Olympia Theatre
August 08, 1997
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, - Monday, September 25, 2006 at 15:01:55 (EDT)
Typical - you travel all over Europe, see Bowie play in three different countries, and then he puts on a show in your home town that blows them all away. This was the greatest concert experience of my life - simply transcendent. I'll write a fuller more rational review as soon as I've returned to Earth. PS: Thanks, Iman.
Dara (daraok@iol.ie)
Dublin, Ireland - Monday, August 11, 1997 at 10:45:05 (EDT)
Hi all! I haven't had time yet to write reviews of the Dublin shows but I thought this would
interest you in the meantime.... Most of the reviews have been very positive unlike this one
which is a touch resentful/prodding. The 2 Dublin gigs at the weekend were the best Bowie
shows I've attended since my 1st Bowie gig in '87. I have some other press reviews which
I'll transcribe and post as soon as time allows.
Arabia
Bowie brings his new style to Dublin
By Kevin Courtney
David Bowie has made many spectacular changes during his long career, but his latest incarnation as a disciple of "drum 'n' bass" has made the chameleon of
rock almost unrecognisable to his older fans.
The artist, formerly known as Ziggy Stardust, is currently on tour with his band, playing at
outdoor festivals in Europe and the UK, and last night he played a sold-out show at the
Olympia Theatre, giving 1,400 fans an earful of his new, dance-oriented style.
There have been reports of walk-outs at some of Bowie's UK dates, something the man has
been used to ever since he dumped his "classic" back catalogue and devoted most of his
live-set to material from his 1995 album, Outside. Described as a "Gothic hypercycle", the
album was a bleak, futuristic detective story far removed from the bright, glittering sci-fi of
Ziggy Stardust or Aladdin Sane, and audiences who had come to hear Bowie's classic hits
went home disappointed - many of them early on in the show.
Last May, Bowie, who was 50 this year, played a secret gig at the Factory in Dublin's
Barrow Street, where he had been rehearsing, and to the delight of the 250 fans, he
performed many of his older hits, including The Jean Genie, Fashion, Heroes, Fame and The
Man Who Sold The World. He also played tracks from his current album, Earthling, a drum
'n' bass oddity which may well be his best work since Scary Monsters And Super Creeps.
But no matter how much Bowie changes, and no matter what trendy new dance style he
latches onto, the fans still want to hear the classic alien anthems which shaped pop music in
the 1970s. Bowie plays a second show in the Olympia tonight; just be patient, and the
Starman might return to earth.
Arabia (ArabiaUK@aol.com)
Dublin, Ireland - Monday, August 11, 1997 at 08:51:02 (EDT)
Hi all! I haven't had time yet to write reviews of the Dublin shows but I thought this would
interest you in the meantime.... Most of the reviews have been very positive unlike this one
which is a touch resentful/prodding. The 2 Dublin gigs at the weekend were the best Bowie
shows I've attended since my 1st Bowie gig in '87. I have some other press reviews which
I'll transcribe and post as soon as time allows.
Arabia
Bowie brings his new style to Dublin
By Kevin Courtney
David Bowie has made many spectacular changes during his long career, but his latest incarnation as a disciple of "drum 'n' bass" has made the chameleon of
rock almost unrecognisable to his older fans.
The artist, formerly known as Ziggy Stardust, is currently on tour with his band, playing at
outdoor festivals in Europe and the UK, and last night he played a sold-out show at the
Olympia Theatre, giving 1,400 fans an earful of his new, dance-oriented style.
There have been reports of walk-outs at some of Bowie's UK dates, something the man has
been used to ever since he dumped his "classic" back catalogue and devoted most of his
live-set to material from his 1995 album, Outside. Described as a "Gothic hypercycle", the
album was a bleak, futuristic detective story far removed from the bright, glittering sci-fi of
Ziggy Stardust or Aladdin Sane, and audiences who had come to hear Bowie's classic hits
went home disappointed - many of them early on in the show.
Last May, Bowie, who was 50 this year, played a secret gig at the Factory in Dublin's
Barrow Street, where he had been rehearsing, and to the delight of the 250 fans, he
performed many of his older hits, including The Jean Genie, Fashion, Heroes, Fame and The
Man Who Sold The World. He also played tracks from his current album, Earthling, a drum
'n' bass oddity which may well be his best work since Scary Monsters And Super Creeps.
But no matter how much Bowie changes, and no matter what trendy new dance style he
latches onto, the fans still want to hear the classic alien anthems which shaped pop music in
the 1970s. Bowie plays a second show in the Olympia tonight; just be patient, and the
Starman might return to earth.
