Thinking of All Those Colorado Peter Gabriel Fans

In September, Peter Gabriel is scheduled to play at the iconic Red Rocks amplitheatre as part of the So Back to Front tour.  Whether Red Rocks will survive the current round of wildfires is actually pretty good. (Now look at image of Peter knocking on wood for luck.)

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Anyway, if you happen to be a Peter Gabriel fan from Colorado within smelling distance of the myriad of wildfires currently happening, let me be the first to say, "What the HELL are you doing on the freakin' Internet???  GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW."

I do have relatives in Colorado but they ain't leaving but are getting liquored up.  I guess that will make them more flamable.  Quite frankly, if I could only save the life of one person and the choice was any random Colorado PG fan and one of my Colorado relatives, I'll grab the PG fan, thank you.

Hopefully, in  September, the Red Rocks concert will go off spectacularly and the times of wildfires will be but a smoky memory.

Welcome New and Old Readers to This Blog

I took a look at my stats for The Perfect Blog Title (which I rarely do) and was shocked to see my readership has gone up.  Perhaps you are new to this blog.  Hello, there.  Welcome to my world.  What have you gotten yourself into?

I started this blog in 2006 to

• help me learn how to blog
• promote my writing
• discuss spirituality 

Let's just say that I failed in all three counts.  I was a witch/pagan back in 2006 but by 2009 I came out as an atheist.  My pagan years were fun and as religions go, it's the best, but jut rings hollow to me now instead of sounding like sweet, clear music.

Shift to Peter Gabriel

How's that for a segue? 

In the last three years or so I've mostly blogged about singer/songwriter/humanitarian Peter Gabriel.  Quite frankly, I love Peter more than I loved any Deity.  Anyway, my shift in blog focus was due to a lack of information from Petergabriel.com but this has really picked up in the past year.  It used to be that I had to hit Google News for PG news (which I would then pass on), but now PG's official Facebook page has taken up the slack, rendering my blog posts superfluous. 

I will still post about Peter Gabriel as the spirit moves me, but check out the Peter Gabriel links on the left for the latest PG news.

And Then 2011 Hit

Last year, my Mom's health has dropped like a rocket.  She took me and my dog in when we were homeless, so you better believe I've been taking care of Mom 24/7 ever since.  This means I have very little time for writing.  Mom's been paying most of my bills because I take care of her, the house and the pets.  I'm really ashamed that I can't contribute more financially to the household, but there it is.

At this point, I suppose I should write something inspiring like "Now that the we content industry has dried up, I can use this as a new opportunity to expand my craft and pursue a new evolution in freelance writing" but that would be bullshit and I will not bullshit you, Gentle Reader.  My web content freelance writing jobs are gone and I have not been able to find other writing work and IT SUCKS.  I used to make an average of $50 a day -- now I'm lucky if I make $5 per day.

I don't see this as an "opportunity."  I see this as a huge neon sign pointing to me with an arrow saying LOSER!

I do not make any money on this blog or my WordPress blog ReasonsNotToCommitSuicide so I can have absolute writing freedom.  So, I don't know what direction The Perfect Blog Title will take from here on out, but at least you won't find any bullshit.

My Demotivational Posters

So, why did I stick these up?  Because I want to place them on one of my Pinterest boards and you can't pin anything from Facebook, where these beauties were originally stored.

That's pretty much the highlight of my life recently -- playing with Pinterest.  It's not like I could write for clients because I have so few of them.

I am still mostly taking care of Mom, who had a knee replacment surgery on 24 May.  She's able to dress herself now (hey -- that may not sound like much, but get YOUR knee replaced.)

Hugo is Two Years Old

Today is Hugo's birthday.  He's 2.  Everyone grab a can in your mouth and strut around like Hugo.

I'm Going to See Peter Gabriel Concert in Philly

After a huge drama that I really didn't need, I finally managed to snare a ticket for Peter Gabriel's concert on 21 Spetember at the Wells Fargo Whatchahoosey (better known as That Place Where the Flyers Play.)  I didn't have to deal with Ticketbastards this time around.  No, this time I had to butt heads with ComcastTix.com.  Unfortuately, some other people had problems with this website, but other people managed to get their tickets without much hassle (other than paying three figures for a ticket.)

