WOMAD 2001 (or, why I am not a professional photographer)
by
Anna M.C.
THE STORY:
Womad I: The Feeling Begins (Friday and Saturday)
Womad
II: Electric Boogaloo
The two links above lead to lengthy
trip reports written for Mac Cat's wonderful Solsbury
Hill Peter Gabriel fansite! Pretty
please click on them and read them! I spent an insane amount of
time writing the second one. : )
THE PHOTOS:
The Morning Rehearsal Concert
Peter Gabriel, Tony
Levin, David Rhodes, Melanie Gabriel, the Invisible Man on Drums
(he was *always* blocked by Tony Levin), and a prime view of some
guy's scalp. Get used to it. You'll see a lot more of it.
Tony Levin does
some calisthenics. You can sorta kinda see a bit of the back of
the drummer's head. Note a prime view of another guy's scalp.
Peter Gabriel
treating us to a "Where the hell did all these people come
from?" look. I've broadened my photographic horizons to
women's scalps now.
Thrill to the sight
of David Rhodes as the Amazing Miniature Scalp Gnome Man! Tony
Levin is astounded, while Peter takes it all in stride.
Everybody cracks up
after a hyper audience member screams out "Good
morning!" Peter replies in kind, although far more quietly.
A stagehand
scurries by, doing that "I'm invisible, they can't see
me" walk-run stagehands always do.
The same stagehand
fiddles with Peter's bright yellow body wire and power pack,
still doggedly pretending he's invisible. David Rhodes gets
really funky.
Peter does his best
impression of a bonobo monkey for us. Actually, this is a bit of
the "whoa-oh" part of "In Your Eyes." You can
see him still subtly trying to adjust the uncomfortable wiring at
his waist.
Peter and Melanie
right after the sound check, lurking in the back. Peter's trying
desperately to drink his tea in peace. Unfortunately his
variation on the stagehand's "I'm invisible, they can't see
me" act fails miserably.
Resigned to the
inevitable, Peter returns to the front of the stage to address
us, tea and gifts in hand. A stagehand to the right is either
checking the lighting or having a religious epiphany. A prime
photo op followed, out of which I got not a single lousy shot,
being too awestruck by his presence to think about my camera.
The Evening Concert
More tea in hand,
Peter bows to acknowledge the accolades.
Peter and Tony
prepare for "Here Comes the Flood." Apparently they
both shop at La Casa de Monochrome.
Peter and Tony,
getting down with their bad selves. Note the lyric book on the
keyboard.
After a rogue gust
of wind wreaks havoc on the lyric book, the Invisible Stagehand
tries frantically to tape it down. Thanks to a trick of the
camera angle, Peter appears to be chewing Tony out while Tony
glares sullenly in return.
Everybody stares at
something absolutely fascinating on the floor, except for
Melanie, who's still embarrassed about her father doing that
gushy introduction.
While Peter sings,
David Rhodes wonders who shrunk his pants in the wash.
A final shot of the
non-Peter portion of the band, except for the Invisible Drummer,
still hidden snugly behind Tony Levin. The stagehand should take
notes from this phantom drummer guy.
Back to my home page
