Ya Gotta Them Live – Peter Gabriel

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0:13 Hello and welcome to Ya Gotta See Them Live, a podcast about the power of live music told one band at a time. My name is Dave, and although I’m usually alone, I have the pleasure of being joined on this episode by the voice of NEOZAZ, Khrysti. I was gonna say, you are not alone, but that’s not what I’m saying. Not the song, but Don’t Give Up, Dave. Oh, thank you. I’ll try not to. You’re you’re the Kate Bush to my friend. So you saw it on the screen grab, but we are doing Peter Gabriel on this one, and the reason that Khrysti is on because Peter, Khrysti and I saw Peter Gabriel together. Yes, we did. So we’ll get to that in a minute. I did see him another time, which you’re going to have to sit and listen to. I apologize. You just sit and wait, okay? Okay. You’ll get your turn later. Okay. Um But I did want to ask you, do you see a lot of concerts, like a lot of live shows? No, because Orlando seems to repel people like dirt off of a mudflap.

1:22 Um We just we don’t get a lot of motto. Yeah, yeah. Um A lot of times the I mean the really good concerts usually come to either Tampa uh which I’d rather drive to Detroit or uh Miami. And I’m not willing to be in a car that long. So sometimes we’ll get good concerts, but like the really good like stadium shows They they don’t they don’t necessarily come around here, so I don’t get to see a lot. Yeah, you don’t I mean there’s the Orlando Magic Arena. Um I would think they would get shows, but they’re they’re not getting people even. They do, but Night. Any Buddy, I want to see. Right. People that do shows like that are generally like new bands. Like when I see the bands that come through and do shows where like the Flyers and the Sixers play, like, I don’t know who they are. Yeah. And then you get an old person. I’m like, hey, this is for the old guys, you know, every once in a while. And and at this time, you know, the people that I would go to see, there’s usually some kind of like,

2:25 Early Bird Special that is sponsoring it. So Yeah. Well, and you have a hard rock right near you. Every once in a while they sound good. Sometimes, yeah. Yeah, they must get people, right? Oh yeah. So if you’re a a long time NEOZAZ listener, you know Khrysti from I sound like uh The Simpsons. You and you might know Khrysti from uh Lots of things, including the Grady’s and and uh She and Matt really kind of run NEOZAZ. So thank you both. for being the first family of NEOZAZ. Whether you wanted to or not. Yes. You’re like married. All of our little digital children out there into the world. So before we get to the second time that I saw him, and I’ll let you tell that story as to why you felt you had to do what you did to see Peter Gabriel. I’ll talk about the first time I saw him, which was with Tim, another longtime NEOZAZ person. From lots of stuff like Pass the Popcorn and Star Wars and Character and things like that. And that was November 18th, 2002.

3:32 God damn, that was like a long time ago now. But I wish that I had s could have been able to see Peter Gabriel like in the like in the late 70s and early 80s. And even into some of the stuff that he did with Amnesty International. Because that was like the the the Quintessential stuff that now we’re seeing him. I mean, in 2002, I remember thinking he was old. Because he was balding and he was kind of heavy. But now, I mean, like, we, when we saw him, he was even. That much older. You know what I mean? Yeah. Like we weren’t seeing the young. skinny dancing around. Full of energy, Peter Gabriel, but it was still great because I mean, think you think about seeing him, it’s more than just a concert, it’s a cinematic experience, like a multimedia art experience. And I hadn’t been to a lot of concerts like that because most of the time it’s like a guy on stage. And you’re you’re seeing the band, they’re doing their hits and there might be some lighting and l like a normal show, but uh

4:34 You see him and I remember seeing Roger Waters for the first time and getting this kind of experience where there was a lot of stuff going on in the arena. And it’s it’s you listen to him, if you’re a fan of him, it’s it’s deeper, it’s intellectual, it’s complex. And there’s a lot of global awareness and that kind of stuff with seeing him. But the first time that I saw him was the tour for Growing Up. So do you remember that album, 2002? I do not. I do not. So they almost called up. And this was back when you would buy a CD. I’m sure you did this. Remember when you would buy like a CD? And you would just listen to it like start to finish over and over and over again. Oh yeah. I did that with So. Yeah, that was So. And that’s how you got to like know the the B sides of the deep dives and really You know, get to really be a fan of somebody. And I was so into that album. It was 2002, like my son was a.

