You better look out below!
David Bowie returned to the concert stage this evening for the Fashion Rocks show at Radio City Music Hall in New York, and he stole the show with trademark cool and unmatched passion.
First up, Alicia Keys introduced our man for an emotionally charged rendition of Life On Mars?. His voice sounded stronger than ever and he looked strangely surreal, but nevertheless stunning with a blackened right eye and a bandaged left hand.
David was dressed in a charcoal grey suit by new American designer, Thom Browne, with matching grey tie and white shirt and a stars n stripes lapel pin. (see detail below, all pix kindly supplied by Kevin Mazur of
Mike Garson accompanied DB for this sublime performance of Life On Mars?, which echoed the similarly brilliant version the pair performed at the Yahoo Internet Music Awards in July 2000. David and Mike left the stage to thunderous applause and a standing ovation, leaving no doubt that Bowie was back in tremendous style.
Before long, and after an introduction by Lisa Marie Presley, (and much to the audience’s delight) David returned to the stage. This time with a 12-string over his shoulder and a very welcome Arcade Fire in tow.
That immortal opening line: “Pushing through the market square” was met with a cheer of recognition from a very vocal audience, clearly packed with Bowie fans determined to make their presence felt. Five Years is a song well suited to the sound of Arcade Fire, and when Win Butler joined David for the “It was cold and it rained so I felt like an actor” line, there wasn’t a hair on any neck not standing. A most moving performance indeed.
Five Years moved straight into Arcade Fire’s own Wake Up, with DB taking the lead vocal for the first lines of the song: “Somethin? filled up my heart with nothin?, someone told me not to cry.” David took command of the song as if it were his own, alternating verses with Win. The incredible energy of the song peaked as a frenetic Arcade Fire wove their magic with steely determination, while a grinning Bowie continued to chop at his 12-string throughout. Powerful stuff.
Bowie wore oatmeal brown tweed suit trousers and embroidered waistcoat by Agnes B with a black shirt and no jacket during Five Years/Wake Up…for which the black eye and bandage had mysteriously vanished, thereby putting the minds’ of several BowieNetters at rest!
So, all in all a triumphant return to the stage for David Bowie…as if it could have been any other way, and yet another classic and very memorable performance.
David took the time to have a few shots taken after the show with various celebrity types, looking gorgeous in the full Agnes B outfit. Just look at the embroidery detail on that waistcoat in the picture with Gwen Stefani above!
I’ll leave you with a picture of David and Iman with Gwen Stefani and Lisa Marie Presley.
Stay tuned for pictures of DB with the Arcade Fire and hopefully a few other shots sometime tomorrow.