Peter Gabriel – Stripped Down Tour 2003 – live in Montreal

A Gabriel concert is not just an event for one night! It’s something you prepare for, something you dream about for nights beforehand. Now I had the opportunity to experience this event three times in eight months: for the first and second time in November 2002, for the last time on July 6, 2002. A good friend asked me to write a review of this concert. Even if a review can’t recreate the energy of a concert, I hope it can at least describe the exclusive concert experience. On the day of the concert, I decided to arrive early to possibly exchange my tickets for better seats. Our excitement reached its first peak when my girlfriend, a friend, and I took the subway to the concert.

We arrived around 5 PM, and I was indeed able to exchange my tickets for seats in the third row. From this point on, the excitement grew exponentially. It was funny because all the people on the streets were just so happy because they had seen Peter, who was just walking towards the Bell Center. The excitement on the streets was palpable. We entered the Bell Center, where Peter had already performed in November 2002, and went straight to our seats. Then, as the lights went out, Peter appeared on stage to introduce the opening act, Zevara. The audience was already going crazy, and Peter looked at the singer as if to say, “It’s going to be a beautiful event tonight.” After thirty minutes and much applause, Peter then returned to the stage, and his return was met with enormous enthusiasm from the audience.

Then, as if to further stir up the audience, Peter said: “This is our last concert – we started this tour in Quebec and now we’re ending it here in Quebec as well.”

Peter seemed really nervous about this being the last night! I wasn’t expecting any surprises from this concert, as I had seen two concerts from the first leg of this tour. But I was still quite surprised for several reasons. First, the setlist was completely different compared to November. Second, Peter completely revamped the stage production. Everything was different but still as expected – as is often the case with Peter. Fantastic!

For me, the highlight of this concert was the song Come Talk To Me. Unfortunately, I missed the 1992 tour with the red phone booth. This time it was back, and I was very happy about that. At the beginning of the song, Melanie stood in the center of the stage with her face to the side. I wondered what would happen, but then a black curtain lifted, and there he was singing in the red phone booth. For me, this song showed how Peter can so wonderfully interpret his songs theatrically – he can convey his ideas and emotions well.

When he sang Don’t Give Up as a duet with Melanie, one could once again marvel at his unusual talent. He sat in a black box and Melanie stood behind him.

Peter brought back old props like the phone booth and the headset camera from the 92/93 tour, as well as the giant Zorb ball. He also enriched the set with new pieces. During Games Without Frontiers, Peter and Melanie rode onto the stage on a special scooter (the Segway), the name of which is unknown to me. When he got into this giant Zorb ball during Growing Up, I wondered how he could move on such a small stage. But I guess after so many concerts, he was well used to playing around with it.

Peter even played with the audience by rolling very close to the edge of the stage as if he was about to jump off, and another time he rolled so fast to the side of the stage that he slipped when stopping and almost fell off.

During In Your Eyes, the opening act came back on stage to sing with him. You could feel the joy in Peter’s face and in the faces of all the musicians. Then for the finale, Biko, the orange-colored people also came on stage and followed Peter as he ran across the stage and through the hall.

From a seat in the third row, you can probably imagine how close he was to us. The evening was simply wonderful. I do hope he undertakes another tour and that this time I have the opportunity to attend a concert in Germany.

Author: Daniel Lamoureux
Potos: Brigitte Boulais