Elysée Montmartre

October 14, 1999

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Just a small correction to Marcel's excellent review: the backup singers were Emm (not "N") Gryner and Holly Palmer. Both are talented singer-songwriters, visit their websites at http://www.emmgryner.com and http://www.repriserec.com/hollypalmer respectively!
Steve (hiroi@idirect.ca)
Toronto, ON Canada - Saturday, October 23, 1999 at 06:40:08 (EDT)

The concert was realy great. David talked a lot and made some jokes. I was very glad he played even one song more than at the Dublin concert. Photographs from the concert and my visit to the press conference plus my review of the after party at the Man Ray you can see at the photograph page at my homepage on http://members.xoom.com/Bowie
Peter Smit (psmit44@wolmail.nl)
the Hague, ZH the Netherlands - Sunday, October 17, 1999 at 11:27:37 (EDT)

I can keep it short, visit my updated homepage with a long story and pics on Paris!!! http://members.xoom.com/degrootm/ Cheers The Guru
The Guru (Marcel) (degrootm@casema.net)
- Saturday, October 16, 1999 at 19:40:49 (EDT)

14 October 1999 db concert review Elysee Montrmartre, Paris, France The concert. The set list: Life on Mars Thursday's Child Something in the Air Word on a Wing Can't Help Thinking About Me China Girl Always Crashing in the Same Car Survive Drive in Saturday Changes Seven Repetition I Can't Read Pretty Things Are Going to Hell Rebel Rebel This was called a mini-concert. The poster at the ticket booth said that David would only play for 45 minutes. Around 1000 people were in attendance, a combination of 700 ticket holders and about 300 invited guests, many press people and record company folks. The tickets had gone on sale the day before, and along with the tickets, each buyer was given a wrist band which must be worn to obtain admission. The fan wrist bands were yellow. More on this later.... The club was comfortably full, the limited tickets and large number of press people created a more casual event than could have occurred in such a small place. People stood in a main floor area perhaps 100 feet long and 50 feet wide. The show started about an hour later than the promoted 20:00 time. Mike Garson came out and sat at the two keyboard stand, put on his headphones, and played a few notes to himself from both the top stage piano and the bottom synth. In the center of the stage was a music stand with a thick book, a small music light, and a mike stand. About two minutes later db came out, wearing a simple long sleeve blue pullover shirt and brown slacks. The loan piano opened the show, and David did a beautiful rendition of Life on Mars. About two thirds through a few synth notes were added on long sustain, but in general this minimalist treatement was reminiscent of the Quicksand openings of most Earthling concernts. David's voice was strong and the rendition was the best I have heard from this song. The band joined on the stage after a moderate applause. David introduced them in stages over the next few breaks, but they were: Background vocals: "N", and Hollie Guitar: Page Hamilton Drums: Sterling Campbell Second Guitar: Mike Plati Bass: Gail Ann Dorsey Piano and Keyboards: Mike Garson David said this was not really a concert, more an exhibition. Wild applause at that. He then spoke a bit in French, but said he really need to speak in English, "you wouldn't mind that would you?". Not much response to this, but then he introduced part of the band and said that if he had to explain something complicated that N would take center stage and perform an interpretive dance. He asked her to come center stage and explain he welcomed everyone, she did a few dance moves and then returned to her stage left mike stand. Wild applause again. Friday's Child was played with Page doing bit stronger guitar over the top than on the recent SNL appearance. It was kind of like the rock mix on the single. I think this song benefits from the live performance more than many. David than said that this was the first time "ever, ever, ever" they were going to do another song from "hours...", Something In the Air. No applause sadly (except from me and a few people in the front). It was brilliant, this song is a live classic living up to every bit of the potential it showed on the album for performance. The crowd was somewhat enthusiastic. At this point David introduced some of the band. He said of Page "He used to be from Helmet, but you're not anymore, are you?" Page nodded agreement. Its obvious they have a great rapport, more on this later. David looked down at the set list and said "Why did I put all the hard ones at the beginning?" He then introduced Word on a Wing "This one is from the Station to Station album". A beautiful rendition! David introduced the rest of the band except Gail. He said "I am going to play a very old song, from 1966. You won't know this one. It's the first song I ever did under the name David Bowie. Don't worry, its short. Its called I Can't Help Thinking About Me." Again, limited recognition applause, a pretty good version, it was fast. David introduced Gail. This was a very fun and interactive exchange where he quizzed her with three questions. one was about British government, one "Who was the lead singer of the Vandellas (someone yelled it but I think she knew anyway and answered Martha Reeeves), and the final one "What was all that noise in your hotel room last night?" He quickly changed this to "What is the next song we are going to play", but Gail never answered. Then came China Girl, a great version sounding raw and Iggy Pop like. What a delight to have than song back in the repertoire. David