Concert review-David Bowie

[unkle bik]

The third time is a charm. Last nite I saw David Bowie concert for the third time. Seeing him on the “Thin White Duke Tour” in 1976 & sometime in the ‘80’s, yesterday’s “Reality” tour blew both of those performances away. Mr. Bowie & his top-notch band put on one helluva performance last night in Cleveland. Four decades of his musical career were showcased in a two-hour plus show. Those longing to hear the “Ziggy era were treated to “Suffragette City, White Light, White Heat, & Man Who Sold the World.” For the eighties fans you got “China Girl, Fashion, & Ashes to Ashes.” Much of his nineties’ material & his latest release, “Reality”, were served up as well. Bowie is one consummate performer. He demands your attention as a singer, musician, & performer. He also develops a rapport with the audience communicating in between songs & doesn’t give it up til the show is over.
Per usual, Bowie’s band was superb. Longtime friend & guitarist, Earl Slick, excelled in such tunes as “Hang On to Yourself.” Former Spider From Mars keyboardist, Mike Garson,was especially brilliant on piano during “Life On Mars” & “Changes.” Really surprising was bass player & backup singer, Gail Ann Dorsey. Her bass playing was extremely tight, but even more impressive was her voice. She had to fill in the falsettos of Freddie Mercury on “Under Pressure” and did one helluva job.
Hometown (Canton Oh.) girl, Macy Gray opened the show. She played her own style of hypnotic,quasi-funk that at times was entertaining. I liked her rendition of the Beatles classic, “Come Together.” At least this time she left the liquor bottle half full behind stage & remembered the lyrics to her own songs. (remember the Football Hall of Hame Game a couple of years ago?)
All in all, this Bowie concert will be in my top 10, and I have witnessed over 200. Tonight, Bowie is playing his birthday in Detriot. If you have a chance don’t miss this tour. You won’t be disappointed.
The Cleveland State Convocation center food & beverage services should be replaced right away. Bud & Labatt’s were the only beer choices. A 15 minute wait in line to boot.

[skahtboi]

Used to be a Bowie fan, "back in the day." However, I lost interest somehow when he slighted a young Texas guitar virtuoso out of justly deserved playing credit on the "Let's Dance" album. There were also some money issues involved as well, if I recall correctly. Whereas Bowie could have used his fame and influence to help promote this guitar slinger's career, he did just the opposite. Oh, well...Stevie Ray had one hell of a career, short though it was, without Bowie's help.

Anyway, glad that you enjoyed the show!

[wortchillergoal]

I am glad you had a good time. I spent this Holiday season enjoying the single cd of his Christmas song that he did with Bing Crosby back in 1977. I remember seeing that on live TV. The best part for me was that my autistic son would sing along, both parts, which was more than music to my ears. I am glad that he picked two superstars of different times as his singing role model.

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by wortchillergoal
I am glad you had a good time. I spent this Holiday season enjoying the single cd of his Christmas song that he did with Bing Crosby back in 1977. I remember seeing that on live TV. The best part for me was that my autistic son would sing along, both parts, which was more than music to my ears. I am glad that he picked two superstars of different times as his singing role model.

I just heard that for the first time the other day when VH1 showed the "video" of them. While David Bowie is extremely talented, I never really got into him. Glad you had a good time at the concert, having a 10 and a 1 year old puts a damper on things like that.

[unkle bik]

Originally posted by skahtboi
Used to be a Bowie fan, "back in the day." However, I lost interest somehow when he slighted a young Texas guitar virtuoso out of justly deserved playing credit on the "Let's Dance" album. There were also some money issues involved as well, if I recall correctly. Whereas Bowie could have used his fame and influence to help promote this guitar slinger's career, he did just the opposite. Oh, well...Stevie Ray had one hell of a career, short though it was, without Bowie's help.

Anyway, glad that you enjoyed the show!

Thanx for the response.
Can you elaborate on how SRV got screwed over by Bowie?
Just exactly how was his playing credit deleted from "Let's Dance"?
Last time I looked it still had his name on the album.
Actually, Bowie was a springboard for many talented artists. David Sanborn, Micheal Kamen, Luther Vandross, to name a few.

BTW, I am a very big SRV fan seeing him 3 times before his untimely passing. SRV didn't need Bowie's help to begin with. He had enough talent to get his own career going. The most Bowie did was make SRV publicly accesable perhaps six months earlier.

[skahtboi]

D'oh.....

Sorry...got the facts a little skewed. 20 years and lots of beers later. It wasn't the credit on the album that was the problem, but the failure to pay the contracted fee to SRV's for the "Let's Dance" tour. I know that this was a management issue, but it still did not look good on Bowie. It got a lot of press back then, now I can only find little blurbs about it online.

So in fact, it was just "money issues" and not album credit.