Month: November 2003

Apart from the great guests, there may be a little bit of info you’ll be interested in, which I’m not allowed to tell you about just yet.

We’re today’s scrambled creatures, locked in tomorrow’s Dublin feature…

“If we’re going to film a DVD anywhere, this is the place to do it. I know it, you know it and they (the film crew) know it!” That’s how David Bowie explained the presence of cameras at the first of two shows at the Point Depot in Dublin last night.

And the decision to film these shows was a good one. This was one of the most emotionally-charged audiences I have ever had the privilege to be a part of… and it made for some very touching moments. The ovation at the end of Life On Mars? being one such moment… David was visibly moved by the overwhelming appreciation from this great crowd.

The fact that David had bothered to learn a few words of Gaeilge would have probably won over the crowd, especially considering the significance of the first words he used, which raised a few eyebrows and had many locals wondering if they were hearing things! But, in the event, it made no difference, this crowd was won over from the moment the giant video screens flickered into life with the cartoon Bowie and band grinding out that jam that I really must find out the name of.

Local boy Gerry Leonard was another clearly touched by the response of the crowd to his introduction by David, and it was lovely to see him grinning throughout, a grin that got wider every time David uttered a word in Gaeilge.

Here’s the 27-song setlist:

Dublin November 22nd 2003

01 Rebel Rebel
02 New Killer Star
03 Reality
04 Fame
05 Cactus
06 Afraid
07 All The Young Dudes
08 China Girl
09 The Loneliest Guy
10 The Man Who Sold The World
11 Hallo Spaceboy
12 Sunday
13 Under Pressure
14 Life On Mars?
15 Ashes To Ashes
16 The Motel
17 Loving The Alien
18 Never Get OId
19 Changes
20 I’m Afraid Of Americans
21 “Heroes”

(Encore)
22 Bring Me The Disco King
23 Slip Away
24 Heathen (The Rays)
25 Five Years
26 Hang On To Yourself
27 Ziggy Stardust

After the show I joined a whole bunch of BowieNetters at an after show party, kindly organised by BowieNetter Eamonn, where the craic was good and the Guinness cold. Much fun was had by all, as evidenced by AndyAndy’s pictures on the MBs. The tour continues with a second show in Dublin tomorrow.

No one over here reads the papers pal…

The London Evening Standard published a brief but nonetheless interesting interview with David yesterday. If you didn’t get a copy of the newspaper itself, the whole thing is available online, from where, this excerpt:

It must be hard, one imagines, to make new friends – real friends – when you are an internationally famous superstar surrounded by sycophants. Not least because there must be an ever-present fear that any new friendship might be exploited or betrayed for gain by selling stories to the press. Bowie insists he is not concerned by such thoughts.

“I’m not a terribly suspicious person,” he insists. “But it’s funny you should say that because I’ve recently got friendly with a father and his little boy I met in the park with my daughter. He’s there every single weekend and we really buddied up to each other. But we’ve only talked about music twice in all that time.”

Yet their initial encounter demonstrated the gulf that fame can create when it comes to forming new relationships with “ordinary” people. “The first time we started talking, he said: ‘I would never have thought I’d find you in a park.’ And it kind of upset me: why wouldn’t you believe that I would take my own daughter out? But,” Bowie sighs wearily, “I suppose that’s the impression that one has of celebrity.

“It’s about how you want to live your life, isn’t it? I certainly don’t want to live it in the full glare and I want to be able to go where I want to go in an anonymous fashion. Which is where my baseball cap comes in. I’ve found that, if I hide the hair under a cap I somehow become almost invisible. I blend in so much with the rest of humanity it makes me feel almost normal!”

If you’re an online subscriber to the This is London website, you can read the whole thing here. However, if some naughty chap has copied and pasted it onto the MBs, there’s not much I can do about that. Lord knows what will happen if you click on the cutting above!

Now, Not tomorrow, (or) Yesterday…

Well, nobody seemed to be bothered by our bogus Gail Ann Dorsey happy 41st birthday wishes yesterday.

* Obviously this was a dry run to try and get you all to make some noise at Birmingham, but apart from the little pockets of well-wishers that we told you about in last night’s report, frankly the response was pathetic!

So, now that it’s her real birthday today, you have a second chance to pass on your birthday wishes en mass in Birmingham again this evening… and this time, let’s make sure your presence is felt!

