Back to Front Tour explained

Concert Tour Name:The Back to Front Tour
Artist:Peter Gabriel
Start Date:9 September 2012
End Date:10 December 2014
Number Of Legs:2
Last Tour:New Blood Tour
(2010–12)
This Tour:The Back to Front Tour
(2012–14)
Next Tour:Rock Paper Scissors Tour
(2016)

Back to Front was a concert tour by Peter Gabriel, a retrospective performance based on every song from his 1986 multi-platinum album So played in sequence.[1] The backing band included musicians that Gabriel toured with in 1986–87 in support of the album's initial release.

Each night of the tour was recorded and released both separately and as part of a box set entitled Back to Front: Encore Series. The releases were limited editions and available exclusively from Gabriel's official website.[2]

On 23 June 2014, Real World Records and Eagle Rock Entertainment released the live album and film , recorded at the O2 concerts.

Gabriel played new original songs, "O But" and "What Lies Ahead", during the tour.[3] John Cusack appeared at the 6 October 2012 concert in Los Angeles, recreating a scene from Say Anything... (1989).[4]

Dave McKenna of The Washington Post described the 14 October 2012 concert in Fairfax as "great".[5]

Personnel

Tour crew

Set list

Acoustic (with house lights left on):

  1. "Daddy Long Legs" (new unfinished song, also known as "O But", released as Playing For Time on i/o in 2023 with a full band and orchestral arrangement. Replaced by new unfinished song "What Lies Ahead" in late 2014)
  2. "Come Talk to Me"
  3. "Shock the Monkey"
  4. "Family Snapshot"

Electric:

  1. "Digging in the Dirt"
  2. "Secret World"
  3. "The Family and the Fishing Net" or "Darkness" (December 2014)
  4. "No Self Control"
  5. "Games Without Frontiers" (in Herning and Amsterdam only)
  6. "Solsbury Hill" (played after "Washing of the Water" for first show in Quebec City)
  7. "Washing of the Water" or "Humdrum" (2012 tour), "Why Don't You Show Yourself" (2013 and 2014 tours)

So:

  1. "Red Rain"
  2. "Sledgehammer"
  3. "Don't Give Up"
  4. "That Voice Again"
  5. "Mercy Street"
  6. "Big Time"
  7. "We Do What We're Told (Milgram's 37)"
  8. "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)"
  9. "In Your Eyes"

Encore:

  1. "Here Comes the Flood" (played 11 times in mid 2014)
  2. "The Tower That Ate People"
  3. "Biko"