put on an acoustic guitar, as did Mark Plati, for Always Crashing in the Same Car and Survive. The Always Crashing version he played was fleshed out considerably from the Earthling tour, with the background vocalists and the three guitars adding great substance. I loved it. Before playing it David said "This is from the Low album, which is from more than twenty years ago" He then did a quick bit about an old husband and wife in bed talking, and finally played the song. Survive was was pretty true to the CD. In the next break, he said "I wrote this next song in 1974. Its about watching videos to learn about sex." Then followed Drive in Saturday. The girls "doo wopped," as did David who made himself laugh and he missed a few words at the start of the second verse. David kept on the guitar, strummed around a bit, and said "this one's an old one". It was a huge surprise when the chords resolved into Changes. (Did the Seinfeld bit on SNL start this thought process?) It was a good version, with the real treat being Mike Garson's piano over the top of the mix. He is soooo good. Then came Seven, which was introduced as an acoustic song from "hours...". Pretty straight version. At this point the band left, there was the typical removal of a mike and the set lists to imply the set was over but the house lights stayed down. David and band came back after about two minutes of applause. He looked at this watch and said "We are only supposed to play for 45 minutes, but you wouldn't mind if we went a bit longer, would you?" Applause. He said "OK, but we are just going to do twenty minutes, we have a couple of obscure songs, and old one and a new new one." To introduce Repetition he said "This is one of my favorite songs. It's from Lodger." Applause. "Oh, I guess that's from all you closet Lodger fans." Repetition was played with a lot of energy and David made fists at the appropriate "hitting" cues in the lyrics. David called for his acoustic 12 string, put it on, and said sort of half to himself "The night would not be complete without an obscure song." No applause, but no real gap either. He started strumming "Width of a Circle!!" Applause of recognition followed, and he said "Naw, I was just teasing you." Then the synth strings came in on top of the acoustic guitars that he and Mark were strumming for the I Can't Read. This version was very interesting. The instrumental part was almost identical to the long version Ice Storm single, but the words were the vintage Tin Machine ones with the "Andy where's my fifteen minutes?" line. It was GREAT! I have always liked the moody Ice Storm music but the new words just seemed less able to evoke the remorse and isolation that David always mentions in connection with this song. On the other hand the fast acoustic strumming of the 1996 versions never seemed to match the lyrics in the break. This is the winner of versions, let's hope for a good quality version we can all own from some source. Then came "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" which David introduced by title. It was thunderous. For the first time that evening, the hall filled with hard rock sounds, the bass vibrating, etc. David's voice was low in the mix, and got lower during the distorted bits, but it was a great rocker more electric than the Letterman one, for example. Finally, he introduced a song from "Diamond Dogs about you", and played Rebel Rebel. The crowd came alive and swayed back and forth with their arms. An electric version similar to the SNL performance. David quickly thanked the crowd and left, and about two minutes later the house lights came up. It was a great show. The party: It was slow getting out of the few doors back to the metro station. I finally got to the metro platform to go back to my hotel. I had been standing for several hours and sat down, noticing the person next to me had an orange wrist band. I attempted to ask him why his wrist band was orange and mine was yellow in French, and mercifully he answered in English (he said I asked how he turned his hand from yellow to orange for me). Anyway, he was from the UK entertainment press and was heading to the Virgin Music party given after the show. I told him I was a big Bowie fan, and it was my birthday (it was!!) and I was so thrilled to spend it in Paris and see db. He invited me to the party. This was held at Man Ray, a restaurant owned by Johnny Depp and others off the Champs-Elysees. The restaurant / dance club was reserved that evening, and slowly from around 11 PM it filled with music industry people and lots of journalists. Around 12, spotlights came on and in came Mark Plati, Mike Garson, Page, Sterling, and David!! They largely stayed in a private area (some gained entrance, but not many, and it seemed you need to both be part of the press and good at explaining yourself in French). By coincidence though, we had sat at a small table close to this VIP area, and so I watched the band for about two hours eating and unwinding from the show. Its clear that David and Page are getting to be good friends, they joked, talked most of the time, smoked together, etc. Sterling and Mike talked, and Mark talked to the people that gained access to the space next to the table. He also appeared to be taking a lot of digital pictures, and every now and again people would pose with the band members. The VIP thing ended around 2, and I left (the party was still going strong, and amazing event). The metro had closed and I walked back around three miles to my hotel. It was one of the best db concerts (and birthdays) I had ever had!!
ftwalder (fwalder@aol.com)
- Friday, October 15, 1999 at 23:01:30 (EDT)