5:36 baby. And I remember listening to this a lot, like a lot, a lot. So I knew I was going to end up going to see him. And the opening act that night was The Blind Boys of Alabama. Yeah, because this is Peter Gabriel. It’s going to be kooky. It’s going to be cultural, you know, like he does a lot of world music. So the funniest thing about the Blind Boys of Alabama was they are literally like five Old? Blind men. Okay. And the stage was in the round. And there were two guys on each side of the stage that I’m not even kidding, they were spotters. Make sure they didn’t fall off. Make sure they didn’t fall off the stage. Because they I guess they refuse to stand still. They didn’t dance necessarily, but they walked around and sang, and the harmony was great, and there’s this legendary kind of like. You know, old RB kind of blues kind of thing. And it was like, okay, well, though, and Tim and I were watching, I’m like, those guys are there to make sure they don’t fall off the stage. And sometimes they would both be like two guys would be near the edge at the same time.

6:41 And the guy would have to like run and push one back and then run halfway around and then get the other guy just before he fell off. Please tell me that guy was like super, super skinny. He was, he was fit. It was really, really great. But it was a great show. It was a little bit weird because. Usually, when a guy comes out, we were talking about bands or artists, they come out and they hit you, they hit you with a heavy hitter. He comes out to, Here Comes the Flood. I mean, I can’t think of a more depressing song than Here Comes the Flood. And that’s how he opened the show. So it was like, okay, this is going to be different. But Blind Boys of Alabama came back out and did one of the songs off of Up with him. But the thing that was great about this, and you would have loved this, because when we saw him, it was more of like a standard concert. Like stage and performers and that kind of stuff. Because this was in the round, there was a lot of really cool things going on with the staging. And they really called it the sky stage and the earth stage. So when he was on the stage and you were supposed to be looking at him, he was literally standing on the stage.

7:51 There was like almost a secondary stage above him that was curtains Projections, things like that. Oh, wow. Giant inflatable, like curtain balls that they would project things on. It was really, really neat. Um So he got into some of the songs from that album, but then he does, are you familiar with the song Downside Up? So this is where you know you’re in for something special here. Starts putting on a harness. Oh, so the song before starts putting on a harness, and he’s talking to me. What the fuck is he going to do with this harness? Putting on the harness because he is going to hook. And he spends the whole song hanging upside down. Wow. pulling himself around the stage by his arms. The song. It was insane. It was really insane. And that whole show, if you ever want to watch it, is on YouTube. Oh, wow. And I have, I have just, it was November 18th, 2002.

9:00 Uh and at that point it was called the First Union Center, but it’s b had about seven names. The F U son. The F u anthos or we call it the F U. Um So the beginning of the song, there’s a woman singing, it’s his daughter, it’s Melanie Gabriel. Oh, wow. I don’t know if you can see it on this, and if you haven’t seen this, it’s really cool to know that this old Englishman. Pulling himself upside down around on monkey bars basically while singing this song. All right, so he hadn’t hooked into the harness yet at this point, but then he does. I never saw anything like that before.

10:35 Oh wow. Yeah. It was pretty amazing. The next song off it was a song called The Barry Williams Show that was on that album and it’s about like a Jerry Springer talk show type of host. Okay. He spent the entire song that time with a spotlight like you would have on a TV stage shining. And it had a camera attached to it, shining it on people in the audience and putting them on the screen. Oh wow. It was crazy. And then he did something, like he did things like Mercy Street and Digging in the Dirt. The title track then was Growing Up. He did it in one of those giant inflatable balls that you can kind of put yourself in and run around on the stage. It was insane. Everything that he did was more and more artistic. While this ban That was killing it was playing like Tony Levin has been his bass player forever. And I like to gravitate to a bass line in a song. He was amazing. It was a really, really great show. He did Solsbury Hill on a bike. This stage is in the round. He he rode a bike the whole time.

