DB having some rocking good fun in Cologne last night.
Blessing all the papers, thanking one and all…
We thought we’d usher in this new month with a few reminders about the greatness of some of the things we just witnessed in the last. Below are a few snippets (quite a few actually) of some of the recent European reviews, translated for all the BowieNetters, like me, that read nothing but English.
We will have a whole section for reviews in the new Virtual Ticket section of BowieNet, which should be ready in the next week or so, but in the meantime, enjoy these reminders of just what a brilliant evening’s entertainment David Bowie’s A Reality Tour truly is.
Total Blam Blam – (BowieNet News Editor)
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?Never motivated by half-measures, David Bowie’s first world tour proper since 1995 has 17 countries in its sights over a seven-month campaign. On record, too, he is in his most productive form for a decade, with a fine new album, Reality?Bowie is 56, but has an almost teenage enthusiasm and vigour. Rarely can a rock legend have been sighted having such brazen fun with his own past without descending into nostalgia for its own sake?The vast Palais Omnisports, an 18,000-capacity sellout, is the kind of hangar in which good entertaining intentions can fade. But with the sonic choreography of a brilliantly cohesive band, a 135-minute concert became an intimate party.?
Paul Sexton, LONDON TIMES (Paris show review), October 21, 2003
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?His group, perfected by years together, was a perfect arsenal?The warm reception which Reality had received, from both critics and the public?the album has already been awarded a Disque d?or in France?had doubtless inspired him with confidence. The live versions of tracks like ?New Killer Star,? ?Fall Dog Bombs The Moon? and ?Never Get Old? from his latest album were as impressive as his old classics?Bowie was in fantastic vocal form. Moving from arrogant glamour to affectedness, one minute a haughty crooner, the next a vulnerable troubadour, his music surpasses that of all the rockers of his generation.?
LE MONDE (Paris), October 23, 2003
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?The 18,000-strong audience were in seventh heaven by the time he reached the finale: ?Let?s Dance,? ?Suffragette City? and ?Ziggy Stardust.? Bowie had tricks up his sleeve to soften the hardest of hearts, in the form of some lesser-known jewels; ?Hello Spaceboy? was as impressive as ever, as was the brilliant ?Sunday,? taken from his penultimate album.?
Emmanuel Marolle, ENTERTAINMENT PAGE (Paris), 10/2103
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??his singing just gets better and better and his stage performances are worthy of his persona. Which cannot be said for most of the survivors of his generation.?
ZURBAN (Paris), October 15, 2003
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??David has come back with a brilliant concert show?two hours of pure enjoyment?fantastic.?
THE CONCERT (Italy), October 24, 2003
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?Bowie and his–to put it mildly–fantastic band…The sound was perfect! Clear, sharp, exactly loud enough and well-balanced. It more or less sounded like a dream from beginning to end?lively, energetic, happy, generous?he delivered a rock-solid concert, the kind younger artists could learn loads from, in front of 8,000 (sold-out) fans in the Oslo Spektrum last night.?
VERDENS GANG (Norway)
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??fantastic?Bowie as a charming and well-dressed leader of a rare band who delivered great and loud versions of everything presented?His charisma reaches the moon.?
DAGBLADET (Norway)
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?The 8,000 tickets for Bowie’s concert in Oslo was sold within the hour. It took less time for Bowie to impress devoted fans at the Oslo Spectrum Sunday night. From the first song, the new single ?New Killer Star,? we got the impression that Bowie meant ?business.? The sound was powerful?A very tight band and Bowie was in good shape?On his two latest releases, the excellent Heathen and the new Reality we meet a more relaxed and playful Bowie. A Bowie we also experienced in Oslo Spektrum Sunday night. Old favourites and new songs melted together in a favourable way? The songs reminded us once again what a great artist and songwriter Bowie was, and still is.?
ADRESSEAVISEN (Trondheim, Norway)
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?Danish fans gave a warm reception to some of the brand new tracks from the Reality album, such as the rousing opening track ?New Killer Star,? the raw ?Pablo Picasso? and the ballad ?Bring Me The Disco King? which ended with a truly masterful jazz keyboard solo?Bowie once again proved that his crystal-clear voice is as powerful and resonant as ever?the agility with which Bowie himself, slim and youthful as ever in his fifties, monopolized the stage for the entire duration of the show was truly impressive?his singing was simply flawless.?
Torsten Holtz, ASSOCIATED PRESS (Denmark)
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??a veteran who is at once part of history and living in the present?35 years into his career, he takes the stage with a formidable six-piece band and gives a generous show.?
