“Talking through the gloom, What in the world can I do.”
Trapped in a high-dollar joint in some place…
Those of you who have been here will know what an utterly surreal place Las Vegas is anyway. But, this has to be one of the more bizarre David Bowie shows I’ve attended.
The Joint is a small venue inside the Hard Rock hotel, and this promised to be one of those special intimate performances to a small gathering of privileged Bowie fans. Of course, there was undoubtedly a large percentage of hardcore fans who were clearly appreciative of David and the band… indeed, many of those were BowieNetters who it was a pleasure to have spent some time with in Vegas.
But, sadly, there was also an element of the audience who behaved pretty poorly, in my opinion. I guess this is one of my pet hates, but when one has to strain to hear David’s vocal over the general chatter of the crowd, I for one find it jolly annoying. I’ve not spoken to David about this, and I have no idea how he feels, but an example of this complete lack of respect was during, what was for me at least, a very moving performance of The Loneliest Guy.
“Speak up a bit please folx. I almost heard the band for a moment.”
If you were one of those who attended and thought that a performance by such an important artist (or any artist actually) was as good a time as any to make a phone call, or to have a chat to your neighbour regardless of what was going on onstage, then you should be ashamed of yourself. I know it’s unlikely that any of the offenders will be reading this, but I felt the need to express my displeasure anyway.
It’s possible that the fans that deserved to be there also suffered at the hands of these people for other reasons. Obviously the set list is prone to change at the last moment, but I know a pre-show version of the list included Loving The Alien directly after The Loneliest Guy… I’m not saying it was the reason the song wasn’t performed, but I’m sure nobody would blame David for cutting another quiet song after the disrespect shown for The Loneliest Guy. OK… I’ve said my piece, sorry for the rant.
“See you again next week kidz… without your phones, OK?”
Needless to say, being the absolute professional he is, David still gave a great performance… and, my niggles aside, it was wonderful to see him in a venue of this size. Indeed, it wasn’t immediately apparent that David was particularly bothered by this crowd, even though there was possibly a clue in the fact that he decided not to break for the encore. Here follows the 22-song set list from last night… perhaps significantly, the first show of the tour so far with no proper encore, in fact:
Las Vegas January 30th 2004
01 Hang On To Yourself
02 Panic In Detroit
03 New Killer Star
04 Reality
05 Fashion
06 Cactus
07 Days
08 The Man Who Sold The World
09 Afraid
10 Hallo Spaceboy
11 Under Pressure
12 Life On Mars?
13 Ashes To Ashes
14 All The Young Dudes
15 China Girl
16 The Loneliest Guy
17 White Light, White Heat
18 I’m Afraid Of Americans
19 “Heroes”
20 Rebel Rebel
21 Suffragette City
22 Ziggy Stardust
Sorry to have gone on about the chattering, folx, as I say, it’s just a pet hate of mine. But at least the show wasn’t spoiled for the reviewers below, who all seemed very impressed with the evening’s entertainment either way…
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“It’s nice to do a club show,” David Bowie said after taking the stage Friday night at the sold-out Joint. For the audience though, it was more than nice to see the legend up close. From the moment he launched into “Hang onto Yourself” from Ziggy Stardust, it was spectacular.
At 56, Bowie proved he is still the prettiest star: trim, tan and effortlessly charismatic. Best of all, his voice is in extraordinary shape, with a thick bottom; a powerful, sensuous middle; and, when needed, a ragged growl. Performing a remarkable 23 songs drawn from throughout his four-decade-long career, Bowie was well served by a band able to adapt to the various phases and stages of rock’s greatest chameleon.
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It is sad, what has happened to the youthful idealism of 1960s and 1970s. In between the horror of war and bell-bottoms, there was then, and is now, a terribly maligned earnestness of peace, love and art.
Yet from this progressive, American-style idealism arose brilliant musicians from ashore, from the Beatles to Queen and David Bowie. Three decades later, the Beatles are halved. And Queen is dead. But Bowie moves forward. He seems never to have stopped searching for the art inside, and the canvas on which to shape it.
On Friday, he showed he strides, still. He took a six-piece band to the Hard Rock Hotel and sang music in new directions, while also feeding longtime fans with classic songs to keep them at hand.
Bowie looked and sounded like the Bowies of the past. His voice retained its cool, masculine yet sensitive drama. He was epic, as usual. That successful ambition of art is why, for me, Bowie has seemed more brilliant than Iggy Pop and Bowie’s other idols. If he has failed at times, it is because he has lived.
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If anyone happens to bump into David Bowie when he’s back in town this weekend, be sure to ask him for directions to that fabled Fountain of Youth.
Apart from a few deep lines in his well-tanned face, the 57-year-old British rock icon looked like a man half his age Friday night at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel.
In fact, when Bowie removed a burgundy-colored velvet jacket to reveal toned arm muscles, he appeared in far better shape than his pasty, skinny 1970s “Thin White Duke” counterpart.
More important to the sold-out crowd of about 1,800, Bowie’s voice sounded as vibrant as it ever has during his 30-plus year career.
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A Reality Tour continues at The Shrine in Los Angeles tomorrow, and after a handful more shows, it returns to The Joint on the 6th. Let’s hope it’s a different crowd this time… you lot excluded of course!