Fuck-Ups: Compared with the first European show in Herning, Denmark, in late 2013, the first 2014 concert of the Back To Front tour was remarkable smooth. Peter seems a bit unsure about the order of the verses in Come Talk To Me – again, and despite the teleprompter. The first real mess-up occurs in Secret World when Peter immediately realizes that he is going into the “shaking it up” part too soon. During The Tower That Ate People Peter forgets to take his microphone into the ‘tower’ and races to get it at the last moment. Though this was funny to see, it obviously cannot be heard on the Encore.

Special Moments: "Willkommen zu einer weiteren Runde…”, welcome to another round, is Peter Gabriel’s introduction before the first song. The Frankfurt show was the first Back To Front concert of 2014 after the tour came to Europe in late 2013 and wrapped up for winter break in Manchester on October 25. Frankfurt did not bring about any set list changes, but there were some small changes in the arrangements. Shock The Monkey now has a break before the third verse where only bass and guitar are playing and the audience are invited to clap along before the rest of the band joins in again after a few bars. Peter now uses voice distortion when he sings “no self control, no self control, no self control” during the climax of that song.
Most remarkable is the progress of the songwriting process in O But, which is now officially called Daddy Long Legs. There are now several passages with real lyrics that use many terms nature expressions like water, wave, tide, sun, hill and so on.

Further information / comparison with other Encores: The sound of the first encore is warm and the audience can be heard unusually well, particularly between songs. This may be because there are comparatively few seats in Frankfurt Festhalle so that the main body of the audience were standing in the arena. The band play remarkably well, and Peter Gabriel is in great shape. His introductions are remarkably long. Before he explains the concept of the show (three course menu and so on) he shows himself happy to be in Germany again. He also says that he decided to play short tours only and more of those instead (applause), jokes about the unfinished lyrics of Daddy Long Legs and takes the mickey out of the receding hairlines of the musicians.
Peter’s voice is also in great shape this night. There are a number of parts in the show where he likes to sing in a lower key than in the studio versions (e.g. Come Talk To Me, Shock The Monkey, Big Time or Biko). In Frankfurt he delightfully battles through the songs in the original keys. The only songs that he does not manage to pull off are Solsbury Hill and Big Time – apparently the combination of high notes, speed of the lyrics and physical movement is too much of a challenge. Highlights are the acoustic part, Red Rain (especially Manu Katché’s drumming), the intensity of Mercy Street and the mood during Don’t Give Up and In Your Eyes.

Fuck-Ups: During the start of The Family And The Fishing Net, Peter has issues with his microphone, repeating themselves during the intro of Mercy Street. Also, there is a short “insecure” moment during No Self Control. Besides this, a well-rounded event.

Special Moments: Manu Katché plays a short cymbal intro for Red Rain, Peter speaks fluent German, and Secret World receives a rarely heard spoken introduction.

Further information / comparison with other Encores: Peter appears to be singing a little careful on some songs, and also recites the beginning of Biko “deeply”. The introduction to Biko appears to be a little strange – sounding like Peter forgot a part or one of his notes. Apparently, this occurred during a couple of more shows as well.

Fuck-Ups: The first half of the concert passes almost without any errors at all. The only exception is marked by Solsbury Hill, where the guitar only becomes audible starting with the second verse. Also, Peter’s voice is rather forceful, changing with So, appearing to be rather shaky. The So part has a few drop-outs! At the end of Red Rain, Peter swallows “red” and appears to be missing the song’s closing. Before the second verse of Sledgehammer, David Sancious misses a few notes. At Don’t Give Up, Peter’s voice slips during “Got to walk out of here”, forcing him to start over. Additionally, during That Voice Again, Peter appears to be a little disoriented, only throwing in a few single keyboard tones before the second chorus, causing it to sound a little strange.
At the end of Mercy Street, there is no pleading “mercy”, but only a whispered “looking for mercy”, with Peter apparently trying to rest his voice. Nearing the end of We Do What We’re Told, Peter has vocal issues again, being unable to stretch pitch and length of “One Dream”.
The sample of In Your Eyes starts way too low, becomes corrected shortly after thoughxx

Special Moments /Further information / comparison with other Encores:

The first part is played with pressure, with Peter being in especially good shape and singing a lot of passages in high pitch, which changes with the beginning of the So set. Also, the introductions are going well – being the fourth concert in Germany, Peter only has to start over for a very few parts and times. The intro of Sledgehammer appears to be a little longer already, you can hear the audience singing along to the horn section intro well. The audience is very atmospheric and listens quietly during the slower songs, there are hardly any shouts at all.
At the end of the regular set, Peter wants to thank the crew, and while he is not fully done yet the audience starts cheering loudly, rendering his closing-words incomprehensible.
The encores are played well, especially the well convincing performance of Jetzt Kommt Die Flut.
Biko receives a shorter introduction, probably caused by Peter missing out a page.