11:40 And you can see, I think he’s about to clip in here, Khrysti, if you’re still watching this on my screen. And I’ll and his daughter’s in one too. His daughter is just singing, I think. Okay. Um But the bike thing, it was so much fun. Uh it really, really great. And then he ended with the song Father Son, which is like the saddest song ever about a guy. You know that song. No. Oh my God. It’s about like a guy who’s, you know, remembering what life was like with his dad. Oh, no, there’s his daughter going in her harness too. So they walk. around upside down. It’s insane. Um And it was, that was the last song. And you can’t help but listen to this song and cry. And I’m sitting there next to Tim from NEOZAZ, and both of us crying. And that was it. And then we left. It was crazy and I’ll never forget it. It was a really kind of monumental groundbreaking show for me as a fan.

12:41 So flash forward then 14 years. June 26, 2016. And I get a text or something from you saying I think I’m going to come to to Philadelphia to see Peter Gabriel because Well, I’ll let you tell the story. Why did you do this? Uh I think I think the key was, um At some point I realized that All of the people I ever wanted to see in concert were dying. Right. That was that was kind of the impetus for that one. And I realized it the man’s never coming down here. And then when I saw him there, I was like, oh. Go to, I know people there. I can go there and not go by myself. And then, when you said you were, because it was, it was him and Sting in a double bill. And I was like, well. I can knock out two aging rock stars in one night.

13:46 So that sounds great. Two for one that might be dead. Two for one. Yeah, yeah. So you were doing like your death tour. Of like old musicians. Yeah, pretty much, yeah. Okay. Have you added anyone to the list? I. I debated whether to go see Violent Femmes again, but because I saw them in college. When they were like super like, oh, actually, no, they weren’t super hot at that point. They were. Cooling down because they were on a college tour. But I feel. Like if I see them now, it might be sad. Yeah, or that that is a risky run with these. Yeah. It’s like you s I saw them, but they were They were the shell of what they were. Yeah, and and I have really great memories of Being in a mosh pit to the violent femmes in a college. So there are certain concerts, I try not to go see. theater shows more than once, and I also do not go seek

14:50 concerts more than once and and actually the opposite Matt. Because we have now seen BABYMETAL. Three times. Yeah. I’ve seen them three times. Uh we’ve also seen Alice Cooper. I’ve seen him. Well, he qualifies on that button nearly dead. And and honestly, his show never gets bad. It’s never bad. And so that’s kind of like my exception to the rule, but. I really I gotta I gotta bug up my ass that I really wanted to go see Peter Gabriel and Sting before they die. And uh And then so I flew up there. We went. drove through some parts of town that I was very frightened of. Um And I’m really glad. I felt like Country Mouse and you were City Mouse. Country Mouse. Well, this was actually technically in New Jersey. It was Camden, New Jersey. At that point, it was called the BB&T Pavilion. It’s that’s another thing that, you know, the contract runs out and some other bank names it or something like that. Yeah. The tour was called Rock, Paper, Scissors. And I like that as a.

16:04 Name of a tour because it’s almost like they really did that. They played rock, paper, scissors to see. Who was going to go out next? Yep. And it was a really great way to say, I have seen that was one of the times I think I’ve seen Sting. And I never saw him like that. with another legend. felt like it was kind of like when you get those bogos at s at the store. That’s a good way to put it. I had a weird unhealthy obsession with Peter Gabriel for a very long time in in that bubble of time and just with that one album. Okay. With so because of of Say Anything and I I like I made I forced my very first high school boyfriend. To play. In Your Eyes. What you forced him to do? Reenact the scene.