Do have a wonderful birthday evening Gail… and perhaps your boss will actually acknowledge this special date onstage tonight, instead of ignoring the fact that it wasn’t your birthday yesterday!

Don’t forget, you can also help Gail get more cash for a bigger birthday cake by purchasing her new album, I Used To Be…, at the show tonight or here online. As I said yesterday, in not so many words, it’s a jolly lovely recording!

*The fact that we have wished GAD a happy birthday on the 19th for the past three years, and people on the MBs and other fan sites have laboured under the same illusion too, is neither here nor there!

Black Country Rock…Part 2

The second Birmingham show of David Bowie’s A Reality Tour took the NEC by storm this evening, on what really was Gail Ann Dorsey‘s 41st birthday this time. (See earlier news piece.)

A 28-song set was played again, but with some significant changes, including the re-introduction of the following: Sister Midnight, Fall Dog Bombs The Moon, All The Young Dudes, Battle For Britain (The Letter), Days, Fantastic Voyage and Hang On To Yourself.

After the confusion of Gail’s birthdate (How did that happen?), David, who obviously knew the real date all along, decided to celebrate publicly with thousands of Bowie fans at the NEC. After Under Pressure, DB got Gail to stand at the front of the stage facing the audience while he went and fetched her a birthday cake, complete with lit candles.

However, as he approached the birthday girl from behind, the onstage fan blew out the candles! David rescued the moment by explaining that God had blown them out because he’s a bitch… or something along those lines.

Thanx once more to the quite brilliant, and very French Celine Caux for the fantastic shots from tonight’s show, and to the diminutive, but equally French, Adeline Cantais for last night’s Birmingham show picture. Thanx also to the regulars that phone in the setlist etc., including Susans and Lord Of The Things.

Here follows this evening’s setlist, but keep reading for a snippet from a review of last night’s NEC show and a couple more from Monday’s Manchester show. Click on the links to read the full reviews.

Birmingham November 20th 2003

01 Rebel Rebel
02 New Killer Star
03 Sister Midnight
04 Reality
05 Fame
06 Cactus
07 Fall Dog Bombs The Moon
08 China Girl
09 All The Young Dudes
10 The Loneliest Guy
11 The Man Who Sold The World
12 Hallo Spaceboy
13 Sunday
14 Under Pressure (Followed by a mass sing-a-long of Happy Birthday for GAD)
15 Life On Mars?
16 Ashes To Ashes
17 Battle For Britain (The Letter)
18 Loving The Alien
19 Days
20 Never Get OId
21 Changes
22 I’m Afraid Of Americans
23 “Heroes”

(Encore)
24 Fantastic Voyage
25 Heathen (The Rays)
26 Five Years
27 Hang On To Yourself
28 Ziggy Stardust

The tour continues with two shows in Dublin at the weekend. Here follows those reviews…

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Birmingham Post – Bowie wows NEC by Andrew Cowen

It’s also fortuitous that his past couple of albums have seen him on consistent writing form. Heathen showed that the old master still had the imagination to wed the avant garde to hook-laden populism while this year’s Reality is his best effort since Scary Monsters.

With a crack band too, including shaven-headed bassist Gail Ann Dorsey and Old Mucker Mike Garson on keyboards, strangely, for a man used to reinventing himself, the show was played pretty much straight down the middle.

Bowie himself looked remarkably fresh faced, far younger and healthier than anyone with his past dare hope for. A decorative stage set and excellent lighting set the scene but with the singer in top form vocally, little was needed in the way of props.

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Bolton Evening News – David Bowie, hip again after all those years by KAREN STEPHEN

THERE’S only one really weird thing about pop’s most celebrated oddball these days . . . his voice. It’s not natural to be able to sing like that, especially at the age of 57. (Blam note: Or even at the age of 56) Time hasn’t stood still for David Bowie, it’s gone in reverse. He looks and sounds better than he did 20 years ago.

And at the Manchester Arena on Monday night the Thin White Duke showed why he is hip again after all these years. Bowie is pure class. He let his band make the big entrance and then strolled on stage to astonish the masses with his powerful and flawless new take on the 1974 gem, Rebel Rebel.

…With all this adulatory prose you could be forgiven for thinking that Bowie was preaching to the converted. Wrong. I wasn’t a die-hard fan before. I am now.

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BBC Manchester – David Bowie at the MEN Arena

His genius is in his unpredictability, and it was this loose gun approach that pushed the energy into this performance. Life On Mars was stripped down to reveal his stunning voice, Fame received a welcome airing, The Loneliest Guy saw him lost in a breathtaking moment, Heroes broke out of its bleakness to reveal a truly empowering sound, and the beautiful Five Years unexpectedly showed its face.