Fuck-Ups: In the beginning of Mercy Street, Peter’s voice is rather low, and you can hear some strange beeping noises, apparently originating from a defect microphone. Further through the song the bass turns out too dominant, it’s hardly possible to listen to it in regular volume without having the walls vibrate. At We Do What We’re Told, the drums set in a bit jumpy, and during This Is The Picture, there seems to be an overall tiny loss of focus with the band. Besides this, it’s hard to spot any errors in this at all. Picky ears may sure find the one or another insecurity, small timing issues and the likes, but that’s moaning at a high level

Special Moments: As to be expected, there are only a few spoken introductions in local language this time (which however are being well appreciated by the audience). Peter speaks English most of the time; overall there are only a few spoken introductions though. The audience is very quiet during the first part. They do seem to wake up at Solsbury Hill though. At the intro of Sledgehammer, the audience does not sing along with the horn section intro, but only claps along to the rhythm – maybe a premiere.
The vocal distortion in the mid-section of No Self Control is very distinct. In combination with the dominantly mixed-in backing-vocals, this creates an almost hypnotic effect while listening, although it will probably not be to everybody’s taste.

Further information / comparison with other Encores: The band plays straight to the point, tight and powerful. You can particularly hear the fun everyone is having, and the energy emerging from it. Peter’s singing is well engaged as well, and he’s not going easy on his voice for the opening and central part of the show. At Red Rain (the song doesn’t particularly work here once more) it’s obvious in a lot of passages that he’s singing them deeper in almost an octave. The apprehension of a further show on low flame is unreasoned though, in fact, rather the opposite occurring. Although there are a very few increasing insecurities – even with Manu – the band gets stuck in and delivers a top performance all the way. Especially David Sancious puts in a rare top class performance.

Sound: The sound of this Encore is good to very good throughout, but unfortunately has some reverb, especially during PG's announcements. Despite that, the hall doesn't seem very large. The sound gets very rich starting with Digging. The audience in Budapest is very enthusiastic but also very disciplined during the quieter passages, though sometimes mixed in too loudly.

 

Fuck-Ups: There are two funny fuck-ups in this performance: the first directly at the beginning of Daddy Long Legs, when PG is fumbling around with the volume control of his headphones/monitor, gets sidetracked and has to abort. Afterwards he politely explains the fuck-up and starts over. The second is at the end of Here Comes The Flood, there are also troubles with the monitor sound. PG, himself a little amused, says something along the lines of, "Seems start and end the same way: with a fuck-up!"

Special Moments: PG tries to say the first few sentences in Hungarian, which leads to lots of applause and laughter from the audience. No clue what he's saying, though. The announcement then continues in English with the usual explanations. This is a David Rhodes and Tony Levin show and both of them are phenomenal here!

Further information / comparison with other Encores: The singing in the acoustic part is very good; PG's voice is a little strained during Shock The Monkey. The accordion is very prominent during Come Talk To Me, while the bluesy acoustic guitar is very distinctive during Monkey. Part 2 starts off with a brutal Diggin' In The Dirt, which somehow seems especially heavy here after the tranquil acoustic part. For me, this is the best live version of DITD I've ever heard. PG sounds more menacing than ever and David Rhodes really lays into the strings of his electric guitar, literally making it scream. After the chorus, the guitar goes wild as Manu Katché tries to build up even more pressure. Very Epic! After the second chorus it feels like all hell is breaking loose; David Rhodes also dominates this passage. Secret World starts off almost too loudly considering the song's climax. Tony Levin's funk-fingers make it boom nicely throughout the first break. PG's voice sometimes has a little too much reverb. The audience is too enthusiastic during the song, especially when the clapping-along during the quieter part almost drowns out the famous "Sshh, listen!" DR goes full throttle with his next solo sounding considerably more distorted and screamy than usual. The Family And The Fishing Net starts off very powerfully with synth bass and bass drum; the keyboard effects suffer a little, because they are to quiet, unfortunately. In No Self Control PG's vocoder is too strong making the text almost unintelligible. Solsbury Hill: Adeptly played; the audience goes berserk, people just love this song! Why Don't You Show Yourself somehow seems to create some uncertainty in the audience. The mix of Red Rain is unremarkable, though the drums should be louder here. The audience's "Badabada Bab Baa Bab Badab" for the opening of Sledgehammer is slightly chaotic, which makes it unintentionally funny, however, the band handles it very professionally. Don't Give Up is very beautiful, especially during the reggae part at the end. PG needs a little run-up to sing a very high voice part. That Voice Again opens quite hesitantly, but grows more confident towards the end. Mercy Street is just great. MK is very strong in Big Time. Soundwise, We Do What We're Told is great and played fantastically. This Encore sounds best during This Is The Picture.In Your Eyes, once again, has a great keyboard solo by David Sancious. During Here Comes The Flood there is the above mentioned fuck-up, then PG's voice has a little too much reverb! The Tower That Ate People is very powerful; DR is unbelievably strong again. At the end of Biko, the audience is quite reluctant to participate, unfortunately.

