Former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel debuted songs from his recently-released album Scratch My Back with a pair of shows across the pond at London's O2 Arena on March 27 and 28, reported Spinner. Scratch My Back is comprised of "reinterpreted" covers from artists like Neil Young, Radiohead and others. Gabriel's first studio album in eight years, the effort features composition help from Durutti Column's John Metcalfe.
During his first set at the O2 Arena, Gabriel performed Scratch My Back in order, starting with David Bowie's "Heroes" before continuing on to Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble," Elbow's "Mirrorball," Bon Iver's "Flume," Talking Heads' "Listening Wind," Lou Reed's "The Power of the Heart," Arcade Fire's "My Body is a Cage," Magnetic Fields' "The Book of Love," Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today," Regina Spektor's "Apres Moi," Neil Young's "Philadelphia" and Radiohead's "Street Spirit."
Gabriel's second set featured songs from his back catalog, such as "San Jacinto," "Digging up the Dirt," "Mercy Street" and "Don't Give Up." Gabriel was without a traditional band of guitar, bass and drums, choosing to employ an orchestra instead. Spinner reported that while Gabriel encountered some initial grumbling from fans, the show's massive visual displays proved worthy of the venue. On his official website, Gabriel's current road trip is called the New Blood Tour and is described as "Peter Gabriel, orchestra, no drums, no guitars."
Peter Gabriel will return to North America for a pair of performances at the Bell Centre in Montreal on April 28 and 29, after which point he will play two dates at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on May 2 and 3. Gabriel's mini road trip will wrap up at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on May 7, so head to <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/">StubHub.com</a> for <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/peter-gabriel-tickets/">Peter Gabriel tickets</a> to see him live.
Although his tour prevented him from attending the ceremony, Gabriel's former band Genesis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the Rock Hall's 25th induction ceremony on March 15. The newest class of inductees also included the Stooges, Swedish pop band ABBA, reggae great Jimmy Cliff and the Hollies, reported the New York Times. Phish performed Genesis' "Watch of the Skies" and then Phish frontman Trey Anastasio introduced the progressive-rock kings, praising Genesis for being "rebellious, restless and constantly striving for something more than the obvious."
Phil Collins, who was initially Genesis' drummer before filling in as lead singer when Gabriel exited the group, told the audience at New York's Waldorf Astoria, "This band has been in so many different guises." As for Gabriel's absence, Genesis' bassist Mike Rutherford told reporters, "He has a very genuine, legitimate excuse. He's starting a tour in Europe soon."
The flip side of Gabriel's Scratch My Back, aptly titled I'll Scratch Yours, will feature each artist covered on Scratch My Back covering a Gabriel song on the companion album. Gabriel announced the tandem releases at the same time but The Guardian reported that the album has not yet materialized. Gabriel recently told the New York Times, "We may not get everybody, but I hope we will." Paul Simon's version of "Biko" and the Magnetic Fields' rendition of "Not One of Us" are currently available.
[removed][removed] [removed]// <![CDATA[ var base_url = 'http://www.articlesbase.com/';var loading_icon = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/point-loader.gif';var loading_wide = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/loadingAnimation.gif';var loading_large = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/ajax-loader-2.gif';var loading_arrows = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/loading_arrows.gif';var loading_dots = 'http://images.articlesbase.com/dots-horizontal.gif';var captcha_url = '/trigger/captcha/'; // ]]>[removed] [removed][removed]
This article is sponsored by StubHub.com and was written by Kirby Brooks. StubHub.com is a leader in the business of selling <a href="http://www.stubhub.com/peter-gabriel-tickets/">Peter Gabriel tickets</a>, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
[removed]// <![CDATA[ var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); [removed](unescape("[removed][removed]")); // ]]>[removed] [removed]// <![CDATA[ try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-318473-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {} // ]]>[removed] [removed]// <![CDATA[ (function() { var tabView = new YAHOO.widget.TabView('articles'); })(); // ]]>[removed] <!-- Start Quantcast tag --> [removed]// <![CDATA[ _qoptions={ qacct:"p-53CbLQg6PHGMA" }; // ]]>[removed] [removed][removed]<!-- End Quantcast tag -->