It took me three songs to "get it" - the new-look Bowie isn't a new look: it's a pastiche of all his previous looks. Every quip, every movement was somehow a comment on all his previous lives. And it was such a terrific venue; more like a small club than a concert hall. I was two metres from the stage (close to the guys waving the roses) and saw it all up close and personal. Ziggy's still there, deep inside, still informing the output.... sheer brilliance! Mini review at www.chrisworth.com
Chris Worth (chris@chrisworth.com)
Paris, France - Friday, October 15, 1999 at 04:03:22 (EDT)

set list Elysee Montmartre gig : life on mars/thursday's child/something in the air/word on a wing/can't help thinking about me/china girl/always crashing in the same car/survive/repetition/drive in saturday/changes/ - encore - : seven /i can't read/the pretty things/rebel rebel --- Rep & Read possibly wrong as not written down on setlist plus a quick note to let you know all that this show was truly wonderful : 75' ! lifeO...was absolutely 'wow', DB's voice hadn't sounded that good in years , he was very focused on his singing and Garson did a terrific job for this one . excellent guitar work on Something which proved the strenght of this new song . Word was just a dream coming true , like " is this '99 ? " kind of feeling .Thinking turns out to be a real thrill (!!!!), a straight fun rocker complete with a vintage mid 60's Rickenbecker sound delivered by Plati...good rocking version of China . Crashing was a bit different compared to the version performed toward the end of the Earthling tour but remains highly welcome and enjoyable . Survive was very good too...Rep was very fun but a little bizarre , 'has to do with the song I guess ! Drive was an absolute treat , sounding beautifuly , a pure beauty...how many years had we been waiting for this one ? at last ! thank you ! Can't read was quite different especially for the chorus . DB actually played 4" of Width of a Circle during the intro . too bad he seemed not to remember the rest of the song !!!! for ending the set the version of Rebel was the best he had done in years , very punchy indeed , nothing in common with how it sounded on the S&V tour or on other previous tours...my last comment will be for Mike Garson who did a wonderful job overall , I wish you heard Life !!! and his synth/space organ work on Drive was great , sounding like it came straight from a really insane Lugosi movie soundtrack via Mars , of course.....
Fabrice Bassompierre (fluctuat@rocketmail.com)
Lyon, 00 France - Thursday, October 14, 1999 at 20:31:54 (EDT)

After waiting for more than 6 hours, the doors closed just in front of my nose. SOLD OUT! A true nightmare! But I never give up, so tonight, I went to the Elysee Montmartre, and I finally found someone who sold me a ticket for 100 Ł. I know, It's expensive, but it was worth it! A true dream! It was the best DB concert I've ever seen. And he was so close to his audience... He he even sung Something in the Air for the first time in front of an audience...(One more song than Dublin concert...) Wonderful. An already mythical show! ;-))))))
Christophe Austrui (vidaust@cybercable.fr)
Paris, France - Thursday, October 14, 1999 at 18:52:53 (EDT)

Hi everyone It's the second time I see Bowie, and the performance was beyond my wildest dreams. The 6 hours of waiting were worth it. He seduced the crowd right away, opening with Life On Mars. Going in, we all thought he would only play his new album for 45 minutes... He ended up playing for 1h15, repetition from Lodger, Drive in Saturday, China Girl, Rebel Rebel, a song from Tin Machine, Changes and more. Awesome!!!
Emilie (rlyeh@caramail.com)
Paris, France - Thursday, October 14, 1999 at 18:16:06 (EDT)