Sound: A little bit of reverb, but very transparent throughout. Every instrument is clearly audible and mixed in well, especially in the acoustic part 1. It's a little more muffled starting with part 2, but not considerably worse. This is what a live recording should sound like.
Fuck-Ups: None to be found.
Special Moments: Peter's brief announcement in Swedish - or his trying - is met with enthusiasm. All in all though, the audience is quite restrained and (almost too) disciplined, except for one “Peter, play Here Comes The Flood”-request, which isn't fulfilled in Stockholm, however.
Further information / comparison with other Encores:Come Talk To Me: Great version; Sancious' accordion has a stereo effect alternating from left to right channel; drums are (finally) clearly audible. Huge applause after the song. The Swedes like it. Family Snapshot: PG's first “I've been waiting for this!” is a little weak; there is no audible “lights out””-reaction from the audience, but it's still a very atmospheric version of the song. Digging: The bass isn't booming as much as it should. Secret World: Strong; strangely almost no clapping-along before “Shh, listen!” Drums and bass drown out DR's guitar a little. Fishing Net: More intensive atmosphere than usual in the beginning, very creepy! Well played, best version of the Encores so far! No Self Control: PG's Vocoder has the perfect setting this time! MK is at his best: Wow! Great version. Show Yourself: PG is just whispering for most of the beginning, another very good version. Red Rain: The drums are excellent, as is so often the case with this song! Ecstatic applause at the end. Sledgehammer: David Rhodes starts with some neat parts on his guitar to tease the audience a little. A few members of the audience sing along with the intro very enthusiastically, this seems to be one of the Swedes' favourite songs. Don't Give Up: A very strong performance by Jenni A. again, but the audience is too cautious with the applause in between for their compatriot (or have too much respect) and are very hesitant to sing along in the party-part. In Your Eyes: The Swedes like Tony Levin's fake “In your Eyes”-singing a lot! Another very original keyboard solo by David Sancious... Tower: The beginning is a little muffled, drums are very aggressive, keyboard clearly audible again, Vocoder has perfect setting again. Biko: PG opens very quietly, it's closer to talking than singing. Audience is relatively cautious to sing along in the end. Still a decent version!

All in all: A very good Encore-CD. The sound is very nicely balanced, very strong during the songs with intense atmosphere. The audience could have shown a little more enthusiasm, which may be the reason why PG didn't play Flood this time?! Still one of the best Encores I had the pleasure of reviewing!

Sound: At the very beginning, the recording still has a lot of reverb, but Peter Gabriel's sound engineers manage to turn it into another beautiful and balanced mix in the acoustic part. Peter's voice sounds a little battered all in all, so he isn't always clearly audible, especially during the So part, the concert's 'dessert'. The Norwegian audience is remarkably present in the mix by contrast, and seems to really have enjoyed the concert from beginning to end. As is often the case, the acoustic pieces appear to be the strongest.

Fuck-ups: The biggest lapse is in Come Talk To Me (again) when Peter starts with the third verse ("The earthly power...") after the first chorus, interrupting the band's interlude. He comments with British dryness, "I'll try again". There is another technical fuck-up at the start of Red Rain where Peter's mic seems to be turned down so that his first few words are almost or entirely inaudible.

Special moments: The second to last concert of the European Back To Front tour in early 2014 is a nice concert all in all. Peter's voice seems slightly hoarse and is noticeably less powerful during some passages, but he does quite well all things considered. He appears to be in a good mood just like the rest of the band. He does his best throughout the concert to deliver a good performance for the always enthusiastic audience in Oslo. David Sancious and David Rhodes put in an unusual amount of variations and some additional melodies and sounds from time to time, making them the most notable in the band. Unlike in Stockholm, Here Comes The Flood is played again.

