I was really feeling good…
Another truly great show at The Shrine Auditorium in LA again last night. I’m utterly convinced about this audience thing now… I know it doesn’t take a genius to work it out, but I just feel David gives a better show to a warmer audience… Now I see it on the screen, it’s obvious, but you wouldn’t think so with some audiences. (Hallo, The Joint!)
The usual audience participation for All The Young Dudes took on a new turn, when David offered the microphone to an enthusiastic young fan who sported a large ‘BOWIE 4 EVER’ sticker on her derriere. Her contribution was a lovely moment that will obviously stay with her for ever. (If anybody knows who she was, btw, I’ll send her a print of the picture below.)
It was easy to see that David and the band were having as much fun as everybody else in the building, every band member glowing with a confidence and pride that was touching to witness… and when you’re responsible for night’s like this, you should be very proud indeed.
Here the 31-song set list, including a brilliant six-song encore. I’m sure it’s been said before, but the six songs from Reality sat so comfortably among the rest of the songs, that they really do feel like Bowie classics too:
Los Angeles February 2nd 2004
01 Rebel Rebel
02 New Killer Star
Blue Jean
04 Fame
05 Cactus
06 All The Young Dudes
07 Reality
08 China Girl
09 Slip Away
10 Loving The Alien
11 The Man Who Sold The World
12 A New Career In A New Town
13 The Loneliest Guy
14 Hallo Spaceboy
15 Sunday
16 Under Pressure
17 Life On Mars?
18 Be My Wife
19 Days
20 Battle For Britain (The Letter)
21 Looking For Water
22 Ashes To Ashes
23 White Light, White Heat
24 I’m Afraid Of Americans
25 “Heroes”
(Encore)
26 Bring Me The Disco King
27 Starman
28 Hang On To Yourself
29 Five Years
30 Suffragette City
31 Ziggy Stardust
Here follows an extract of a review from the Los Angeles City Beat, that, if nothing else, is a good opportunity to include a few more pictures from the show. You can read the whole thing by clicking on the shortcut…
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The billionaire on stage looked like one happy man. David Bowie remains a big, smiley, charismatic rock star, and it doesn?t seem like much of a struggle for him. Which is an unusual place for any rocker of a certain age. Often, pop-music heroes just don?t age very well. Bowie does.
Like his contemporary Mick Jagger, Bowie?s voice has only grown richer and more powerful with time, but he is making better use of it, still staking a legitimate claim as a contemporary artist with something more than oldies in his repertoire. That was clear enough during the third of his four local shows (second actually – Blammo) ? at the Shrine Auditorium on Monday (February 2) ? where early classics mingled easily with recent work, and his delivery often carried the newest material much further than the original recordings.
He began by stepping back, opening with 1974?s ?Rebel Rebel,? a fiery early rocker that had Bowie singing in silhouette against the bright stage lights and fog as his crowd of young and old clapped to an urgent beat. This wasn?t AC/DC. Bowie has never shown much interest in simple, straight-ahead rockers. He?s a man forever in search of a raw, leading edge, a celebrity obsessed with fame and fashion and the next new thing.
He picked up an electric guitar for ?New Killer Star,? the driving opening track from his latest album, Reality ? and a convincing sign that the man was in the here and now, as he shouted, ?Ready! Set! Go!?
He realized, of course, what brought them in, delivering a faithful ?All the Young Dudes,? and fans sang along as he requested, many swaying to the anthem with both hands in the air, as if attending a revival meeting. When it was over, Bowie smiled and joked, ?Didn?t you enjoy that? Wasn?t that good??
His rendition of ?The Man Who Sold the World? began very nicely but was almost restrained, initially lacking the desperate flair Kurt Cobain brought to Nirvana?s version. But then Bowie took on a messianic quality, his arms outstretched, a beautiful, deep howl rising from within him. The quartet of Ziggy Stardust tunes that closed the show two hours after it began may have been the ultimate reward for the true, long-suffering fan, and it was a dazzling finish. But the concert?s real reward was seeing an artist reborn and revitalized, ready to deliver again.
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A Reality Tour continues at The Wiltern tonight… see you there!