Well aged: Peter Gabriel at his concert on Whit Sunday in Munich. © MARTIN_HANGEN hangenfoto Martin Hangen
Peter Gabriel hasn't been on tour for almost ten years - now the comeback. On Whit Sunday, the Briton made a stop at Munich's Königsplatz and played a great mix of new songs and classics.
Before the first musical note is heard, a round of joking is made. It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish the real from the fake, says Peter Gabriel as he enters the stage of Königsplatz on Sunday evening. That's why he sent his avatar to Munich today – but unlike Abba, where everyone is younger and slimmer. "My avatar is 20 years older, ten kilos heavier and bald." His true self is lying on a beach in the Caribbean, looking "like a Greek god." The audience laughs out loud – and in the following three hours experiences a 73-year-old (!) Musician who comes across as real and authentic, who still sings great, has something to say and provides goosebump moments.
It's Gabriel's first European tour since 2014, the occasion is the first new album in 20 years – which basically doesn't even exist yet. Five songs from "i/o" – that's what the complete work is supposed to be called when it comes out, you don't know exactly when – have been released so far. Each time at full moon. Which is not the only thing out of the ordinary. Usually, musicians first release a new album and then go on tour with it. Peter Gabriel does it the other way around. That's a gamble, because apart from the five that fans have already downloaded, there are six other titles that will premiere live this evening.
Well filled: Munich's Königsplatz at Peter Gabriel's concert. © Martin Hangen
Songs that no one knows cannot, of course, be sung along. No one in the audience associates anything with them, no memory, no story. This demands concentration from the listeners, which in turn can be more of a mood killer – especially if many people who have come (and who have aged with Peter Gabriel) are more likely to want to hear the classics. But at the same time, there is also a great opportunity in this approach. Of course, it can be described as a great gift when an artist first gives his new songs to his local audience and not to a label or streaming service. Especially when they are as diverse as – once again – with Gabriel. And the people of Munich thank him for it. Again and again great jubilation.
With "Panopticum", Gabriel opens the ranks of new introductions, a warning song about the opportunities and risks of omniscient technology. "Four Kind of Horses" delivers perhaps the darkest moment of the evening: a clock is running on the screen in the background, the earth is shaking, the end is near. In any case, time – one, if not the theme of the concert. With "Playing for Time", Gabriel only manages to reproach us with the absurdity of our fight against the (life) clock with only piano and his incomparable voice, while "i/o" then again wants to give comfort as a cheerful title: Death is not an end, there is only one great cycle of life. Finally, "The Road to Joy" addresses death directly – and Gabriel stretches out his middle finger to it on the canvas (designed by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei).
Strong stage design. Peter Gabriel came with his long-time companions: bassist Tony Levin, drummer Manu Katché and David Rhodes (guitar). © MARTIN_HANGEN hangenfoto Martin Hangen
Of course, all these novelties cannot (yet) ignite the enthusiasm that Gabriel generates with his classics from over four decades. As if to thank the audience for getting involved with the fresh songs, the Brit plays almost everything a Peter Gabriel fan's heart desires, from "Sledgehammer" (the last song before the break, for which one viewer even begged loudly) to "Digging in the Dirt", "Solsbury Hill" and "Big Time" to "Red Rain". Even he, the Buddha on stage, becomes a dancing bear again. When he sings "Don't give up" – with the great singer and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson – it is certainly one of the highlights of the evening, which is accompanied by Gabriel's long-time colleagues: bassist Tony Levin, drummer Manu Katché and David Rhodes on guitar.
The encores are two megahits. "In your Eyes" and "Biko". With this important and powerful song about the black student leader Steve Biko, who was murdered by South African police in 1977, the artist sends his audience home. The people of Munich finally get up from their chairs and celebrate the night with this exceptional artist. Peter Gabriel raises his fist in the air, walks off the stage – and yet somehow stays there.