Further information / comparison with other Encores: In Oslo, Peter also saves his voice during some of the songs by singing in a lower register. With this more defensive approach, the complete mix produces some surprisingly atmospheric renditions (esp. Come Talk To Me, despite the fuck-up) so this doesn't really have any negative impact. The audience is mixed in louder than usual and claps along a lot (esp. during Shock The Monkey, Secret World and after Mercy Street). The impression of a live performance gets across a lot better this way than with other Encore albums. David Rhodes plays a pretty aggressive intro to Monkey; David Sancious lets of steam at the beginning of Digging In The Dirt, which sounds relatively appealing, and Manu Katché's highlights on the (splash) cymbals are always a pleasure to listen to (No Self Control, Mercy Street, In Your Eyes). Even though the singing is quite a bit weaker in some of the songs during the concert's middle part (Why Don't You Show Yourself?, Red Rain), Gabe gets back on track in the course of the So part and manages to impress again. The audience celebrates the musicians and the music all the way through without exception – even the less well-known songs receive euphoric applause. The performance of Here Comes The Flood is one of the emotional high points that benefits from the hoarse voice. Biko gets a slightly different announcement at the end, during which Peter, speaking English, stresses the importance of mobile phones for spreading education and health. He speaks surprisingly little Norwegian throughout the evening.

Fuck-Ups: David Sancious is a little shaky right at the start of Come Talk To Me with some timing problems and sometimes playing the wrong notes. During the last chorus of Don't Give Up there suddenly are a few notes from the piano that don't belong there at all. It's not quite clear if it was a slip up (in that case Sancious must have been completely confused) or if a sequencer started by accident.

Special Moments: Either David Sancious has included a few different sounds or he is just louder in the mix than usual. In any case, it sometimes sounds a little different than on the other Encores. This is especially good for Mercy Street and This Is The Picture. The arrangement of Solsbury Hill is clearly more keyboard-heavy than that of other tour legs. In the announcement of Biko Peter makes a reference to current topics again and dedicates the song to the 43 students that were kidnapped and murdered in Mexico.

Further info, comparison with other Encores:
Peter's voice doesn't seem to be very well; he plays it safe by holding back more and singing many parts in a lower register; the high notes (for example, Shock The Monkey or Big Time) seem very strained. Fortunately this gets better over the course of the evening, but he's rarely in top shape. His voice often sounds brittle and a little weak. The first lines of Don't Give Up are more spoken than sung by Peter. As if to make up for it, he tops it all in the encores: Both Tower (though the voice is a little quiet in the mix) as well as Biko are very powerful performances. Remarkably, Peter already sings the second verse in the original register.

13.11.14 STRASBOURG, France - Zenitz

Sound: The sound is mostly very transparent and balanced. The bass is a little too weak in the electric part, but the other instruments are audible just fine. Gabriel's voice is mostly mixed in well, but it's very quiet at the start of the electric part and almost too loud during the encores. In contrast to other Encores, the drums are very light and dynamic. Rhodes gives this evening a lot of nice twists and is very present in the mix. The vocals aren't optimal from Digging In The Dirt up to and including Sledgehammer. The microphones sound as if they're wrapped in cotton.

15.11.14 NANTES, France - Zenith

Sound: The sound isn't quite ideal at the beginning: the accordion is a little too loud, the acoustic bass isn't very clear, and the acoustic guitar has almost nothing but treble. With the switch from acoustic to electric starting with Digging In The Dirt there is a lot more pressure. The keyboards are too loud all the way through. From Red Rain onwards, the levels of all instruments sound properly balanced. Peter's singing is a little weak during Big Time. The audience actively takes part by clapping and singing along.

16.11.14 TOULOUSE, France - Zenith

Sound: The sound is incredibly good. All instruments are crystal clear with very little reverb. Songs that need more power like Digging In The Dirt or No Self Control are very impressive. The audience is barely - if at all - audible during the songs.

18.11.14 ZÜRICH, Switzerland - Hallenstadion

Sound: The individual instruments can still be made out well and are lifted into the foreground of the mix for solos (for example guitar and keyboard in Secret World) so it's possible to hear things that would normally be drowned out. It really gets the impression of being there live across, so the energy in the stadium is almost palpable. This is especially true when the bass and the drums compete with the singing during the more powerful parts. The only time the sound is close to the limit and gets a little fuzzier is during the loud parts of The Tower That Ate People, but it's still within reason. Peter's voice isn't always completely clean due to a nasty hissing sound. Especially during the acoustic part where the voice is quite dominant this is a bit of a damper on the experience. It gets better later and isn't much of an annoyance then. The audience is audible enough so that the live feeling is captured very well. During Solsbury Hill, for example, the audience loudly sings along the "boom boom boom", the same goes for the intro of Sledgehammer and the end of Biko. Despite the concert being in an old hall, there is no effect on the sound, which is clear and snappy with only slight noise in the very quiet parts.