Since my Mom's health is going downhill, I'm her caretaker.  Since my profession (freelance writing) has also sunk faster than the Titanic, I cannot afford to hire a "Mom sitter" so no travelling to New York or Germany anymore.  This may be my last Peter Gabriel concert.  Since it may be my last PG concert, I thought I'd splurge and get a Front Row Package (which includes admission to the soundcheck.)  It turns out that Front Row Packages were not available for sale in Philly, even though they were advertised on ComcastTix.com.  I found this out by actually phoning Comcast and trying to get tickets that way.

The pre-sale started at 10am on 29 May.  No, I didn't mention that fact on this blog for 2 reasons:

1. Mom had a knee replacement and she's even more crippled than usual.  It's like taking care of a 200 lb baby that can talk back to you.
2. I wanted to have the best shot of getting a good ticket.  The less PG fans knew about the pre-sale, the better for me.  So I'm an arsehole.  Get over it.

Have you ever had a knee replacement?  Unless you have really good drugs, it's not a lot of fun.  You are basically stuck in a recliner or a bed 24/7.  You are so stiff and sore that you cannot wipe yourself after you use the toilet.  Since Mom could only walk a few steps, she couldn't even get to the toilet and so uses a commode. 

Keep in mind Mom took me and my dog in when we were homeless.  I have no problem with cleaning the commode.  But it's a big production to get Mom on and off the commode.  So I told Mom again and again that I would be busy from 10 to 10:30am.  I got up at 7 to be sure she ate breakfast, used the commode and took medication before 10am.

So you know what happened at exactly at the stroke of 10am.  That's right. "Rena -- I have to pee."

"No, you don't."  I replied, 'cause I have such a stellar bedside manner.  "I'm getting my concert ticket. We discussed this."

"Don't be mean to me.  Making me hold my urine is mean to me."  Now, because of Mom's medications, this isn't true.  Her bladder sends her false signals.  She often claims she has to urinate and finds that nothing's going on down there.  This is the old "choose between me and X" scenario that we all love to loved ones through, don't we?

So I had to abandon ticket-quest and go help Mom.  By the time I got back to the website, it said that all of the presale tickets had sold out.  That's when I phoned and was told the same thing.  I was on Facebook with another PG fan from Florida who said to keep on trying with  the website.  And lo and behold, a ticket for Row 4 suddenly appeared on screen.

Man -- it was less stress to stand in line for 24 hours to get a ticket, like in the good old days.

Peter Gabriel to Sing New Songs During Back to Front Tour

Announced today on Peter Gabriel's Facebook page:

Peter is touring the USA to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his groundbreaking, iconic album So...With the So band..
Playing So as a whole set as well and old and, wait for it........ NEW songs too.
Pre sale ticket password is the word sledgehammer.

New music from Peter Gabriel is like Venus' arms.  Peter has sung new (ie -- unreleased on offical albums) songs in past tours, such as in 2004 when "Animal Nation" and "Babyman" made some appearances and managed to get on a concert DVD. Peter does have a tendeny to ticker with the set list throughout an entire tour, with two or three songs done on a rotational basis or some being done early in the tour onlt to be dropped later.

Also interesting is that So will be performed in its entirety, which has not been done before.  "That Voice Again" has only been performed a couple of times in a quiet version of Peter and the piano.

Tickets for the Canadian shows are already available, but tickets for the bulk of the tour will not appear until Tuesday, 29 May at 10 AM Eastern Standard Time.

Meanwhile, Mom is on an enviable mixture of morphine and Percoset as she recovers from her knee replacement surgery.  But she is running a fever and has a poor appetite.  In the next couple of days, she may have to be moved to another medical facility if she still cannot stand up by herself.

Peter Gabriel Touring with a Band in North America 2012

... including Philadelphia on 21 September!  He's also hitting Las Vegas (where I guess hitting is the operative word), the Hollywood Bowl and Red Rocks at Colorado.

The Back to Front tour is in celebration of the 25th (or it 26th?) release of the monster hit album So.  Gabriel is hoping to reunite all of the band members from the This Way Up tour of 1986 & 1987.  Apparently, Tony Levin (the bassist)  is a yes. (PHEW!)  I'd love to see Manu Katche on drums backing PG again, but rumor is that he's having back problems, so it's most likely that Ged Lynch may be on the sticks.

