#171 - Verona, Arena, 26.9.2010

Exactly 30 years ago today, Peter arrived in Italy for his first ever solo tour in our country. The first show on the 28th of September (followed by Genova and Torino), was in fact preceded by a tv appearance on a Saturday Night tv program - La Gondola d'Oro. If I'm not mistaken, the event took place on the stage of the Venice Casino, and he mimed "Games Without Frontiers" (his then 'current' single) using a weird sort of 'deforming lens': in fact, it was one of those magnifying screens which used to be sold in mail order catalogues with the promise of "enlarging your tv screen to cinema proportions"... Not totally dissimilar from the X-Ray vision glasses that would let you see under women's clothes, or even today's spammers promise of enlargement pills for a very different goal...!


That said, Peter's use of the screen and having his features completely deformed had an obvious point of reference in the old Genesis days idea of accompanying a performance through visuals, very often accomplished through the use of costumes and masks. On par with his 3rd album turnaround, together with the sounds, the 'mask' had turned technological as well.


Last night in Verona was indeed something very different, but at the same time, on reflection, what could probably be defined as 'closure', the final step in a road taken for the very first time all those years ago.
A touch of eyeliner (*), as usual, to enhance his gaze for the cameras (as the whole show was filmed), was all that remained of the masks and costumes, and even the elaborate set-ups used for the Secret World and Growing Up tours. The (hyper-tech) visuals, on the other hand, were not the centerpiece any more, but worked as a surrounding: magnificent as always, but confined to the back, the top and the sides. Not forgetting the orchestra, of course, which makes itself for a great visual experience.


But this time around Peter was at the front. Alone. Not even the comfort of a piano/synth to stand (hide) behind. In my very personal view and opinion, this always gave an added dimension to Peter's performances (Not that it happened often or was thought out on such a large scale). Technicalities disappear, or at least shift to the background. Gestures are still important and emphasize the performance here and there. But they too have lost a lot of their "importance", the foreground role they sometimes (often) had in the past.


Of course, as with nearly every concert, sound and vision are still very much two sides of the same coin, and it's the total sum of both parts that stays in the eyes and in the ears of the audience. After all, I have always believed that PG's live "experience" succeeds exactly in bringing this synergy to levels 99,99% of the other bands will never even dream about.
Well, this time around, his voice has become an unfettered, self-sufficient medium. To me that was, no, THAT IS the main appeal of Scratch My Back, but I honestly had no idea that it would work so well on stage. The London shows in march did convince me it could be done, but they were nearly "too perfect", and it was only in Verona that the proof was there for everyone who wanted to hear: from whispers to shouts, from barely reached notes to ripping cries, it felt like being at the feet of an erupting volcano, waiting anxiously for the emotional lava to pour down all over me.


I "saw" part of the show through the display of my small camera, and the quickly advancing presbyopia actually helped me "unfocus" the visual side almost completely. I was holding the camera but not looking at it... And I was surprised to find out that it did not matter one iota! Also, though we were sure lucky in getting the fullest setlist on the tour until now, in a sense, even songs didn't matter: I can't single out one, either in a positive or a negative sense. Anger and fear, despair and lightheadedness, sheer happiness and love: they all came through as immensely dense flows of emotion.


The overall effect of the show was to bring back so many memories, impressions, even proper flashbacks... In 30 years of travelling around seeing PGPL, I have lost count of the number of people I met, befriended ("liked" in this facebook age), travelled with for a few days or weeks, saw again once or hundreds of times. Some I still hear semi-regularly, others I have lost touch with. But especially in Italy, going back to the beginning of this post, I was suddenly overwhelmed by all the different kind of people and relationships I have gone through thanks to PG. Shaking hands, saying hello to faces I distantly remember but can't exactly place, embracing casual friends whom I shared hours of queues with or wondering why that one person did not show up and god knows hiw he is doing... Wether we made together one show or a hundred, as I think I made clear earlier on, it's all a matter of emotions. Given, received, exchanged. No need for naming any names, as the end of this long and winded post was simply to say this:

Thanks to anyone and everyone I have met and hopefully will meet next on the road. It has made the last 30+ years of my life so much fuller and happier!
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(*) Actually, reading Dickie Chappell's Tour Diary, I found out that the make up session lasted so long that the show was delayed (for nearly half an hour!!!) because of it. If it was indeed so, must say I guess nobody in the Arena really noticed... We'll have to wait for the dvd to find out ;-)

Setlist


Heroes
The Boy In The Bubble
Mirrorball
Flume
Listening Wind
The Power Of The Heart
My Body Is A Cage
The Book Of Love
I Think It's Going To Rain Today
Après Moi (Le Deluge)
Philadelphia
Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Wallflower

San Jacinto
Digging In The Dirt
The Drop
Signal To Noise
Downside Up
Mercy Street
The Rhythm Of The Heat
Blood Of Eden
Intruder
Red Rain
Washing Of The Water
Darkness
Solsbury Hill

In Your Eyes
Don't Give Up
The Nest That Sailed The Sky