Peter Gabriel is beginning his American tour in Philadelphia tomorrow evening. The picture below is at the receiving dock into our restoration facility.

What looks like a simple piano crate will be fully prepped, tuned, and delivered to his site, along with a "touring case" for his opening performance in the United States tomorrow night. The piano will then travel with Peter for the balance of his tour.



We served Peter before so we are excited to help again. Serving tours like this one is a cool part of the business. It is as much an education thing (how do you move the case?) as it is a service thing.

You also get to know a lot of musicians on a first name basis.

If anyone winds up seeing Peter and this piano while he is touring, think of me.

How cool is that?

As usual, Rich providing very interesting posts.

Rich, why don't you post more pictures of this piano? Lots of them. Maybe in the process of unpacking. (just curious on how they come packed from the factory in Austria).

BTW, is that an Imperial? or a plain 280. Maybe a 225?

Thanks

Rich,

Are you prepping and tuning only the simple piano crate or are you doing the same to the to the "touring case?"

Who is working on the piano?



(Sorry - Devil made me do it!)

It's a model 170. The model # and serial # 49494 is visible on the crating.

Hi Rich,
Just thinking about a performance of this music genre where the piano plays only a supportive role in the music and the instrument is amplified through microphones.
Why a Bösendorfer? This is a very fine piano for this kind of setting.

Don't get me wrong I'm impress..but this a new Bösendorfer.

Peter Gabriel wants his music to sound good. So do his audiences. You can't have good sound coming out of the loudspeaker unless you have good sound going into the microphone.

No doubt, there are other reasons, too.

As Anna Russell said: You go into the conservatory with a small, tinny voice, and you come out with a large, tinny voice.

Yes, please do! This is so cool. Thanks Rich!

Could it be as simple as Mr. Gabriel prefers Bosendorfer? He is after all, a major league performing/recording artist.

Would have to agree with this. He's going to buy a good piano, so why not a Bosendorfer? At the top end all brands are expensive, but he's got the money to buy what he likes. He might even have an endorsement to play the Bosie.

I love Peter Gabriel. Where is he performing?

http://petergabriel.com/livedates/

Unfortunately, nowhere in the Pacific NW. Sounds like a great tour.

I am so sorry I haven't visited here in the past few days, but I have been out of town.

Yes, this piano is a 170 (5'8") Bosendorfer. This is the model of piano that Peter prefers. Interestingly, when he came to our area last with The New Blood Orchestra, we provided him with a Bosendorfer 280. Since this tour was totally orchestral (no guitarist or drummer) the tone of the piano was quite important. It was used by his pianist most of the time, but as I remember, he played it mostly solo for at least two songs. He plays nicely.

For this tour, he preferred a smaller piano. The 280 took up too much room and, without the orchestra, mics. will be used. Also, since he is playing with more traditional instrumentation There was another problem - the availability of a Bosendorfer that was in top condition in each area he was going to perform in. The final solution was worked out with Bosendorfer directly. A "touring case" was built for the 170 and the case and piano were sent here to us in Philadelphia.

We prepped the piano, delivered the piano, and helped with any preferences after delivery. We also instructed the crew (who apparently has done this before) on how to break down and crate the piano competently. This particular Bosendorfer will go with Peter where ever he plays. Incidently, it will be available for sale, so if you are a Peter Gabriel fan, get out you check book.

Double post, sorry.

Rich,

Thanks for this "inside information." I've always consider Mr. Gabriel very creative and he has always pushed boundaries instead of merely rehashing his old hits. This bit of insight into his creativity is interesting.

I'm curious - will the piano be tuned and prepped at each venue by a local tech, or is Cunningham providing that service for the entire tour?

Thanks again.

Oh no ventil,

There will be technicians sent to each venue (A few will have to travel a bit) but it wouldn't make sense to have one of our people travel with Peter.

(As much as the idea appeals to me )

Rich,

Very cool. What is a touring case? Is it sturdier or designed to take "tour abuse"? Sorry to ask somewhat crass questions, but will this Bosie sell for less than a comparable 170 since it's been on tour or will it be a higher price because it was prepped and tuned to touring specifications and played by Peter Gabriel? Will Mr. Gabriel sign it before it sells? I certainly couldn't afford it but I just wonder if I was gong to buy a Bosendorfer, would I want one set up, prepped, voiced, and regulated to my specifications or one prepped, voiced, regulated for what Peter Gabriel wants? I'm sure if I had the opportunity to play it, I would be amazed and wouldn't want it to sound or feel any different.

Thank you for posting the notice and the picture. I'm envious of whoever becomes the new owner.

J&J,

A touring case makes it easier to move a piano, or anything else heavy and awkward, for that matter. It is a hard case with a well padded interior that protects the piano better than the original crate from the manufacturer.

Although these are common for smaller instruments, like guitars, saxes, and amplifiers, they can be custom built for a piano.

Here is an example of a touring case made for an amp. This will give you an idea of what I am talking about:

Saw Gabriel in Toronto last week and as always the sound quality was amazing.

Dragged a friend to the concert who had never seen Gabriel in concert, he was amazed how clearly every instrument could be clearly heard, especially during the acoustic set (in a stadium of 18,000 people.

Rich - thanks for sharing this! Peter Gabriel is one of the performers on a very short list of mine that I absolutely MUST see before one of us dies and it appears I'll be able to cross him off my list since I'll being attending this show in Las Vegas next week.

To date the best live piano sound I've heard (in a pop / rock / funk, etc. setting, at least) was on the Steely Dan tour last year and I'm anxious to hear this one as well... I've no doubt that it will be spectacular!

Also, as it turns out, I've ended up with an extra ticket to this show so if any of you folks are interested, drop me a message. It is a fantastic seat a few rows behind the FOH mix position.

He is very good "live", Tom. Enjoy.

I hope you find someone from PW to go with you.

Quick follow-up...

The show in Las Vegas was fantastic, one of the best I've ever seen and the piano sounded wonderful! I'm very pleased that I went to the time, trouble, and expense to go see it.

I am glad you enjoyed the show, Tom. It is very good to hear that they are keeping up with maintenance on the piano. So often these things slip through the cracks on a tour and the result can be a forgetable performance.

Cheers!