Arabia (ArabiaUK@aol.com)
Dublin, Ireland - Monday, August 11, 1997 at 08:50:15 (EDT)
Its Monday morning and everybodies back at work, but I'm still on a high from the weekend, mainly due to Bowies concert which I attended on Friday night in the Olymipia.
I found the whole experience totally mind blowing, there was a great atmosphere in the Olympia, its a small venue which made for an intimate experience, the crowd were up
for it and so was Bowie & Band. The visuals were excellent the music fucking Brillient and Bowie was simply a ball of enthralling controlled energy. The set list was
excellent, my personal favourites from the night were Scary Monsters and Look Back in Anger. I dont know what sort of reception he has been getting at the other concerts
around Europe but the Dublin crowd just loved the performance, Bowie remarked that it was good to be back in Dublin and also that he felt he new all our names, but he should
remember that were not all called Sean. By the time Bowie finnished with All the Young Dudes I was almost speechless and felt that I had truely experienced a great nights music
and entertainment.The Question is, will Bowie be back in Dublin, Dublin loves Bowie & I feel Bowie loves Dublin. Just one last thing Bowie, I was the guy who tapped the window
of your car, waved and walked away, when you were leaving the Olympia side entrance via Temple Bar, I felt a bit like a groupie as I was also carrying a t-shirt and poster,
but sometimes you just got to say What the Fuck!
Htiek (kwatt@ie.oracle.com)
Dublin, Ireland - Monday, August 11, 1997 at 08:42:29 (EDT)
It's worth noting that the intro to Gene Genie was much longer than usual - incorporating two full verses of some old blues number I never heard covered before.
Bowie also quoted the chorus of the Laughing Gnome much to everyones humour.
Hello SpaceBoy was a strange version - with Bowie singing out of sync with the rest of the band.
Finally Bowie came onstage after the Sound system played a quick D'n'B version of V2 Schneider and then much to my own puzzlement the entire Hunky Dory version of Changes. Surely that sort of intro is more suitable to a smash and grab tour such as Sound and Vision 90 rather than the high performance artistry of the Earthling tour.
A low point to begin with but from there on it was on a par with even the private rehearsal of a few months ago.
Slan,
Sean.
Sean Monaghan (roman@iol.ie)
Dublin, Ireland - Saturday, August 09, 1997 at 08:02:08 (EDT)
1.15AM Irish Time............Exhausted and elated after a particularly wonderful Bowie concert incorporating possibly the longest encore of the tour so far. The setlist was something like this;
(Not the exact order I may add)
Quicksand..The Man Who Sold The World..Queen Bitch...Waiting for the Man..Jean Genie..I'm afraid of Americans..Fashion..Looking for Satellites..Battle for Britain..Seven years in Tibet..Outside..Fame..Scary Monsters..Under Pressure..The Hearts Filthy Lesson..Stay..SpaceBoy..Little Wonder
Encore--> The Last thing you should do..Dead Man Walking..Telling Lies..White Light White Heat..Oh Superman..V2 Schneider..Look back in anger..All the young dudes
The concert began at 9.30 while the assembled crowd sweltered in the heat. Bowie was in fine form chatting with the crowd, asking their names and telling some stories. The venue is an old theatre that makes its living from rock concerts and it must be said the the organisation is brilliant. For example, for those people that like to queue up all day, a section was reserved at the front of the stage for the first 120 people in thus ensuring that you could enjoy the concert without being crushed (moshed?) to death. A nice touch. Notable faces in the audience included Imman and Joey Bowie and the Spiders from Mars who played the venue the previous night. (Woody Woodmansey, Trevor Bolder, Phil Collen and Joe Elliot - probably explains why he played All the Young Dudes). An interesting event during the night was when David placed a Gnome in his trousers during Little Wonder and proceeded to dance provocatively around. Who's Laughing now? Anyway the Gnome ended up in the crowd and has probably found a good home.
All in all a wonderful event and great to see that almost three months after the secret first rehearsal gig, Bowie is probably in the finest form for quite a while. And he remembered the words to Queen Bitch this time. He's learning!!!!!!!
Gerry Matthews (gerry_matthews@finance.irlgov.ie)
Dublin, Ireland - Friday, August 08, 1997 at 21:01:25 (EDT)
Just home from the Gig in the Olympia, David you've done it again.
What a brilliant gig, without fault and ended with an amazing rendition of " All the young Dudes"
COME BACK SOON DB
The Enigma (enigma@indigo.ie)
Dublin, Ireland - Friday, August 08, 1997 at 20:59:01 (EDT)
Anybody wishing to sell tickets for the Bowie gig at the Olympia Theatre please e-mail me.
Keith Watt (kwatt@ie.oracle.com)
Dublin, Ireland - Tuesday, July 15, 1997 at 11:27:55 (EDT)
This document last updated Monday, 25-Sep-2006 15:01:55 EDT
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