Tour dates

DateCityCountryVenueAttendanceBox Office
North America
16 September 2012Quebec CityCanadaColisée Pepsi8,652 / 10,006$914,352
18 September 2012MontrealBell Centre11,902 / 11,902 $1,277,415
19 September 2012TorontoAir Canada Centre11,267 / 12,159$1,098,899
21 September 2012PhiladelphiaUnited StatesWells Fargo Center11,773 / 12,809$1,111,651
23 September 2012WantaghJones Beach Theater10,602 / 13,995$991,035
24 September 2012BostonTD Garden5,671 / 9,215$519,413
26 September 2012Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn Hills——
27 September 2012ChicagoUnited Center9,886 / 10,863$967,504
30 September 2012MorrisonRed Rocks Amphitheatre8,631 / 8,631$787,067
2 October 2012San JoseHP Pavilion at San Jose6,964 / 7,500$710,388
5 October 2012Las VegasPH Live Showroom——
6 October 2012Los AngelesHollywood Bowl15,482 / 17,416$1,527,290
8 October 2012San DiegoValley View Casino Center——
9 October 2012Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara Bowl3,972 / 4,549$432,182
13 October 2012UncasvilleMohegan Sun Arena4,150 / 4,497$379,490
14 October 2012FairfaxPatriot Center5,812 / 5,812$546,621
Europe
28 September 2013HerningDenmarkJyske Bank Arena6,500—
30 September 2013AmsterdamNetherlandsZiggo Dome——
1 October 2013BrusselsBelgiumForest National8,000—
3 October 2013ViennaAustriaWiener Stadthalle10,000—
5 October 2013BelgradeSerbiaKombank Arena——
7 October 2013MilanItalyMediolanum Forum11,000—
8 October 2013GenevaSwitzerlandGeneva Arena8,000—
10 October 2013PragueCzech RepublicO2 Arena12,000—
11 October 2013LeipzigGermanyArena Leipzig10,000—
13 October 2013StuttgartSchleyerhalle12,000—
15 October 2013ParisFrancePalais Omnisports de Bercy16,000—
16 October 2013DüsseldorfGermanyISS Dome10,000—
18 October 2013HamburgO2 World Hamburg12,035 / 12,730 $876,611
19 October 2013BerlinO2 World Berlin13,468 / 13,468 $1,060,450
21 October 2013LondonEnglandThe O2 Arena22,584 / 27,739$1,762,780
22 October 2013
24 October 2013GlasgowScotlandSSE Hydro——
25 October 2013ManchesterEnglandPhones 4u Arena14,057 / 15,105$913,023
29 April 2014FrankfurtGermanyFesthalle Frankfurt11,000—
30 April 2014MunichOlympiahalle11,000—
2 May 2014CologneLanxess Arena15,000—
3 May 2014HanoverTUI Arena12,500—
5 May 2014BratislavaSlovakiaSlovnaft Arena——
6 May 2014BudapestHungaryBudapest Sports Arena——
8 May 2014BucharestRomaniaRomexpo Pavilionul Central——
12 May 2014ŁódźPolandAtlas Arena13,000—
13 May 2014OstravaCzech RepublicČEZ Aréna——
16 May 2014VilniusLithuaniaSiemens Arena——
17 May 2014RigaLatviaArena Riga——
20 May 2014HelsinkiFinlandHartwall Arena——
22 May 2014StockholmSwedenEricsson Globe10,950—
23 May 2014OsloNorwayOslo Spektrum7,000—
25 May 2014BerlinGermanyWaldbühne20,000—
12 November 2014BrusselsBelgiumPalais 129,000—
13 November 2014StrasbourgFranceZénith de Strasbourg8,000—
15 November 2014NantesZénith de Nantes Métropole8,000—
16 November 2014ToulouseZénith de Toulouse8,000—
18 November 2014ZürichSwitzerlandHallenstadion7,212 / 13,000$597,346
20 November 2014TurinItalyPala Alpitour——
21 November 2014BolognaUnipol Arena——
23 November 2014GrazAustriaStadthalle Graz4,000—
24 November 2014SalzburgSalzburgarena——
28 November 2014BirminghamEnglandLG Arena——
30 November 2014SheffieldMotorpoint Arena Sheffield——
1 December 2014CardiffWalesMotorpoint Arena Cardiff——
3 December 2014LondonEnglandSSE Wembley Arena——
4 December 2014NewcastleMetro Radio Arena
7 December 2014LiverpoolEcho Arena Liverpool——
8 December 2014AberdeenScotlandAECC Arena4,600—
10 December 2014DublinIreland3Arena——
Cancellations and rescheduled shows
<--Date--><--Location--><--Venue--><--Reason/Additional Info-->
Zagreb, CroatiaArena ZagrebVenue changed to Kombank Arena, Belgrade, Serbia[6]
Kyiv, UkrainePalace of SportsCanceled[7]
Lyon, FranceHalle Tony GarnierCanceled[8]

References

  1. Web site: Peter Announces North American Tour 'Back To Front' To Celebrate 25th Anniversary of 'So' - PeterGabriel.com. PeterGabriel.com. 19 January 2018.
  2. Web site: Back to Front 2013: Encore Series - PeterGabriel.com. PeterGabriel.com. 19 January 2018.
  3. Web site: Peter Gabriel Debuts New Song 'What Lies Ahead' in Concert. RollingStone.com. 19 January 2018.
  4. Web site: John Cusack Appears with Boombox at Peter Gabriel Concert. PasteMagazine.com. 19 January 2018.
  5. Web site: Peter Gabriel's 'So' still so great. Dave. McKenna. 15 October 2012. 19 January 2018. www.WashingtonPost.com.
  6. Web site: Zagreb Show Cancelled, Belgrade Show Announced - PeterGabriel.com. PeterGabriel.com. 19 January 2018.
  7. Web site: Back to Front show in Kiev cancelled - PeterGabriel.com. PeterGabriel.com. 19 January 2018.
  8. Web site: PG's Lyon show cancelled - PeterGabriel.com. PeterGabriel.com. 19 January 2018.

External links

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