Peter Gabriel

I've been fortunate to see Peter Gabriel live on more than one occasion; however, the most memorable was the first time. On July 23, 1983, Peter performed at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, PA for the Security tour.

There are a lot of great memories from that night. My girlfriend at the time brought a couple of roses, hoping to give one to Peter. Those roses would become a story all their own. When we sat down, our seats happened to be next to Michael Tearson, the legendary Philadelphia DJ from WMMR. My girlfriend struck up a conversation with him, and they hit it off immediately. Before I fully realized what was happening, she was rolling a special rose petal in a cigarette paper, lighting it, and sharing it with Michael. It was clear right away that this was going to be a memorable evening.

The roses came into play again during the concert when my girlfriend crowd-surfed, holding one aloft toward the stage during Solsbury Hill.

What made the experience truly special was spending time backstage with Peter and Tony Levin. My girlfriend finally got to give Peter a rose in person. He was gracious and warm, and so was Tony. They both talked with us and answered questions for quite a while. I told Tony how much I loved it when Peter introduced him on stage and he photographed the audience. Tony explained that he loved every crowd and wanted a picture of them just as much as they wanted one of him. Later in his career, Tony would also become well known for his photography, in addition to his work as the bassist for King Crimson and many other progressive-rock projects.

Looking back on that conversation, it feels like one of the original sparks behind KingArthur.com and my path toward becoming a performance artist. The same is true of Peter and his work with Witness. Later in life, I would again support similar efforts alongside Peter.

I’ve interviewed many famous musicians over the years, but none were as genuinely humble and kind as Peter.

After we finally ran out of questions, Peter walked over to a black sedan, climbed into the driver’s seat, and drove himself away. It was the first—and last—time I’ve ever seen a star leave a venue without a chauffeur.

Setlist