Acey68 Oct 08, 2023

Review: Peter Gabriel, always an original, opts for songs from ‘i/o’ at the United Center
By Bob Gendron
Chicago Tribune

Published: Oct 01, 2023 at 11:18 am

Peter Gabriel still loves a challenge. Thankfully, so do many of his fans.

Saturday at the United Center, the iconic singer-songwriter put himself up to the daunting task of performing 11 songs expected on a forthcoming album — including two selections yet to be released as singles. In thumbing their collective noses at predictable nostalgia, Gabriel and his extraordinary band won over a rafters-deep audience by way of surprise, devotion and craft.

A combination concert, rotating art installation and storytelling session, the 160-minute show surveyed a captivating intersection of sonics, visuals, cultures and ideas with open-minded possibility and experimental flair. Even when certain moments fell short of their potential, Gabriel’s relentless curiosity and genuine concern for all living things made it impossible to dismiss his attempts.

In no hurry, and unafraid to test complex arrangements that demanded silence and attention in an arena environment — no easy ask — the British vocalist pegged himself as a throwback to an era when cerebral music enjoyed a status near to that of popular fare. He came across with admirable selflessness at odds with modern conventions.

Forget the notion of a grand entrance. Gabriel sauntered onstage and proceeded to chat for five minutes, talking about his appearance (older, heavier, balder) and joking at his own expense. He introduced the band members by name after the first song and credited them later on multiple occasions. He identified each international graphics collaborator as their contributions were projected on screens. He thanked the individual crews involved in the production, including catering, with utmost sincerity. Who does that?

Then again, Gabriel has spent his entire career following his own muse. Credited with assisting in bringing the catch-all genre of “world music” to the mainstream, he cofounded the WOMAD Festival decades ago and continues to operate Real World Studios and the affiliated Real World Records. Prizing artistry, accessibility and community over profit and commercialism, he remains fascinated with creativity, discovery and inclusivity.

Then again, Gabriel has spent his entire career following his own muse. Credited with assisting in bringing the catch-all genre of “world music” to the mainstream, he cofounded the WOMAD Festival decades ago and continues to operate Real World Studios and the affiliated Real World Records. Prizing artistry, accessibility and community over profit and commercialism, he remains fascinated with creativity, discovery and inclusivity.

Those pursuits also might explain why over the past few decades Gabriel’s attention turned more to humanitarian causes and political activism than the trappings associated with other Rock and Roll Hall of Fame superstars. (Gabriel was inducted in 2014.) He resisted calls to reunite with Genesis, the band that gave him his start in the late ‘60s and from which he departed in 1975. (In a classy move, he lent support to his former group by attending its final performance in March 2022.)

Save for a handful of collaborations, a covers album and the occasional tour — he shared billing on a previous U.S. trek with Sting in 2016; his last solo headlining North American tour was in 2012 — the 73-year-old has laid low for a majority of the 21st century. “Up” (2002) remains his most recent original LP, though rumors persist he will soon issue the long-anticipated “i/o.”

Wearing black pants, a black button-adorned vest and long-sleeve shirt, Gabriel provided an in-depth preview of what may stand as a loosely conceptual record. Steering clear of preachiness, a number of tunes addressed hot-topic concerns related to justice, hypocrisy, polarization and the environment. The technology-centric “Panopticom” envisioned what artificial intelligence could represent. The singer’s fascination with science, and human beings’ connection to their surroundings and one another (and, their increasing lack of it), extended to the declarative title track “i/o” and sun-streaked “Olive Tree,” whose refrains erupted in starburst patterns. The aptly titled “Road to Joy” clung to an even more upbeat theme and pranced to the type of catchy beats that helped Gabriel top the charts in the mid ‘80s.

Despite the tension pulsing through works such as “Growing Up,” density associated with the atmospheric “Darkness” and prophetic calamity pouring down in “Red Rain,” the vocalist seemed determined to construct organic backdrops and hopeful messages conducive to health, forgiveness and peace. Or, as he crooned on the encouraging duet “Don’t Give Up,” places “where we all belong.”

The cleansing started immediately, with Gabriel and his backing octet seated around a faux campfire for an ethereal reading of the cathartic “Washing of the Water.” It carried through the textured undercurrents of “This Is Home” and anthemic liberation of an extended “Live and Let Live,” and informed the righteous protest of the Afrobeat-laden closer, “Biko.”

Gabriel, who retains a fair deal of his vocal range minus the capacity to consistently sing at a higher pitch, accentuated the positives with theatrical body language. He pumped his arms, marched in place, initiated hand-clap sprees and executed exaggerated dance moves that echoed the stop-motion animation clips in his famous “Sledgehammer” video. He even joined with longtime bassist Tony Levin and guitarist David Rhodes in high-spirited step choreography.

About Gabriel’s estimable colleagues: It’s no stretch to state the band was as much of a story as the songs. In addition to Levin and Rhodes, each musician warrants mention as well as further investigation: Manu Katché (drums); Richard Evans (guitar, flute, whistle, mandolin); Ayanna Witter-Johnson (cello, vocals); Marina Moore (violin, vocals); Don McLean (keyboards, vocals); Josh Shpak (horns, keyboards, vocals).

Together, they blended diversity, discipline, chemistry, soulfulness, timing and interplay in ways that flirted with perfectionist standards. The ensemble also established reference points for how instruments can — and should — sound in large live settings. Crisp, full-bodied, clear, resonant, natural, so tactile that notes felt injected into your bloodstream; Gabriel announced that they obsessed over sonic details. The investments paid off.

In particular, the rhythmic tandem of Levin and Katché proved exhilarating. The virtuosos’ center-stage positions — Gabriel and the remainder of the collective flanked them — underlined their central roles and importance. Moreover, their purity of tone and ability to convey the properties of raw materials, acoustic vibrations and delicate harmonics turned the pair into a two-person orchestra.

Levin broke out his signature funk fingers (drumsticks that affix to two fingers) for enhanced attack on several songs. He shaped structures with unobtrusive bass lines that tugged, streaked and strutted. Similarly restrained when necessary, Katché played as if he’d sprouted an extra pair of arms and legs. The French drummer communicated with a jazzy diction, his percussive runs lithe, balanced, punctual and on point.

And they made it all look easy. Gabriel drew from a wellspring of choices: R&B, symphonic rock, avante-garde, chamber, fusion, art-pop, folk, classical, minimalism, back-alley blues, global strains from Africa, Europe and Asia. No style or form off-limits, nothing forced or strained. Big time, indeed.

Bob Gendron is a freelance critic.

Setlist from the United Center Sept. 30:

Set 1

“Washing of the Water”

“Growing Up”

“Panopticom”

“Four Kinds of Horses”

“i/o”

“Digging in the Dirt”

“Playing for Time”

“Olive Tree”

“This Is Home”

“Sledgehammer”

Set 2

“Darkness”

“Love Can Heal”

“Road to Joy”

“Don’t Give Up”

“The Court”

“Red Rain”

“And Still”

“Big Time”

“Live and Let Live”

“Solsbury Hill”

Encore

“In Your Eyes”

“Biko”

Acey68 Oct 01, 2023

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