| |
Many people who watch this site were likely at the Monday, 19 June bowienet concert. So, my review is not intended to be comprehensive, more based on impressions or specific opinions. I should note that the computers with bowienet, the free T shirts, and the crowd big time fans did make the atmosphere quite unique.
I have seen David a fair number of times, and on two occasions he was sick or recovering from something that caused a weakened voice. The first was the Chicago Outside concert back in '95, where he deleted Under Pressure from the set list and actually became so frustrated with his lack of voice during "Breaking Glass" that he stopped the song and started over. That, with George Simms to cover him. On the 19th, he had Holly and Em to cover him, his voice was weak, but his energy and enthusiasm was quite high. I am pleased to have been there, but I wish I had chosen Friday.
David said to us "You don't know how nervous I am" describing Saturday, the 17th as the first time he had ever completely lost his voice. He joked that it would be OK to just do a forty five minute set and then leave, quickly negating that possibility. And at times through the night one could watch him grab at his throat as though either expressing frustration or visual cue that he just could not reach notes.
So, for me, here are the good, bad, and surprising parts of the evening:
The good:
Stay: came off pretty well, strong guitar work.
Ashes to Ashes: great to hear that the verse dropped from the "hours
" mini tour returned to the song (the shrieking ..its glowing)
Little Wonder: it was great to hear this again, and as it is not vocally
demanding it sounded pretty good
Cracked Actor: David's voice rose to the occasion and the guitars were
thunderous
All the Young Dudes: voice worked, crowd excited, Earl Slick played well
Hallo Spaceboy: yeah, I miss Reeves, but Sterling Campbell was soooo good on
this song!
Let's Dance: it worked, the new intro is fun, and for some reason David's
voice really was going well at this point
I'm Afraid of Americans: Mark Plati's guitar work at the end really makes
this version interesting (he adds a lot to these concerts); David was also
acting out lines and his movements were entertaining.
The not so good:
Life on Mars: David said "I am crazy to try this one" with his weakened
voice. He was.
This Is Not America: heavy drums at the beginning made this sound forced
Station to Station: Maybe Friday night was different, but several things
really bugged me about this. First, Earl Slick faced backwards (toward his
amp and Mike Garson) for the first several minutes of the song. When he did
turn around, he played what seemed a pretty watered down lead, with Mark
Plati actually performing more interesting bits. He seemed bored by the whole
song. I dreamed of the 1976 live introduction reborn, and instead heard
adequate playing that in my opinion was not as interesting as Adrian Belew's
1990 version. David also stopped singing at the end and mouthed the words
(the return.......stains), but I am not so sure this is a point to rely on
the audience.
"Heroes": nice to see Thomas Dolby, but the version was real rough compared
to 1996.
The surprising:
Absolute Beginners: always a favorite of mine, nice to hear David thinks so
too. Too bad his vocals could not soar as they do on this song's studio
version.
All "hours" material was removed form the show. I understand some of it
being vocally challenging, but how about "Pretty Things"? Should have worked
well.
The old songs well, they are weak lyrically. David made the self deprecating
comments on Storytellers about the lines from Can't Help Thinking About Me,
sadly there are similar lines in I Dig Everthing and London Boys.
The Jean Genie bit to cover going to the bathroom and changing was played
spontaneously (not on set list) and you very seldom see that at a concert. It
was a kick, and the stage exit gave David something to joke about during the
rest of the evening.
Gail did much less vocal work than back in 95-97. I know Holly and Em are
there, but still.
I was in Paris back in October 1999 for the mini tour. David's voice was strong and Page Hamilton was actually getting pretty good. I expected a bit more out of Earl Slick. I was blown away by Sterling Campbell on the more rocking numbers. It was an interesting event, the crowd had a lot of real fans, and David's physical energy and looseness with the audience was noteworthy. But, the vocals and musical rough spots make this one a 6.5 out of ten for me. I am glad I saw it, but I dream of finding a (soundboard) boot from Friday night or the entire Storytellers gig and am not sure I would buy one from this show.