There are barely any details being released other then where and when the gigs are and that Ticketbastard -- er, Ticketmaster seems to be in charge of the tickets again.  You will need a password to get into the pre-sale.  There will be soundchecks and soundcheck ticket packages for most of the gigs.  Check out Petergabriel.com for all of the latest tidbits.

I'm really grateful that Real World made this announcement now while I am freaking out about my Mom having to go under the knife for a knee replacement in less than 48 hours.  Tickets for the Philly show go on sale 5 days after she gets her first dose of painkillers.  I figure out that by the time the drugs wear off, it'll be nearly a month after the Peter Gabriel concert.  And THEN she'll kill me when she finds out how many hundreds of dollars I dropped down for just one ticket.

Well, I've packed a lot of living into my 42 years.  At least I'll die with a smile on my face.

Peter Performing in Germany

Peter Gabriel and the New Blood Orchestra is currently doing a short tour of German tour, wrapping up in Poland's Life Festival.  Peter is currently scheduled to perform with the orchestra a final time in the Hop Farm Music Festival on 29 June in the UK -- but you never know where the orchestra is going to pop up again. 

Peter is supposedly going to making an autumn tour announcement in the June Full Moon Club Video.  Since this tour is apparently to promote the 25th (and a half) anniversary of the release of So, the tour may be a variation on the 1986 and 1987 This Way Up tour.  That's the rumor, anyway.  We'll find out in June whether there will be a tour and where it will be.  Rumor is that it will be in North America.

While the rumor mill goes on, New Blood Live has been released.  I'm enjoying it more than New Blood.  I'll write a reveiw of it eventually.  My mother is scheduled for knee-replacement surgery later this month and I'm busier than any bee.  Man -- no wonder worker bees only live a few weeks.  They must die of exhaustion.

Secret World Live  is set for a fancy-schmancy blu-ray release on 2 July.  It had been previously released on regular DVD and  before that VHS.  Remember VHS?  Wasn't it cool?  And the freakin' VHS players lasted longer than the DVD players.  Considering that POV  is set to be released in a new version on DVD at around the same time, it looks like there's going to be a lot of PG merchandise in the shops before the holidays.

Hmmm.  Suddenly I have a craving for alphabet soup.

Petergabriel -- the Racehorse

Something odd popped up on Google News under the search term "peter gabriel" -- he was running in a race in New Zealand.  I wondered at the sudden career change, considering that Peter Gabriel is not exactly a gold-medal winning athlete.

It turns out Petergabriel was a thoroughbred racehorse and not the singer-songwriter.  In the United States, if you want to name your racehorse after a living person, you have to get written permission from that person.  I'm not sure what the Jockey Club rules are in New Zealand.

This Petergabriel  was foaled on 10 October 2005.  He's a son of Senor Pete.  He's listed as brown, which usually means dark bay (translation: mostly black with brown highlights.)  He's won just over $33,000 (NZ). 

And he's a gelding.

Anyway, I hope this is one racehorse that doesn't wind up in a can or as an entree.

Taking a Little Break

My mother is having knee replacement surgery next month. This is on top of her two fractured vertebrae, her fractured pelvis (healing fine, thank you) and cracked leg. So you know what that means -- a break for me from writing that doesn't make me any money, such as this blog.

My only good news at the moment was that I won a writing contest over at Knoji. I won a $200 gift voucher to Amazon.com. I bought a heating pad for Mom, treats for the dogs, filter cartridges for the fish, two Real World CDs I had back in the 1990s, pre-ordered Peter Gabriel's Live Blood and several books on horses in art, dogs in art, Genetics for Dummies and a biography of Caligula.

I've got books to read and a mother and pets to care for. See you later!

Peter Gabriel News for March 30, 2012

Just a couple of quick notes and then I'm off to collapse again.

New gigs for Peter Gabriel and the New Blood Orchestra:

13 May Life Festival (next to Auschwitz) Poland

29 June Hop Farm Music Festival Kent, UK

The Classic ALbums: So rockumentary aired on BBC4 and a few PG fans took pity on us poor, pathetic, clucking North American PG fans and posted it to YouTube. Thanks to Meeks Geneis Cafe and Ovian. Here's the first 10 minutes to whet your appetite:

Sea Monsters (2007): National Geographic

In 2007, Peter Gabriel worked with old friends David Rhodes and Richard Evans to score a peculiar 3D film from National Geographic called Sea Monsters.  I was bitterly disappointed when the film came out because I am unable to see a 3D film because I have monocular vision. 