Nous sommes Jeudi 14.10.99 , je suis comme beaucoup de fans... sans place pour le concert de ce soir....snif Je me contente d'ecouter l'album dans mon salon tout chaud .... j'aurai quand meme prefere etre au froid devant l'elysee montmartre avec un bracelet au poignet...en 91 pour tin machine : pas tant de promo sur les radios les tv : resultat >> les vrais fans de province n'ont pas de places ... pourquoi tant de pub ?? Marc. un fan vraiment tristre ........8-((
Marc (marc@stardustpage.com)
Nord de la France, France - Thursday, October 14, 1999 at 10:27:40 (EDT)

Je suis arrivé ŕ 3h30, pour recevoir le précieux bracelet vers 10h20. Il faisait trčs froid mais j'ai eu l'occasion de rencontrer Adeline, Françoise and Co, c'était trčs sympa, c'est passé plutôt vite et le grand soir approche. Bon courage Adeline pour ton retour sur Londres et ŕ bientôt.
Pierre (p_jouen@yahoo.com)
Paris, France - Thursday, October 14, 1999 at 09:12:38 (EDT)

Ce matin j'y étais dčs 6 heures et j'ai le précieux objet ŕ mon poignet droit. Il faisait froid mais bon aprčs 5 heures d'attente enfin... Beaucoup avaient dormis sur place.
Chris (khaos@mail.dotcom.fr)
paris, france - Wednesday, October 13, 1999 at 14:40:51 (EDT)

Adeline, I wish I could join you but as you know I am only free on the thursday pm which is probably no good as I haven't found anyone to get me a ticket... Boo ooo... In case I don't make it I hope you have a brilliant time! Did you enjoy Netaid?
Celine (ccaux@microstrategy.com)
Stevenage, - Monday, October 11, 1999 at 11:14:44 (EDT)

Anyboday needs a lift to Paris? It looks like I'll need to drive there. I'm leaving London Tuesday evening and coming back Thursday morning in time for work. Anybody interested by a lift & sharing costs, email me asap. Ads
Adeline (adeline.cantais@ft.com)
London, UK - Monday, October 11, 1999 at 07:28:03 (EDT)

So, as a total coincidence, I am in Switzerland on the 11-12th. My French is not so good, but I am trying to read these comments and considering whether to come to Paris for two days. Do you think it will be easy to get tickets, say by starting at 8:00 in the morning in the queue. And does the Elysee Montmarte confirm it will sell these (so we do not have the bad experience as in Dublin). It will cost me a fair amount to make the special trip, but if there is a real concert and I can be fairly sure to get tickets I will do it, Help from friends in Paris, s'il vous plait (en Anglais, sorry...)
Fred Walder (ftwalder@aol.com)
USA - Wednesday, October 06, 1999 at 23:17:18 (EDT)

Tout a fait d'accord avec Slayer ! Si quelqu'un a l'occasion de me prendre 1 place ca serait sympa !! Marc ... fan depuis 1972...qui attrape des gris ... un vieux quoi !!
Marc (marc@stardustpage.com)
Nord de la France, France - Wednesday, October 06, 1999 at 15:26:30 (EDT)

10 h du matin,en semaine,c'est vraiment sympa pour tout ceux qui bossent,ce qui doit etre le cas de la plupart des fous de Bowie,pas de ceux qui veulent juste se montrer (j'ai 31 ans, et męme si Bowie m'a toujours deçu en live,je n'ai pas raté un seul de ses concerts en France depuis 83).De plus je me demande ŕ quoi ça sert de filer 30 fcs par mois ŕ Bowienet,si ce n'est męme pas pour bénéficier de petits plus (comme pouvoir avoir des places par exemple....)
Slayer (slayer@teenagewildlife.com)
Paris, France - Wednesday, October 06, 1999 at 05:33:23 (EDT)

Sources tell me tickets go on sale at 10 a.m., and there will only be 700 or so. My suggestion is to line up early :)
Evan Torrie (webmaster@teenagewildlife.com)
Stanford, CA USA - Friday, October 01, 1999 at 17:38:30 (EDT)

This document last updated Saturday, 23-Oct-1999 06:40:08 EDT

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