, it wasn't until almost 10 'til 8 that Gabriel stepped onto the stage, announced his opening act Ane Brun (who sang only two songs), then returned to explain how the concert would work. The first "act" would be songs from the new album; the second would showcase some of his more well-known tracks.

The Bowl lights dimmed leaving only a spotlight on the orchestra's conductor. With a wave of his baton, the New Blood Orchestra thrummed into David Bowie's Heroes. the way Gabriel deconstructed that song -- along with the others, including Neil Young's Philadelphia, Regina Spektor's Après Moi, and The Magnetic Field's The Book of Love -- they sounded as if he wrote them. The original songs remained recognizable, but with a full orchestra and Gabriel's dramatic take made them something new.

And, of course, the digital light show, using three long screens behind the orchestra and one that rose and fell from the ceiling near the front of the stage. Simply amazing. The lights pulsed and flowed with the rhythm of the strings, changing colors and shapes with every beat. Combined with the singing and the live orchestra, the effect was mesmerizing. One of the jumbo screens stood almost directly above us so we could watch the digital effects on Gabriel and the other singers and musicians as the lights danced across the stage. We scarcely realized an hour had passed by until the lights brightened, and groups of people hurried to the bathrooms and the refreshment stands.

The second act, as promised, focused on his own material, opening with a magnificent version of San Jacinto that roused the audience into a frenzy. He performed some of his better-known songs but mixed in lesser ones, like Mercy Street. Hearing them onstage, designed for orchestra was amazing. And during Solsbury Hill, as he skipped and danced about the stage, the audience joined in the fun, chanting the boom, boom, boom while Gabriel turned the camera onto the Bowl.

The only downside for me was The Washing of the Water one of my favorite songs from his Us album. The live version was turned into a duet, and I didn't feel the woman's voice suited the lyrics and the song. I would have preferred to hear it sung solely by Gabriel with the backing of the orchestra, but still, hearing it performed live was all that really mattered. Plus, he made up for it (in my opinion) with the encore of In Your Eyes.

A marvelous show, and I can't imagine seeing it anywhere else but at the Bowl.