Last week, a PG fan kindly sent me this YouTube link of the entire film, about 40 minutes long.  Enjoy!

So Classic Album Episode

Just a quick blog post to let Peter Gabriel fans in the UK know that there will be an episode of the BBC 4 series, "Classic Albums" this Friday night at 21:00.

If you live in North America, you'll have to wait until the VH1 Classic cable channel decides to air the episode. If you're like me, you'll be watching You Tube like a hawk on the day after the UK show's premier.

If you live in Italy, chances are you already know about the Peter Gabriel box set back catalogue of CDs. Take it away, Petergabriel.com.

After a short delay, PG's full moon video for March 2012 went up.  There was not one word about the Rush Limbaugh/ Sarah Fluke controversy.  Perhaps PG is well past the episode and is looking forward to his multitude of future projects, including getting back into the studio.

Peter Gabriel Pissed Off At Rush Limbaugh

The man everyone loves to hate, Rush Limbaugh, has really sunk to a new low now. He's gone and pissed off Peter Gabriel. Gabriel, who could have given Jesus Christ lessons on turning the other cheek, today did the unusual action of asking his people to ask Limbaugh' people to never play his music again on his show.

Last week, Limbaugh eviscerated young college student Sandra Fluke because she testified before Congress in favor of goverment supported birth control. No, I don't get it, either. I just follow the Gabriel aspect. As Limbaugh was ranting against the young woman, he played "Slegehammer" in the background.

Limbaugh states that he was just joking when he described Flute as "a slut", but nobody's laughing -- especailly Gabriel, who today, on vacation in California, had one of his employees post on all of his official websites:

'Peter was appalled to learn that his music was linked to Rush Limbaugh's extraordinary attack on Sandra Flute.(sic) It is obvious from anyone that knows Peter's work that he would never approve such a use. He has asked his representatives to make sure his music is withdrawn and especially from these unfair aggressive and ignorant comments.'

Hopefully, the rest of Gabriel's vacation will go more smoothly. I wonder if PG picked up his staff member's spelling error. Probably not.

Peter Gabriel Releasing Many Products in 2012

...but, sadly, no new music. This information is from the pg-fr.com community forum and has not been announced by Real World. So take with a grain of salt.
PG is reportedly set to release:

* the 25th (or is it 26th?) So Anniversary Special Edition in September
* the CD to last year's New Blood in 3D concert video
* the 1994 concert film Secret World on blu-ray
* the 1987 concert film POV on DVD (different version than the VHS release and remixed sound)

He will be doing a short tour of Germany in May with the New New Blood Orchestra. But he's also planning to do a brief world tour in September with the more traditional rock band. Whether he will play at WOMAD's anniversary show in the UK is still unknown.

I won't be seeing any PG shows or any other concert pretty much for the rest of my life. My Mom is basically crippled now and needs constant attention (even though she insists that she doesn't.) Believe it or not, when I have to choose between Mom and PG, Mom wins. But I'm sure there will be many fans who will post reviews, YouTube videos or photos so PG that are housebound can live vicariously for a few minutes at least.

Peter Gabriel Asking for "Moon Effect" Studies

The February vlog from Peter Gabriel to his fans contained an exciting but brief bit of news, that he is back in the studio working on "fast, groove-based songs" but no samples were given. He spent far more time talking about the moon and its supposed effects on people and water.

Peter chose the moon as the symbol for his tours since 2002, but has yet to really learn any hard science about the moon. Or so he claims. I have a really hard time believing that he could be that much of an idiot than to believe in the so-called moon effect (such as there are more dog bites or murders during the full moon). Peter asked if any scientists could send him any information, but really, he should've just searched online. Or he could've hired one of his staff to do it.

But no, I guess it's down to the fans to do the work. Well, just in case Peter happens to see this, just click here.

The moon is beautiful, inspirational and a source of wonder and great mythology. The moon's affect on tides is an incredible thing. There is no need to dress up the moon in abilities that it has not been proven to have (unless it is presented as ficton.)