SYDSVENSKA DAGBLADET (Sweden)
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??the light, sound, staging and dramatics were phenomenal from start to finish, from the moment Bowie kicked off the show with ?New Killer Star,? the opening track on ?Reality,? until the classic guitar riff from ?Ziggy Stardust? rang out for the last time some two hours later to close the epic feast with a certainty and projection extending all the way to the very back row of the Forum?still singing fantastically?many of the (new) songs sounded like pure classics, such as the opening number, ?New Killer Star,? which held its own against glittering back catalogue songs such as ?Fame? and ?Ashes to Ashes.? Stronger still were many of the relatively new songs such as the gloomy ?Sunday? from Heathen and ?I’m Afraid of Americans? from Earthling.?
JYDSKE VESTKYSTEN ? DAILY SWEDISH PAPER (Copenhagen)
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?David Bowie is an artist on the edge of time, a kingdom in which he restored his sovereignty with the monolithic Heathen and the freer version of Reality. An edge of time which Bowie showed he has transformed into a firm stage on the opening night of his ?Reality? tour?The decisive factor was that numbers from Heathen and Reality showed convincing strength and scope?Bowie?s new songs are in tune with the times, and seem both more vulnerable and open than before. Uncertainty is now the humble core of his music?s smouldering scenarios.?
POLITIKEN ? Leading Swedish Daily (Copenhagen)
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?David Bowie is one of rock?s greatest entertainers–if not the greatest–and he has an amazing ability to catch and hold an audience. Like few others, he gives each individual member of the audience the feeling that he is singing for him or her alone. But he also manages to create a happy community with songs as the binding force, particularly the essential numbers, which always turn the audience into a jubilant mass choir.?
Uffe Christensen, JYLLANDS (Copenhagen)
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?At Areena, Bowie performed a two-hour set with plenty of material from both Heathen and Reality. The highlight of the evening was Mike Garson and Bowie?s performance of the enveloping ethereal finale ?Bring Me the Disco King,? which easily stands comparison with the Bowie classics.?
IHMISET GLAMOUR (Finland)
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?The maturity of Bowie?s fine-sounding voice was especially evident in the more recent pieces.?
ILTA-SANOMAT (Finland)
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?Unpredictable and excellent as ever?Bowie was at one with his powerful group.?
Volker Beherens, KULTUR & MEDIAN (Hamburg)
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?The message was loud and clear?this is about music, and great music at that. Two hours of it, with just the right mix of hits and material from the last two albums. Both categories were masterpieces: the gloomy pomp of Heathen and the wild joy of Reality?two sides of one coin?a fabulous show, that took your breath away and left you drained of emotion?It can?t get much better than this. It was a treat for those present to have witnessed such a reality.?
Ralf Dorschel, HAMBURGER MORGENPOST (Hamburg), October 2003
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?Bowie was in formidable form and still singing fantastically?Both the scenery and the on-stage action were impressive, varied and well thought-out?many of the songs (from Reality) sounded like pure classics, such as the opening number, ?New Killer Star,? which held its own against glittering back catalogue songs such as ?Fame? and ?Ashes To Ashes.? Stronger still were many of the relatively new songs such as the gloomy ?Sunday? from Heathen and ?I?m Afraid Of Americans? from Earthling?the evening was a big hit, proving that the fact it says 1947 on Bowie?s birth certificate doesn?t rule him out as one of the most important and vital players on the contemporary rock and art scene.?
JEDSKY VESTKYSTEN (Sweden), October 7, 2003
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??Bowie is the veteran with the most young-at-heart outlook.?
TROUW (Holland), October 17, 2003
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??Bowie himself was notable for the strength of his voice?the last half hour took a truly majestic turn, thanks to impressive renderings of ?Heroes? and ?Slip Away.??a truly satisfying return.?
DE VOLKSKRANT (Holland), October 17, 2003
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?Today, bowie succedds admirably in straddling the divided between his classic hits and modern tracks. The proof was in the pudding yesterday at the sold-out Hallenstadion concert?Numbers like ?New Killer Star,? Bowie?s musical answer to the events of September 11, blended seamlessly into the series of hits?Even in the more peaceful moments, his voice, with its many timbres, held us in thrall. As it did when he and his six-man band lowered the tempo a notch to suit the ballad-like ?Slip Away? and ?Bring Me The Disco King,? with Mike Garson?s jazzy piano solos.?
Marc Krebs (Zurich), October 25, 2003
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?In a two-and-a-half hour show of old and new material, the singer changed seamlessly from the modern-day ?realistic? Bowie into the distinguished rocker of ?Fame? and ?Fashion? note, to the flamboyant Ziggy Stardust?The whole arena sang along at the tops of their voices and everyone in the seating area stood up to swing along.?
Judith van de Hulsbeek METRO (Rotterdam) October 17, 2003
