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Rating: They say there is always a first time in life. But why settle for the first time and not experience a second, perhaps more totalizing experience?
07/10/13 Milan, Assago Forum
It is the first time I am going to see my "idol," my musical love, Peter Gabriel. I emphasize the word "idol" because, in reality, I am not one of those who idolizes an artist and elevates them to an indisputable sacred monster while ignoring others (artists). Let's say that Peter Gabriel is my favorite artist on a subjective level, and I say subjective because, in fact, there have been more influential and innovative artists than him. Regardless of this consideration, Peter – in my opinion – has always had an edge compared to anyone else, managing to be important for more than one generation and innovative throughout his career, never banal, and above all evoking emotions, through his voice, his lyrics, the images he conjures through those same lyrics. In a nutshell, Peter is the singer I feel closest to, the one who can delve into my soul, who invokes in me a wide range of emotions.
The anticipation is feverish, the tension is palpable, because the anxiety for the opening of the gates is high: you never forget your first time. As soon as the ticket handler lets me through after I show my ticket, I start running hastily, relentlessly, relentlessly, and reach the front row, I'm one of the very first; unfortunately, I then had to move back because of my height, the people behind couldn't see and asked me to move back. Nonetheless, three meters from the stage, I saw my beloved singer for the first time in my life.
Peter introduces two Swedish musicians ("very talented"), Jennie Abrahamson, Linnea Olsson, respectively xylophonist and cellist. The two play and sing, and the audience is captivated, as am I, finding them very alluring.
Once their performance concludes, Peter reads from a sheet written in Italian about the concert structure, which is divided into three parts like the meals of the day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The audience laughs heartily at the amusing explanation.
First part: breakfast. Songs in acoustic version. Very enjoyable, the show starts pleasantly, then gives way to the electric (and electronic) part which constitutes lunch. Songs like "Family Snapshot" and "The Family and the Fishing Net" gain new life, in my opinion the most adrenaline-pumping and magical moments of the concert, the most bewildering ones.
The third part, dinner, consists of the presentation of the entire album "So" from 1986: the duet Peter – Jennie (Abrahamson) in "Don’t Give Up" is beautiful, "Red Rain" and "Mercy Street" are chilling and tear-inducing. "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" make the stadium explode in a burst of joy, while the extended version of "In Your Eyes" completely convinces the audience that Peter is still in the game, that he is still full of life and eager to share his music with the world.
Peter and the musicians bow and leave, but it's an illusion: they all return for an encore, ending with "Biko", the generational anthem against the injustices perpetrated by governments, the injustices humble men have had to endure since the world began. An anthem to freedom, to not accepting the status quo.
21/11/14 Bologna, Unipol Arena
The emotion is the same, even if I don't show it. While waiting in line for the floor, I talk to some fans like me, whom I don’t know, caught up in their musical discussion. A voice calls me, and I'm bewildered. I turn around, and there are two people, a man and a woman I don't seem to know. They keep saying my name and laugh at my incredulity. Finally, they reveal themselves: they are two friends I met on Facebook through a Peter fan group. And I think: wow, how small the world is! We talk, talk, talk, I get to know them a bit better, meet new people they introduce me to, and the wait for the concert is not so boring: time flies. Around 19:20, the gates open, as usual, I run toward the stage. This time I don't get to the front row, but still very close, usually three to four meters. In the company of my friends, I witness the wonderful show that Peter dedicates to us, to all of us, his fans, his undying admirers.
The structure of the concert is the same as last year, the show is preceded by the performance of the two Swedish musicians, the setlist is more or less the same, if not almost identical, but the emotion is renewed, perhaps more mature. For this reason, I think it is good to experience the same thing more than once, because you see the same thing in a different light.
Bologna loves Peter and makes it clear, with continuous ovations, calls, encouraging Peter, demanding a bis and a counter-bis. Peter, looking down, smiles bewilderedly, a smile halfway between surprised and pleased: lover, since the time of Genesis, of Italy, which has always welcomed him with open arms, Peter is with renewed certainty satisfied with his audience. As for me, I hope he will return next year, and the year after that as well. Pure love.
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