The moon is a great symbol. That won't change. But as for actual proof of the moon influence on people, dogs or even plants -- well, it just ain't there, kiddo.

Speaking of lunacies, I started a new blog, ReasonsNotToCommitSuicide. Can you tell that my life is circling the drain?

It's Peter Gabriel's Birthday

On this day in 1950, Peter Gabriel was born. He's done a lot since his birth, including capturing my heart, and I hope he outlives me. Perhaps if nobody wishes him a happy birthdy he won't get any older. (Well, too late for that, I guess.)

For the last few years, I've been sticking this image up on PG's Birthday. It is a Photoshopped image from the late lamented Solsbury Hill fan site.

PG is currently in Europe riding the waves of local respiratory infections, finalizing the So 25th anniversary special edition and (gasp!) working on new music.

Horrible Web Page Using Peter Gabriel's Music to Promote Religion

I was on Bing images tonight trying to find new Peter Gabriel images (you know, as you do) and came across this.

At first, it looks like a Peter Gabriel fan page, doesn't it? It has nice big images of PG and mentions lyrics to Against All Odds (the movie, I guess, not the Phil Collins single.) But then it starts talking about PG being bipolar (he isn't) and then mentions PG's song Perspective.

And that's when you realize that PG is being used to promote a Christian group in India called Perspectives.

Now that's just sick -- and really deceptive instead of perceptive. It also uses copyrighted material from professional photographers. One reason I have not monetized this blog is because if I don't make any money from it, I have freedom to use some of PG images used for promotion. And let's get real here -- churches are businesses.

Does Real World know about this crap? I doubt this was endorsed by PG, who keeps his spiritual opinions pretty private in the last decade.

Below is a YouTube video from a German TV broadcast in 1978.

Peter Gabriel to Have a Busy 2012

Peter Gabriel is already having a busy 2012. Around Christmas, he became a grandfather when his second daughter and sometime background vocalist Melanie gave birth to a boy named Ira. "I'm now officially old," Gabriel declaired during his January vlog to fans on his offical website. He apparently also somehow aquired a dog for his hotel in Sardinia. Due to the draconian UK quarantine laws, I guess the dog is staying in Sardinia.

Peter also participated in the SOPA protests; did a plea for the charity Bonobo Hope; is scheduled to film a "Classic Albums" documentary on So until 23 January (no knowing when the air date will be.) Later this year he has his father's 100th birthday party to attend in April and may be at the Pre-Grammy award festivities to honor his friend Sir Richard Branson.

And, oh yeah -- Peter is touring Germany in May. PG once again changed his mind so that the Germany dates will be with the New Blood Orchestra -- despite his inisiting last year that his work with orchestras was "put to bed". There may be more dates in the fall, but nothing has been figured out yet. PG gave "the fall" as his only clue as to where the tour would be. Perhaps Italy? (As in, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire?) Perhaps America, since Americans tend to say "fall" rather than "autumn"? If you haven't figured it out by now, PG likes to play with words and heads.

PG has mentioned that he is working on "new stuff" -- but don't get excited. He's been saying that since 1980. This year so far it appears that PG will have very little time in the studio. There is some noise that PG may score a Bollywood film for director Nila Madhab Panda.

As for me, things continue to be bad, but at least I managed to get my driver's license back. Mom had a terrible fall on New Year's Day and is losing control of her legs. She can no longer drive and needs help getting into and out of a car. Scince I took over car duties, Mom's intake of Xanax has dropped considerably. Now I know why her nerves were always shot. I thought it was me. Turns out it was having to face traffic on Baltimore Pike.

Articles of Peter Gabriel I've Written

Sorry for the self-indulgence, but I'm just trying to gather together the best of the many web articles I've done about Peter Gabriel's biography. Who knows -- maybe someone will enjoy reading these. Stranger things have happened. I didn't write the PG article in this Italian magazine but it's a good image and it's my blog so there.

Peter Gabriel, BC (Before Charterhouse)

Why Is Peter Gabriel So Slow?
Why do fish swim? Why do birds fly?

Black and White Photography Brings Out True Beauty Talks about the making of the So cover.

Sexy Hair Loss Solutions For Men Where I chronicle PG's losing battle against baldness.