Alvin Ailey Company last night. Poor verging on weird until the last half an hour, which was fabulous.
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Saw Peter Gabriel last night in Columbus.
Before the show there was a video of a guy painting the clock hands to match the time here. He erases the minute hand every minute and paints a new one. It was genuinely charming.
To be clear, Peter Gabriel is NOT a nostalgia act. Even in his seventies, he was spry and energetic throughout the entire show, his voice equal to, or better than, the last time I saw him (1987); rich and powerful, even able to hit the high notes. The band was his usual group with a few additions and tight as heck.
He’s still creating new and compelling art. Sure, he played the hits, but he played at least eight new songs. Fantastic show.
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Thanks for that “review” umiami91! I would love to see him again and he’s going to be in Detroit Friday. I skipped the early ticket sales since it is an arena show (ugh), tickets are expensive, and it’s at Little Caesar’s Arena. The Illitch family (who own Little Caesar’s pizza) have really worked over the City of Detroit with tax abatements and unfulfilled promises such that I don’t want to give them any money, but … I’m not sure Peter will tour again and there a lot of seats left. I might be swayed by a cheap last minute ticket from a reseller ….
lol. It wasn’t much of a review.
He was just great and having his usual touring band anchored by Levin, Rhodes, and Katché, as well as some really talented newcomers made everything as right as a live show can be.
Highly recommend.
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Glad you got to see the show @umiami91 I, too, was very impressed.
I think the clock guy was a play on PG’s new song, “Playing for Time”. In the case of Boston, the band was a few minutes late, and everyone knew by exactly how much.
I was stunned by the power of Levin on bass, especially during Red Rain, and Manu Katche was his typical powerhouse self on a couple of cuts. (On some of the newer, low-keyed stuff, he seemed a bit bored.)
And Peter can still skip! (Solsbury Hill.)
We were going to catch him again in Denver in October, but I couldn’t quite justify the expense and the risk of a potential govt shutdown.
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Yeah. I turned over my watch when the screen erased. He was on at 8:00:04. Fantastic. And he played a song that hadn’t yet been played on the tour, “The Tower that Ate People” which rocked the house. People were dancing in the aisles for “Big Time” because, like you said, the band was PERFECT. I personally was glad he did “Digging in the Dirt” and “Solsbury Hill”.
Aside from the music, the show visuals, especially on “Panopticon” were next level. And the LED screens he had in front of the stage at the start of set 2 were just stellar tech with his live “painting” bit and the transparency. I am hoping (in vain, I know he’s done for real; it will never happen) that David Gilmour will see that new round screen and decide Pink Floyd needs to go out one more time because the tech finally has caught up to his vision. (As I’m imagining what Peter could do with the Lamb in 2023)
Levin is amazing. We saw him last year with Stick Men in a much more intimate venue. Like, after the show when one of my friends was in the bathroom I turned around and “Oh! There’s Tony Levin” intimate.
That was something. He was such a nice man.
I left the show ready to buy a stick until my friend talked me down. “Mike. You can’t manage a guitar with fourteen usable frets and six strings. A stick might actually melt your brain”. Maybe I just need a Taurus bass pedal I can hook up to my subwoofer to shake the house on occasion.
Yeah. Freaking shutdown. I won’t get into politics here but it’s tough when your entire livelihood is dependent upon people with an appalling suicide pact. It’s very stressful. Hang in there.
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We went to see The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band last night. Kenny was outstanding. It was a great little venue with only 1,300 seats in Virginia Beach.
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Caught a light opera concert in Florence last week. Verdi, Puccini arias, and the like. Set in a small church. It was nice.
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I know how much of a fan you are. You must have been in heaven.
Vince,
Yeah, it was a big deal. I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to go until the weekend before until my concert buddy said all the other guys who were thinking of going canceled on him. I didn’t want him to miss it, so I asked my wife if I should go. She said I should, so…I went. And I’m glad I did. It was an amazing show as I’ve gushed way too much above. He’s still so vital and alive. Closest thing I can compare him to is Bowie. Still making really important art even in the later years. It was a stadium show, but it felt far more intimate than it was. He has that ability to connect with every person there. Something else.
Mike
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Very Cool @AllenP1! I caught them a few years ago when they opened for St. Vincent. They are her aunt and uncle and when she was a teenager she would work as a roadie for them.
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I’m envious, the Wood Brothers are high on my favorite list.
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Yeah 6 strings is plenty I reckon 
Saw him with King Crimson few years ago (and, I think, with David Sylvian in the 90s?), most excellent racket he makes with that stick…
Taurus pedals sound good!
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This was the second of the series, saw the B Minor Mass in April under John Eliot Gardiner. They just did a USA tour, doing both in 4 cities. They did them at Carnegie Hall last week. This is the 4th or 5th time I’ve heard Hilary Cronin in a major work, she’s extraordinary. At a reception after last nights show, two of the other soloists were amazed at her performance.
https://newyorkclassicalreview.com/2023/10/monteverdi-choir-artists-make-a-characterful-case-for-a-handel-rarity/
An epic review of last night’s show. It was recorded and filmed. Wondering how it will be released.
One more of the band
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