17:09 Forest is such a Such a strong word. Um I forced him to watch the movie with me. Okay. And I said, isn’t this romantic? You said you forced him to do that. I said, guess what? We’re gonna watch a movie tonight. It’s Say Anything. And isn’t this romantic? Look at this. And he had a I I mean, he had a trench coat, so I kinda felt like It was a You know, John Cusack-esque. Did you call him Lloyd? Lloyd Dobler, even though his name was like Rick Jones. I did not I did not call him Lloyd, but I was like, look how sexy this is. There have an awkward section of card to this song. Isn’t this romantic? And now I watch it and go. Isn’t it? Mm. Others. This is overrated. You’ve grown out of it. I’ve grown out of that. What did was he into it? Like, was did he watch it and go, like, yeah, I really get why you like this? Or was he like, she’s freaking nuts? No.

18:18 Uh it was early enough in the relationship he knew not to say the second thing. Um He liked it. He thought it was cool. And he was like, This is a really pretty song and You know, he would leave it on my answering machine in college. It was funny. Oh, he was romantic, yeah. Yeah. So, I, I mean, this song for me, and then. And then listening to the rest of that album. Like you were saying when you you Get really focused and fixated on an album, that was me with So. Right. And then when the, um, Concert album came out. Oh, what was it? The one with Paula Cole. Okay, well there was Secret World Live. It was Secret World Live. When that came out. That I played. On repeat. Constantly. Constantly. And um Almost maybe listen to Paula Cole.

19:20 Uh it just I After where how where did all the Cowboys go? I was like, I nope, nope. That’s how good Peter Gabriel is. He’ll almost make you want to listen to Paula Cole. Oh my god. Well most may agree we’re on a listed paper. I like her her later stuff, but that that that well Fine here. Yeah. When she had another baby, see, you know the words. I I was yeah, but so so I was really Um Washing of the Water. is just oh. Breaks my heart every single time. And then there was that weird. anti-suicide commercial that used don’t give up. Oh shit, I remember that. And I remember because they only played the Kate Bush part. Yeah. And I was like,

20:20 Rest your head, you worry too much. Oh my god, this is so sad. Then you listen to the rest of the song and you’re like, damn. Forgot about that. That’s the whole reason I didn’t even. I didn’t even Because it’s I don’t it’s on it’s like one of the if you can have a B side. It was one of the later ones in um In uh on So. This is what is on my screen. I tried to find the uh commercial on This is nice in a way. I tried to find this on YouTube. I wrote Anti-Suicide, Don’t Give Up. Uh and I got uh you’re not alone. If uh someone you know is having a hard time. Call 988. You know, it’s like, no video. Like, I mean, they’re worried about me now. But it says show anyway. Where does it say that? Yeah. There’s the that’s the actual video underneath it. But not the other one. Oh, that’s it. That’s it.

21:23 Go up a little bit. It I think it’s These are pretty long. I’ll have to like I do remember that now that you that you say that that’s crazy Yeah, and and I think the First time two together that are like, oh, this is that song. Right. I loved I loved that show. in the fact that it was that I’m going to go on now. Now it’s my turn. I’m staying. And they did each other’s songs. That was the fun. That was. I was I was worried, however. That Sting would come out and do In Your Eyes. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no. Don’t need a cover version of the song that I came here to see. Yeah, I think that would have been I mean a duet would have been okay, but yeah, for them to do like the major, major thing would have been a slap in the face because Peter Gabriel came out first.

22:32 He came out and it was it was interesting for him to come out first because He is so intense. Oh yeah. You know, and it it started it started with the The Rhythm of the Heat, which is like a driving, pulsing, almost Completely instrumental song. And then it’s it’s like crazy intense. And then out comes Sting all Lottie Dottie like sings it If I Ever Lose My Faith in You. It was a weird kind of juxtaposition of these two guys. And then they sang together. For a couple of songs. They did No Self Control, and then they did Invisible Sun. Games Without Frontiers. And then Shock the Monkey. So I thought that was really, really great too. In fact, I have this is a lot of this is on YouTube too, as well. I think it’s really great that they