Bowie drew attention to the crowd several times, a little perplexed that his all action performance wasn’t drawing more of a reaction from the assembled. The truth is it was. If the audience were subdued, it was because they stood in awe. After all, it’s not every day you see your god.

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She got everything…

I’m sure you’ll all want to join me in wishing the hugely talented and quite beautiful Gail Ann Dorsey a very happy 41st birthday. Should make for a great atmosphere in Birmingham this evening, where I’m sure you’ll all be able to pass on your birthday wishes en mass!

Why not make her birthday all the more special by purchasing her new album, I Used To Be…, at the show tonight, or here online. It’s a fucking fine recording!

It happens today…

We have now received ticketing information regarding the following shows in Japan and New Zealand, which can also be found in the Reality Tour Calendar:

Saturday 14 February – Wellington, New Zealand – Westpac Stadium
Monday 08 March – Tokyo, Japan – Budokan
Tuesday 09 March – Tokyo, Japan – Budokan
Thursday 11 March – Osaka, Japan – Castle Hall

The New Zealand pre-sale starts here on BowieNet TODAY at 3:00pm NY time, which I understand is 9:00am Thursday NZ time.

We will also have a pre-sale for the above Japanese shows, but we don’t have a firm date yet. Hopefully we’ll be able to give you a little more notice than we have for the NZ show. You can purchase your tickets for the New Zealand date by going here in just under three hours.

Black Country Rock…

David Bowie played the first of two shows at the NEC in Birmingham this evening, on what was his bass player’s 41st birthday. Isolated pockets of the audience were determined to let Gail know that they knew it was her birthday, and the lovely lady spent much of the evening wearing her best Cheshire Cat grin as a result.

There was some typically playful behaviour from David, including the acceptance of a letter from a girl at the front, which he tried, unsuccessfully, to return to her to look after, and there was also the generous offer of tea and cakes for everyone present.

David’s sonic trick with the microphone stand during Hallo Spaceboy seems to be a regular feature of the song now… Never let it be said that this man doesn’t have great mic technique. The one thing I’m hearing from fans on a regular basis is how David is in magnificent voice right now, and indeed, just how good this band is.

David broke the run of three nights of the same set with an impressive 28-song set that witnessed the return of Disco King, Slip Away and Heathen in the first half of the encore, with the usual three Ziggy songs performed for the second half of the encore.

Some are describing the evening as having two encores due to the usual walk off at the end of Heathen, but it really was just one encore of six songs. Anyway, here’s that full 28-song setlist:

Birmingham November 19th 2003

01 Rebel Rebel
02 New Killer Star
03 Reality
04 The Jean Genie
05 Fame
06 Cactus
07 China Girl
08 Afraid
09 Fashion
10 The Loneliest Guy
11 The Man Who Sold The World
12 Hallo Spaceboy
13 Sunday
14 Under Pressure
15 Life On Mars?
16 Ashes To Ashes
17 The Motel
18 Loving The Alien
19 Never Get OId
20 Changes
21 I’m Afraid Of Americans
22 “Heroes”

(Encore)
23 Bring Me The Disco King
24 Slip Away
25 Heathen (The Rays)
26 Five Years
27 Suffragette City
28 Ziggy Stardust

Thanx yet again to BowieNetters Adeline Cantais and Celine Caux for the wonderful photos. The tour continues with a second show in Birmingham tomorrow.

Last night they loved you…

David Bowie’s show at the MEN Arena in Manchester last night is receiving very favourable reviews… a few of which I’ve posted links to below, along with a snippet from each. Click on the links to read the full reviews. Many thanx to BowieNetter Adeline Cantais for the wonderful shot above.

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The Manchester Evening News online by Eric Jackson – Five out of five

He [Bowie] connected with the Manchester audience throughout. I don’t suppose he had to inform us that he’d bought a raincoat that day from Kendals, but such banter at least shows he’s making an effort.

The songs were what really mattered, though, and Bowie served up gem after gem. Life On Mars was sublime, with just Mike Garson on piano for accompaniment, and Under Pressure saw Gail Ann Dorsey, the bassist, sing the Freddie Mercury part of the duet.

It was the cue for the crowd to get on their feet, and they hardly sat down thereafter. Equally animated was Bowie who flitted between the stage and an elevated platform to whip the audience into a frenzy.

