Peter Gabriel: Growing Up Live

For all the Watchers of Genesis, and all the single breakouts that followed; first Gabriel himself, then young Collins, the excellent Mike Rutherford, and bet nobody noticed Tony Banks (Curious Feeling), this is an absolute must have.

Wonderful group of musicians, and in front of a deeply appreciative audience of Italians (remember Genesis said they only got good audiences in the early days outside of University England in Italy), this is Gabriel at his best (and most relaxed).

He wrote the lyrics, and I'm never sure if I'm taking his actual meaning, but they still bring me to tears. Lived for decades with them in my ears; Favourite - Secret World, most mystifying - Blood of Eden.

But finally a word about Melanie. Until tonight never realised she was his daughter, but having watched "Growing Up" several times was struck by the the acoustic resonance of the two voices together. On its own it could be called a bit reedy, and I just assumed he picked this girl because of his work and checks in the studio (Real World). To find that it's his daughter is just perfect. Because, she obviously gets it too.

Wipe out the noise.

I have every Gabriel video I could lay my hands on, so "Up" certainly has some stiff competition when it comes to vying for my title of "best Gabriel concert"... but it's certainly in the running. The DTS sound is goose-bump-inducing, the stage presentation is wonderful, and Gabriel is, as always, in superb voice (as is his daughter Melanie).

I suppose I would have to say that Secret World is still my all-time fave, but that's probably only because it's a concert I actually attended, so it's pretty cool to watch the vid and reminisce about actually being there (and it's also great to see Paula Cole on backing vox).

I suppose my only tiny moan about "Up" is that Manu Katche is not on the kit. I love watching that guy play!

Gabriel always seemed to have had a "thing" for "performance art". (I still remember, IIRC, him showing up on an early SNL episode, dressed as a giant sunflower.) In this concert, he manages to strategically blend a number of "unusual" (and entertaining) activities on stage, with some of his best musical work, all of which provides for one of the more enjoyable concert experiences that I've seen.

I managed to squirrel away an HD version of this concert, on my DVR, more than a decade ago, and have hung onto it ever since, because I found it to be so special (always worrying that I'd lose that hard-drive-based recording). I was elated to finally see it released on Blu-Ray (in late 2016), which I immediately pre-ordered, and am writing this review as I watch the BR (that arrived today). I just felt like it deserved another high-rated "plug", as this BR release finally affords a new opportunity for others to take in this concert.

Aside from the musical selection, and some of the aforementioned, on-stage antics, the camera work is one aspect that makes this so special. Virtually the entire concert is filmed in (sometimes extreme) close-up, by a significant onstage camera crew, and that just gives it a feeling of being extremely intimate.

If you have only listened to Peter's work over the years, and have enjoyed it at all, I would highly recommend this as a super-entertaining way to take in that music again (and again), in a far more visceral manner. The concert is just over two hours, so there is a large selection of music to be had.

I'm really surprised with fact that my comment is the first one for this excellent Peters concert. The show is pure audio/video pleasure and I just can regret 'cause I didn't have chance to be there. The Peter and The Pink Floyd are the only two bands who can make such kind of show: fascinating visual experience and excellent quality of music performance.

If you like music of Peter Gabriel and if you have opportunity to watch this show, don't miss it. If some concert deserves highest recommendations, this is the one.

So, my vote: 10/10.

An excellent concert film. Looks like a full length concert. Lots of great performances and wonderful stagecraft. The camera-work and direction makes you feel onstage most of the time. I ran out and bought Still Growing Up and a host of other live concert films. This is still the best of the lot. Pink Floyd's Pulse is another great film but, there the big stage and lightshow are primary. Here, the performers are primary and the stagecraft (while wonderful) is at the service of the music. The sound is marvelous DTS 5.1. If you like this, you can continue the experience with Still Growing Up, which is from the same tour but in smaller venues. Still, great performances with less stagecraft but it does jump from one location to another.