23:53 Yeah, like so Sting doing Shock the Monkey is really great. And that reminds me too, just I saw him on the video. The thing that I didn’t know that I thought was really neat, and this is like a geeky kind of thing. Peter Gabriel’s drummer at that time was a guy named Vinnie Colaiuta. Jazz drummer. He was Sting’s drummer for like three albums. Oh, wow. And he hadn’t played with him in a long time. And now this is Sting singing in front of Vinnie Colaiuta. And to like Sting fans that knew who that was. I was like, holy shit, this is like, this is hasn’t happened since like. nineteen eighty eight or late ni you know, like since nineteen ninety one or something like that. And he had a thing up there that He had a cowbell that says more cowbell. It’s actually painted and it says more cowboys. And Sting did more police songs during this set than he normally does, maybe because. It was

24:54 Peter Gabriel. I’m just wondering, like, if he Maybe changed his setlists because I, because I’ve seen him so many times, I was hearing songs that I didn’t normally hear. Which was fantastic as a Sting fan on top of the the Peter Gabriel stuff. Yeah. So it was really good. It was a really great show. And when we set It’s one of these places where there’s a band shell and then general admission lawn seating, which is where we sat on blankets. I’m too old to do that anymore. I still go to places like this and I rent the chair. How embarrassing is that? Could you sit on the ground and watch an entire show anymore? I could sit on the ground. I could not get up from the ground. Yeah. But I could sit on the ground. I, I, also am at the point of my life where I’m like, you know what? Well yeah. I’m I’m there too because I’ve to a ton of shows this summer and a lot of them were at these places and

25:55 I’m like I guess I gotta really start just Trying to stop save a few bucks. And just sit in a real seat because you can rent chairs. It’s like 10 bucks. Yeah. That that’s what I do now because I’m Old fart and I can’t sit on the ground. Like you said, I can’t get off the ground. Mm-hmm. I also, I mean, for the especially for these These shows that are, you know, you going to see people on borrowed time that You Also, on part of the time, and you want to sit in a seat, I will pay for it, and I will buy one of the little more expensive seats. When we went to see. Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper. It was in one of those one of those theaters where there was a a lawn and and the seats. And we were like, mm mm, we’re getting seats. Taking our

26:55 Taking our ear protection and we’re sitting in the chairs. Yeah. We’re sitting in the seats because it’s like, I really, if I’m going to spend money on a On A concert? I want to spend that extra money so that I enjoy myself. Yeah, I think I’m I’m there now too. And if it’s going to be too expensive for me to sit there? I don’t need to go. Appreciate you. having that attitude where you just go, I don’t need to go. I still have this compulsion. that I can’t. I mean, it’s it’s not it’s not good. It is It’s a cheap. But it’s like, I have to go. I have to go. If I don’t go, it’s this FOMO that, like, you know, like, I can, it will bother me. It’s so stupid. But if you enjoy the experience, then what the heck does it matter? Well, you’re right. You’re right. But they played, I mean I’m counting, I have the whole set list. Printed out here between the two of them. Fifty-one songs. Now, some of them were snippets. I’d say maybe not the entire song, but like you said, it was a little bit of them doing each other’s songs. And it was pretty cool. Peter Gabriel stepping in, singing.

28:07 Sting’s first solo hit. [Clip: If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, live] But doing it in a A different way, like a new arrangement. I mean, do you think, do you think either one of them? I can’t remember, were they both on stage when they would do each other’s songs? Yeah. Yeah, because Well you think they were going, mm, huh? That’s a choice. Right. At this point, Sting wasn’t on stage, but like it just kept going back and forth and back and forth. They would trade off. It was like tagging in and tagging out. But for the end.

29:09 They’re on stage for In Your Eyes. Which I think Sting sang a verse. But he takes a step back and let Peter Gabriel do it. And then Every Breath You Take. which was vice versa. Sting takes the lead. Peter Gabriel steps back and finishes with Sledgehammer. Yeah. So really, really, I mean, you don’t, like you said, get to see too many people. Do that of that stature. Uh i and at that age. Um it was a really memorable night. I’m glad that you came up because it it made it even better. Yeah. It was, it was a lot of fun. And the experience of Having to leave New Jersey. go back at 12 o’clock, 1 o’clock in the morning. That was fun too. Why, because you were leaving New Jersey or just because you had to do it? Just because we were in New Jersey and we were leaving at one o’clock in the morning, and that probably was the most adventurous thing I’d done in years.

