So.

X

So what?

X

That was my overriding reaction to watching Peter Gabriel perform during his Back to Front tour stop at the United Center. By the end of the show that commemorated the 25th anniversary of the release of his classic album, So, I was wondering if it was the worst "big" concert, i.e. in a basketball arena or football stadium, I've seen.

X

Gabriel has been on my short list of performers I wanted to see for a long time, really ever since So came to be a big hit in 1986 and his passionate and emotional performance on Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! tour broadcast from Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1988. It took awhile to finally see him. I passed on the chance to catch him when he came through town last year. Playing with an orchestra like he did on that tour is usually a red flag. I bought my ticket for this show hopeful that it would be a good one, especially with Gabriel re-assembling many of the musicians that played on So.

X

However, I suspected trouble almost immediately. Gabriel walked onstage with the house lights still on and matter-of-factly explained the show would be divided into three parts as if he was an English professor and the United Center was a classroom. After calling the opening number, OBUT, a work-in-progress in which was accompanied by only bassist Tony Levin, Gabriel brought out the rest of the band. He introduced keyboard player David Sancious, noting Sancious' parents lived on E Street and and his New Jersey house is where the keyboardist practiced with the first version of Springsteen's eventual legendary band. That was a cool bit of info, but the house lights weirdly stayed on through the first handful of songs, including an easy listening version of "Shock the Monkey."

X

The lights in the house were turned off eventually and that provided a temporary jolt of energy into the concert, but Gabriel seemed to be going through the motions. Perhaps his age of 62 had something to do with it, but he moved sluggishly in a loose-fitting, black coat and pants that looked to be designed to camouflage his portly body. His voice sounded good, allowing some concessions to age, but it didn't contain much passion.

X

I thought the So material might redeem things, but everything seemed a bit off whether by design with an altered arrangement or because of a lack of commitment in performance. When "Big Time" received a glitzy, lounge treatment, my girlfriend turned to me and said, "He's going to ruin every song on this album for me." I knew how she felt.

X

Tellingly, the staging looked like it was left over from the '80s. A small screen, not much bigger than a flat screen you'd see in a house, hung on each side of the stage and gave fans in the back of the arena mediocre, close-up shots. (Before the show, they also served to advertise the various anniversary editions of So.) Clunky light stands on the stage that moved around it passed for much of the stage show. It was a stunningly basic production for someone whose videos used to be trailblazers on MTV, offensively so considering floor and 100-level seats were $175 and $95 before fees. Such production doesn't cut it in this hi-tech, media age.

X

The encore closed with "Biko," a song that compelled Gabriel to turn on at least enough passion to remind you that he still had a heart and pulse. By then, it was too little too late.

X

As to whether it was the worst "big" concert I've seen...I think so.

X

X

The setlist:

X