PETER GABRIEL at WOMAD 2009

As mentioned below, the main draw for me to WOMAD 2009 was Peter Gabriel. I've seen him a few times and he has never disappointed. First time was promoting his first solo album at Liverpool Empire in late 1977. He had so little material that the set was padded with a cover of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and a couple of songs from Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, most memorably "Back in New York City" which closed the show as a leather-jacketed PG in "Rael"mode, leapt from the top of his grand piano. Another show at the Empire, Knebworth festival (head freshly shaved, giant panda on his back) supporting Frank Zappa, and a breathtaking performance at Birmingham Odeon (first time I heard "Biko") all wonderful and pre-dating the stardom and arena dates that the success of Sledgehammer and the So album eventually provided. The biggest and least successful show for my money was that one, at Earls Court, a venue so soulless only Pink Floyd have ever tamed it successfully. Then the 2008 "Human Rights Now!" tour in support of Amnesty International, with Springsteen, Sting (bleeaugh!), Tracy Chapman and Youssou N Dour. I missed the "Us" tour due to financial embarrassment (the Secret World DVD is a must, though), but caught up with him again at the NEC in 2003. By that time he'd given up dying his hair, sprouted a neat white beard and a comfy looking paunch. Not too far from yours truly, really! What sets us apart is his vision and talent!!

Taking years between album releases, his quality control is extraordinary. With the possible exception of his second record, rushed to capitalise on the success of the first, the proportion of Peter Gabriel songs that do not make the world a better place is tiny compared to most of his peers. They sound crafted (sometimes over-produced, perhaps, but live performance invariably remedies that) and while there are signature sounds, each has a distinct identity to set it apart from the rest. I wasn't that keen on his voice when I first heard it on a badly copied cassette of Genesis' Nursery Cryme, but as I recall, my objection was that he "sounded old", by which I probably meant mature beyond his years. Anyway, he's continued to grow into that voice and is now surrounded by a core of musicians who can replicate and expand upon his studio sound with apparent ease, and routinely appear to enjoy doing so.

Central to these is bass (or more usually "stick") player Tony Levin, who has been integral since the first solo record. The Chapman stick is a bizarre looking instrument, like an 8(?) string bass guitar which is played more like a double bass and plucked with both hands. The only other player I've seen is King Crimson's Trey Gunn, with whom Levin played in the Double Trio manifestation of KC (dig out the Deja Vrooom DVD if you can). Actually I've just found www.stick.com via google which tells you all about it. There are 10 and 12 string versions too. A snip at $2500 !

Other stalwarts are David Rhodes who started out supporting PG with his group Random Hold in the early 80s and Richard Evans (keyboards).There are usually at least a couple of other musicians and latterly PG's daughter Melanie, who does backing vocals and occasional shared lead on duets,including Downside Up, played at WOMAD.

So what about the performance? Well, it's a small stage by festival or even theatrical standards, but they still manged to open supplemented by a string section, drafted in for the debut of a couple of songs from the upcoming (this year?, next year??, next century???) Scratch My Back project, which involves PG covering other musicians' songs in exchange for their covers of his songs. On the strength of his version of Paul Simon's "The Boy In The Bubble" it should be interesting listen (tune and tempo completely refashioned) although not a substitute for "real" new material.
This over-crowded the stage, but once the guests moved on PG, at least, was able to wander about a bit and interact with musicians and crowd. The set was deliberately different to the one played at WOMAD in 2007 (only 3 songs in common, we were told), but there were few questionable choices. Games Without Frontiers sounded re-arranged (again), Solsbury Hill was fun as usual, but in keeping with the professed purpose of the show, namely the promotion of Witness.org (go on, check it out!), the finale was Biko, which I hadn't heard live for over 20 years. Hairs on back of neck, all that stuff. I've never liked the way it's presented (crowd encouraged to give black-power type clenched fist salute with their lily-white liberal manicured paws), but the power of the song is undeniable.

You Can Blow Out A Candle
But You Can't Blow Out A Fire
Once The Flame Begins To Catch
The Wind Will Blow It Higher
And The Eyes of The World Are Watching Now.....

Unfortunately, the world has been watching for quite some time now, and while the problems in South Africa may be no worse (though not as much better as we might like to believe), there are plenty of others queuing up. As Alexei Sayle once pointed out (re. "Ebony and Ivory") "as far as race relations go, piano keyboards aren't gonna solve nuttin' " and however moved I am by hearing "Biko", the world is the same the next day.

WOMAD

World of Music, Arts & Dance

A noble enterprise that's been running as a concept since 1980 and as a festival since 1982, I've been tempted to sample WOMAD for many years but frankly deterred by the prospect of a whole weekend of unknown (to me) artists performing in mostly foreign tongues, accompanied by the standard festival discomforts of mud and sleep deprivation.

I was finally tempted this year by the availability of day tickets (£60, free for kids) and the presence on Saturday of one Peter Gabriel, a man more deserving of a knighthood and national treasure status than many already enjoying such accolades. As a founder of WOMAD, PG has put his money where his mouth is, not only by supporting the organisation but also by bringing the artists involved from all over the world to market via his Real World label, many of the products being recorded at his Real World studios. Famously an early WOMAD festival resulted in such losses that he had to re-engage with his former Genesis bandmates for the Six Of The Best concert at Milton Keynes in 1982 to bail the whole thing out, but it seems some stability has now been established. That said, his sole U.K. appearance for 2009 at WOMAD, whilst ostensibly in support of his Witness charity, may well have been to prop up feeble ticket sales, as it was apparent that many, myself included, made the trip to Malmesbury last Saturday primarily to see him.

There was much else on offer, though. Several venues (even the largest much smaller than the three largest at Glastonbury) presented musicians from all over the world, while catering and merchandise stalls mixed a good selection of quality product with the usual bottom-end tat. Throw in a steam fair and mostly decent weather and the recipe for a very pleasant family day out was complete (although we were down to one child having sent Sprog One to Scout Camp)!

By definition, the music is a mixed bag, and sponsorship from Radio 3 rather than the more usual 1,2 or even 6, points at the potential heavy-going involved. No question that most artists, however esoteric, received a warm welcome, but of those I saw (and the festival set up inevitably means choosing between simultaneous performances), some were easier for western ears to metabolize than others.
It emerged that lyrical incomprehension is not the greatest barrier, as I ended up buying a CD ("Eagle") by Chinese artist Mamer who spoke not a word of English and had all his introductions translated by a band member. Nevertheless, "tunes" from some contributors seemed almost random successions of notes, faithful to a key but without readily discernible melody to these jaded lugholes. Perhaps repeated exposure would open them up but the opportunity wasn't there, supposing I'd felt strong enough.

This partly misses the point, though. As a celebration of cultural diversity, WOMAD is exemplary. Much has been made of music as a universal language, much of it cobblers, however as an excuse to present people of one background at their best, to those of another, it is more than fine.

One further reservation. Maybe because of the ticket price, the social and cultural mixture of those attending did not reflect that providing the entertainment. If I found Glastonbury noticeably white and middle-class, WOMAD was positively WASPish! It may present a rare opportunity to hear African musicians,but there weren't too many of ethnic background doing so. It doesn't matter to the extent that at least the WASPs are being educated, but the apparent alienation of those you might hope to turn up and root for their own (sorry about the pun), is disappointing, if hardly surprising.

(P.S. WASP = White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, although White Anglo Saxon Professional might apply better here)