30:15 Yeah, it’s not an easy place this place to get to because you have to go over the Ben Franklin Bridge. You can go other over other bridges, but that’s the closest one. And for anybody that lives in the the Philadelphia area knows that it is free to go across the Ben Franklin Bridge to get to New Jersey. But you have to pay. back into Pennsylvania. I think we joked about all the way back. It was like. One way you got to pay one way you got to go because they don’t want you coming back. Yeah, and Camden is not a nice City. I’ll just say that. They actually have it. You probably, if you’re listening to this and you go to concerts in your cities, it’s the kind of city where they don’t want all these people in the city. Really late at night. So they close all of the streets, and there are cops lining the street to get you back to the bridge, to get your ass out of there because they don’t want you to get dead. And even even as we were

31:18 Cause it’s right near the water. Cause we went to walk along the water, and I just kept joking, I think, that are we gonna see like, With cement shoes in the water in the Delaware River. I’m sure there are hundreds and hundreds. Are we going to see people in there? I mean, it’s the kind of place that now You know, have you ever seen the magnet fishing? Yes. I imagine that if anybody went. Magnet fishing in the Delaware river, they would probably find some people. I wouldn’t be surprised. I wouldn’t be surprised at all. I think it’s funny that you flew. All the way from Orlando. Yeah. Pennsylvania to see a show in New Jersey. Yeah, yeah, the logic the logic does kind of strike me there. But I was so excited when you said you were coming up. I was like, I’m gonna pick you up at the airport. It’s gonna be great. You know, like, so we even I even we even got Wawa before the show. Do you remember? Yes, we did. We ate it along the Delaware River. Right, right there on the Delaware. Oh.

32:21 Oh, we ate our hair. Yeah. Next to the wooder. Water. Yeah. It wasn’t your Florida Wawa either, that fake Wawa that you got down there in Orlando. This was real Wawah. I I felt the authenticity as I was Using all those napkins too. the drippings because it was a very party sandwich. Of course. Well, that was the two times I saw the one time you saw and a memorable thing. I don’t know if he’ll ever tour again, but because of my FOMO, I’ll definitely go just one more thing. One more time, one more time. Because he’s still making new music at his age. And it’s always a little bit experimental. Out of the box, he doesn’t give a shit. He’s making music that he wants to make, and his fans are dedicated. So, I mean, it could happen again. Honestly. There Very few people that I would actually go see in concert anymore.

33:24 Also because I just don’t want to sit for that long. Um But I ha there was also the one year that I went to see Donnie and Marie. Mia Marie. Like I said, I try to go see some, it’s go see them before they die kind of thing. Yeah. not at the same caliber as as Peter Gabriel. And um I’m sure that will never be a concert you’re gonna cover on this show, but No. It was a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. You come on the show whenever you want and talk about whatever you want because I’m just glad. I’m glad that you did this. I’m glad that I had somebody to talk to, especially somebody that shares a passion for. uh a uh an artist that’s very, very important to me and I’m glad that he’s very important to you too. Yes, I I have gone down the rabbit hole several times. Even in the last few months where I will go back and I will watch the Secret World tour.

34:26 again. Nice and again and again. Because I just And I love Every single song on there. Shaking the Tree is just such a joyful song. I, you know, that’s. If I wanna get into like a a Mood. I know I have an arsenal of Peter Gabriel’s songs that I have to selectively Select because some of them are not. Most of them are not. They’re very introspective and down. But when he goes joyful, he goes joyful. Good way to put it. All right, well thank you, Khrysti, for joining me on Ya Gotta See Them Live. It was uh it was a blast. I hope you had fun. Yes, I did. And and it was kind of fun, like reliving. Oh gosh, that was that was. 10 years ago, that we went to that. Yep, it was. You’re getting old. Yeah. But so were they. Exactly. That’s why you got to see them. Yeah. Well, thanks for listening, and we’ll see you at the show.