Peter Gabriel immerses Xcel crowd deep into his world

Peter Gabriel i/o The Tour at Xcel Energy Center on October 3, 2023.Tony Nelson for MPR

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October 04, 2023

Peter Gabriel is a master of building anticipation. It has been 21 years since his last Twin Cities appearance, and he’s spent that time writing and recording his 10th studio album, i/o. Originally intended as a follow-up to 2002’s Up, Gabriel’s extensive touring schedule following Up’s release pushed its release to the back burner.

Now, two decades in the making, Gabriel is finally ready for i/o to see the light of day. Or rather, the moonlight of night, as he’s released 10 of the album’s 12 tracks as singles so far this year, one with each full moon since January. This staggered release cycle has heightened anticipation for the album’s release on the final full moon of 2023.

During his triumphant Twin Cities return on Tuesday, Gabriel played nine of the 10 singles from i/o, in addition to October and November’s upcoming full moon tracks. The rest of the three-hour show was a string of Gabriel’s hits spanning his entire solo catalog. The evening was split into two sets, each just over an hour, with a 20-minute intermission. With no opening act, this format worked well, as the bar and bathroom lines during the intermission could attest.

Before Gabriel’s first set began, a massive screen featuring a round analog clock hovered just above the stage displaying the current time. With each passing moment, one of Gabriel’s orange-clad crew would wipe away and redraw the clock’s hands as the 8 p.m. showtime approached. This artistic representation of time would be right at home in any modern art museum, and previewed the immersive visuals to come.

Peter Gabriel at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul — Peter Gabriel i/o The Tour at Xcel Energy Center on October 3, 2023.
Tony Nelson for MPR

At long last, Gabriel entered. Alone. “Maybe time is the real boss and has every single one of us in its claws. But imagination might let us escape the grip of time. And right now, I’d ask if you could come with me back 4.5 billion years to when our planet was a dead planet, which, of course, it very may well soon be again. It’s likely that the ingredients for life arrived with a meteorite. And it just so happens…”

At this moment, Gabriel let out a whistle, and a light dropped into his hand. Using the “meteorite,” he ignited a fake campfire in the center of the stage before bringing out his long-time collaborator and bass player Tony Levine. The pair played an acoustic rendition of “Washing of the Water” as the rest of Gabriel’s spectacular backing band joined them around the fire. As the song ended, Gabriel introduced the rest of the band. Manu Katché on drums, David Rhodes on guitars, Don-E on keys, Richard Evans on guitar and wind instruments, Ayanna Witter-Johnson on cello and vocals, Marina Moore on violin and viola, and Josh Shpak on trumpet, French horn, and keys.

“Now that the formalities are done, we can get back to growing up.” The larger group kicked into a stripped-down and acoustic version of Up’s “Growing Up.” It’s also worth noting that the formalities weren’t entirely done, as Gabriel would go on to introduce the band in full at least two more times and call out individual key contributors after each song. It was apparent how much he appreciates working with them.

Throughout the first set, Gabriel addressed the crowd at length before each song. He spoke about the state of our planet, the increased use of artificial intelligence and what it means for humanity, and our place in the universe — among other lighthearted topics. Each lesson tied perfectly into the song that followed. During these moments of advocacy, Gabriel had the crowd of 7,000 in the palm of his hand. For the most part, the room was dead silent aside from Gabriel’s sole, powerful voice — aside from an occasional random shout for “Sledgehammer.”

Following the two acoustic songs, set one kicked into overdrive with six tracks off of i/o, including “Panapticom,” “Four Kinds of Horses,” “Olive Tree,” “This is Home,” and the album’s title track. Accompanying each song was a spectacular visual component created by a different artist shown on the massive screens positioned around and above the stage.

During “Panopticom,” Canadian artist David Briggs’ swirling “Red Gravity” piece conveyed the sense of a watchful eye. A surreal human/tree hybrid figures created by Cameroonian artist Barthélémy Toguo danced and moved across the screens during “Olive Tree.” English artist Cornelia Parker’s pixelated, deteriorating video of Gabriel played during “Four Kinds of Horses.” The visuals created a wholly immersive experience that could only have fit in a venue of the Xcel’s size. He used every square inch.

To wrap up the first set, Gabriel rewarded the impatient calls for “Sledgehammer.” It began with a deafening boom. After everyone collected their startled selves, the energy in the room exploded as Gabriel and the crowd began singing and dancing along to the smash So hit. “Sledgehammer” may have only been the closer for the first set, but Gabriel and the band played the absolute hell out of it.

Set two began with the heavier, industrial-tinged “Darkness.” During the intermission, a stage-width plexiglass screen was lowered to the front of the stage, blocking the band from view. During “Darkness,” a shadowy, fedora-clad Gabriel danced behind the screen, doing his best Leonard Cohen impersonation. The screen remained in place for “Love Can Heal,” transitioning to a rainy window scene, mimicking the dreary weather outside. Using some sort of wand, Gabriel painted long, foggy streaks across the glass that glowed a bright crimson during the song’s chorus.

Gabriel’s second set was far more direct than the first, with fewer monologue breaks and more fan favorites. While it still featured several songs off of i/o, Gabriel devoted the bulk of the time to back catalog highlights like “Darkness,” “Red Rain,” and “Big Time.”

By far, the high point in the set, and show, was “Don’t Give Up,” which was originally recorded as a duet with Kate Bush. Witter-Johnson handled Bush’s parts throughout the poignant six-and-a-half-minute ballad. While Gabriel’s performance was incredible, it was Witter-Johnson who made every eye in Xcel well up. Her emotionally loaded voice provided hope to counteract Gabriel’s hopeless desolation and was the best performance of the evening. After hearing the i/o tour version of “Don’t Give Up,” it’s hard to envision it as anything but a Gabriel/Witter-Johnson duet.

To close out set two, Gabriel dusted off a classic. “Solsbury Hill” was his first solo debut single in 1977, and it still packs just as much of a spiritual punch today. For an encore, Gabriel opted to again split it in two. For the first, Gabriel and the band returned for a 10-minute rendition of “In Your Eyes.” The second was a deeply moving extended version of Gabriel’s anti-apartheid protest song, “Biko.”

“It takes a lot of courage to stand up for what you believe in and for other people,” Gabriel said. “But there are people all over the world who are standing up for people other than themselves, and this is dedicated to all of them. And in particular, to the one young man in South Africa that inspired this song. His name was Steven Biko.”

As the song progressed, a massive image of Biko appeared on the overhead screen. The entire band left the stage aside from Katché behind the drums. As he continued to hit his toms sparingly, the crowd carried the song’s vocal climax to the end in a hauntingly beautiful tribute to such an important human rights advocate.

Gabriel’s three-hour show flew by. The energy was high when it needed to be, more subdued when appropriate, and the visuals were nothing short of stunning. The band was on another level. Some people merely make their profession as a musician. And then there are professional musicians. Gabriel's entire band is comprised of the latter. They were tight, dynamic, and perfectly matched Gabriel’s energy. For his part, Gabriel was effusive, humble, and equipped with no shortage of groan-inducing dad jokes. He also showed that while 21 years is a long time to wait for a Peter Gabriel show, the anticipation was well worth the wait.

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