At the end he thanked the Manchester faithful for making the start of the tour such a pleasure, but really, the pleasure was all ours. Pure genius.

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The Times online – All the old dude had, he’s still got. By David Sinclair – Four out of five

But the focus was entirely on Bowie who, together with the band who have played on his last two albums, performed a breathtaking selection of songs from every stage of his career.

From a sublime version of The Man Who Sold The World to the chunky, garage rock of the Pixies song Cactus, from his last but one album, Heathen, Bowie performed with complete authority but also a strange kind of charm ? as if the battles with his myth and the baggage of his past were now resolved. It wasn?t just the self-deprecating grandad remark; his whole attitude seemed to be more relaxed and purposeful than before.

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The Guardian by Dave Simpson – Four out of five

After two return-to-form albums, 2002’s Heathen and this year’s Reality, presumably the thin white duke at last feels he has new material to hold up against the oldies. And yes, Reality is utterly ferocious. The swaggering New Killer Star has the indescribable but unmistakable feel of a Bowie classic. In fact, there aren’t nearly enough new songs aired.

Changes, Under Pressure and the rest are delivered to perfection. Possibly because Bowie has finally given up smoking, or adopted even tighter trousers, he has reawakened a vocal range that has long lain dormant, even reaching the infamous “vision of swastikas” line in China Girl for the first time since it was recorded. If anyone doubts that Bowie looks fantastic too, five TV screens dazzle with his image. His Low-era haircut has been transplanted onto the body of a 24-year-old, while the creaking jeans reveal the bits that were once hurriedly airbrushed off the sleeve of Diamond Dogs.

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Congratulations David…Great stuff. On a final note, the picture I posted in yesterday’s news of Lard and DB at BBC Manchester, did feature a fair bit of PhotoShop work by me, and despite the fact that nobody seemed to notice, I have posted the untouched original below… apologies to Lard, who is actually thinking of getting his hair done like he has it in yesterday’s picture.

Those of you that missed David’s appearance on Mark and Lard yesterday can hear the whole thing now by clicking on Lard’s hooter.

A Reality Tour continues with the first of two shows in Birmingham tomorrow.

The church of Manchester, love, is such a holy place…

David Bowie played his first UK show of his A Reality Tour in Manchester tonight… but, not before he stopped in at the BBC for fifty minutes of fun with Mark and Lard. a few of the subjects covered included: Mark Radcliffe‘s architectural review of The Lowry; a spot of wine-tasting including a fine vintage Merthyr Tydfil; a new blow-up Reality sex toy; Link Wray and his mail-order ’56 Supro guitar; The NGO/Waterloo Sunset cyber single (NGO was played) and downloading music via iTunes; Thespians in The Daily Sport; Rachel Stevens latest single, Funky Dory, with the sample from Andy Warhol, and her fine set of lungs; vices… or the lack of them; Comedy DVDs and much much more. You’ll be able to listen to the whole thing once it’s been archived on the official Mark and Lard site.

After the interview/discussion had finished David left the studio to dash to the soundcheck, only to return moments after leaving to wish my dear wife Gae a speedy recovery. Thanx for that David… you completely brightened what would otherwise have been a thoroughly miserable day for Gae.

As for this evening’s show itself, David was in fine voice and had a bit of fun early on by teasing the audience for the less than energetic reception. He apparently joked that he was just back from Europe, and that Manchester had a lot to live up to, before delivering a rallying cry along the lines of: “C’mon kids, wake up! Your grandad?s here…” or words to that effect… I know the accuracy of that will be contested, as I’ve already been given several versions of what David actually said.

Anyway, the crowd soon rose to the occasion and it seems a top night was had by all. Again the 23-song setlist was identical to that of the previous two shows and here it is:

Manchester November 17th 2003

01 Rebel Rebel
02 New Killer Star
03 Reality
04 Fame
05 Cactus
06 Afraid
07 China Girl
08 The Loneliest Guy
09 The Man Who Sold The World
10 Hallo Spaceboy
11 Sunday
12 Under Pressure
13 Life On Mars?
14 Ashes To Ashes
15 The Motel
16 Loving The Alien
17 Never Get OId
18 Changes
19 I’m Afraid Of Americans
20 “Heroes”

(Encore)
21 Five Years
22 Suffragette City
23 Ziggy Stardust

The tour continues with the first of two evenings in Birmingham on Wednesday.