20.11.14 TORINO, Italy - Palaolimpico

21.11.14 BOLOGNA, Italy - Unipol Arena

Sound: A pleasant bit of reverb, a lively audience present in the mix in the right places. The drums sound a bit muddy and not as crisp as on the other encores. Peter's voice lacks punch a lot of times, but that is rather due to the condition of his voice rather than the sound mix. Apart from that the mix once again is balanced and transparent and transports the live atmosphere quite well.

23.11.14 GRAZ, Austria - Stadthalle

Sound: The mix is transparent, the focus is on vocals and the guitar, though the drums are almost drowned out. The guitar and accordion are a little too loud in the acoustic part. Starting with the So part the mix is well balanced though.

24.11.14 SALZBURG, Austria - Arena

Sound: All instruments and vocals in the mix are clear. The band has power, seems to have fun and puts in a few variations, for example, the guitar in Shock The Monkey or That Voice Again. Sometimes the keyboards are a little loud and the bass a little too quiet, but it never gets to a level where it would be annoying. Linnea Olsson is hard to hear, Jennie Abrahamson is clearer though.

26.11.14 LYON, France - Halle Tony Garnier

The show in Lyon was cancelled due to illness

28.11.14 BIRMINGHAM, UK - LG Arena

Sound: This recording is of very high quality. Everything is very clear and transparent with very little reverb. A few parts lack the necessary pressure and the audience is barely noticeable during the songs though. 

30.11.14 SHEFFIELD, UK - Motorpoint Arena

Sound: The sound of this encore is pretty good, quite a bit of reverb, but that can hardly be avoided if you want to capture the audience. Peter has regained control over his vocal cords, but still uses the deeper ranges of his still great voice a lot. In No Self Control for example you can hardly hear him during the beginning of the first loud passage. This is also because David Sancious' keyboards are high in the mix once again. Bass and drums hardly come into their own and are relatively low.

01.12.14 CARDIFF, UK - Motorpoint Arena

Sound: A lot better than some of the earlier encores. Mixed very clearly and balanced. Each main performer is discreetly brought up in the mix, brought from background to the front in the right places. Keyboards and percussion are nicely emphasized, e.g. each "pingpung" in This Is The Picture. No Self Control is clanging as it is most times, but not in an annoying way. A bit more power to the bass would have been the icing on the cake, especially on That Voice Again and Sledgehammer.

03.12.14 LONDON, UK - Wembley Arena

Sound: This encore has a very good sound mix. There is almost no feedback and reverb, but plenty of power. All instruments are brought up in the mix in the right places. Also the voices are mixed very transparent. The audience is hard to hear during the songs though.

04/12/14 NEWCASTLE, UK - Metro Radio Arena

07/12/14 LIVERPOOL, UK - Echo Arena

Sound: Instruments in crystal clear sound meet sometimes muffled vocals with slight hissing, probably caused by the microphone. Audience and bit of reverb are audible, fitting the experience of a live concert in a closed arena. This is a plus, as it does not sound narrow and smallish.

08/12/14 ABERDEEN, UK - Exhibition Center

Sound: The venue seems rather small, with a dry sound, everything seems to be happening nearby. The mix appears to be a bit disharmonious, instruments are singled out repeatedly and there is no cohesive sound as a whole. It lacks depth. The audience is well audible and cheerful, though a bit restrained in a British sort of way.

10/12/14 DUBLIN, Ireland - 3Arena

Sound: The last night in an arena with obviously great acoustics. Band and soundman are pulling all the stops, this recording of the 66th show tops all encores. Transparent sound, crystyl clear instruments, a harmonious vocal mix, the audience captured nicely. Details are audible very well - Linnea's cello in What Lies Ahead, both guitars in Shock The Monkey, Tony Levin's bass in Big Time, David Sancious' keyboard solos, spontaneous applause again and again.



show reviews by Eric Engler, Thomas Schrage, Niklas Ferch, Markus Scharpey & Matthias Rieken
English translations by Robin Morgenstern / Markus Scharpey

Back To Front Tour 2012 + 2013 + 2014 - overview: all dates and setlists

Back To Front Tour 2012 - Encore Series Review
Back To Front Tour 2013 - Encore Series Review

Back To Front Tour 2012 - USA: West Coast tour report

Back To Front Tour 2013 - European tour report
Back To Front Tour 2014 - Bratislava Soundcheck experience - report