DAVID BOWIE
LIVE CRITICAL SOUNDBITES
NORTH AMERICAN “A REALITY TOUR,” FIRST LEG
“Best Tour: #2, David Bowie, ‘A Reality Tour,’” after Radiohead, in the “Critics’ Picks” section in the ROLLING STONE “Music Awards 2003” poll.
--ROLLING STONE, 2/5/04
“Bowie keeps finding new ways to seduce a crowd and make fans come back for more…Toward the end, he began busting out the surefire anthems, including a ferocious ‘Heroes,’ the timely ‘I’m Afraid of Americans’ and the climactic one-two punch of ‘Suffragette City’ and ‘Ziggy Stardust.’ As one woman in the crowd raved, there wasn’t a dry crotch in the house.”
--Rob Sheffield, ROLLING STONE, 1/22/04
“His last two albums have been his strongest in years, and his current Reality tour is earning jaw-dropping reviews...Bowie has been mixing classics (‘Heroes,’ ‘Fame,’ ‘Ziggy Stardust’) with some of his more interesting side trips from his career (‘I'm Afraid of Americans,’ ‘Cactus’). And fans are clamoring for the new stuff as well. Reality has snared some of the best reviews of Bowie's career, certainly the best of his latter-day work."
--Mark Brown, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 1/17/04
“Tuesday at the Rosemont Theatre, David Bowie brought his peculiar ability to make anxiety and paranoia sound stylish. Bowie demonstrated that he is paying attention to the grim world around him, and he has tailored his current tour as something of a soundtrack. He arrived in peak voice with a powerhouse band and a set list that soothed nostalgic cravings even as it worked as pointed commentary…Bowie was in dirt-blond swagger, a six-piece band in full roar behind him, and put an indelible imprint on the year's first major concert event…Bowie's not one for broad political statements or protest songs, but his set list suggested a carefully considered commentary on the state of a world broken by terrorism and war: the distant refuge envisioned on ‘Life on Mars’; the desperation underpinning ‘Under Pressure,’ with bassist Gail Ann Dorsey standing in for the late Freddy Mercury as Bowie's duet partner as they declared, ‘This is our last chance’; the drum 'n' bass fury of ‘Battle for Britain,’ with Garson's nimble fingers racing across his keyboard like mice fleeing an inferno…Bowie poured paranoia into ‘I'm Afraid of Americans,’ while Sterling Campbell rapped out Morse Code SOS messages on his drums, and the guitars of Slick and Gerry Leonard barked at each other from opposite sides of the stage.”
--Greg Kot, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/14/04
“Unlike many other rockers of his generation, Mr. Bowie, 56, made his recent songs sound just as trenchant as the oldies…He has reunited with his 1970's producer, Tony Visconti, and--with an added jolt from Sept. 11--has returned to contemplating apocalypse and alienation, fear and fame. Mr. Bowie's music has always been an unlikely confluence of hard rock, 1950's rock, cabaret standards and sonic experiments…This time he had a convincing mix: still and eerie in recent songs like ‘Sunday’ and [from Reality] ‘The Loneliest Guy,’ brash in ‘The Jean Genie,’ heartfelt in ‘Life on Mars?’ and ‘Ziggy Stardust.’ Mr. Bowie paired old songs with their new relatives; ‘Rebel Rebel’ was followed by ‘New Killer Star,’ which contemplates ‘a great white scar over Battery Park.’ He triumphantly put across two worthwhile songs, ‘Hallo Spaceboy’ and ‘The Motel,’ from his overconceptualized 1995 album Outside, and he latched on to songs that others have pulled out of his catalog: ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ (which Nirvana revived) and ‘Under Pressure’ (which was sampled by Vanilla Ice). Mr. Bowie's band, including musicians who have been with him since the 1970's--Earl Slick on guitar and Mike Garson on keyboards--played familiar old songs with the original arrangements but pushed them a little further. Mr. Slick and Gerry Leonard on guitars scrabbled and clawed through ‘Fashion’ and ‘Fame,’ and brought out the rockabilly in ‘Hang On to Yourself.’ Mr. Bowie has sung many of these songs countless times, but with a shifted inflection here and a sly gesture there he made clear that he was still thinking through them, bringing them into the here and now.”
--Jon Pareles, NEW YORK TIMES, 12/17/03
“Bowie was in burly voice and brisk shape Monday, looking and sounding at least 20 years younger than his actual age…His last two albums reunited him with his producer from the '70s, Tony Visconti. Together, they've rekindled Bowie's talent for compelling melodies and hot riffs…a new rocker like ‘New Killer Star’ had the coiled guitar lines of old, while ‘The Loneliest Guy’ proved Bowie can still fashion a graceful ballad…He performed a song from his experimental, electronica album, Earthling, called ‘I'm Afraid of Americans,’ which seems more relevant now than when it was written six years ago. Live, the band fractured its funky beat with industrial guitars and keyboards that made its rhythm only more furious and deep…In listening to the hits, the breadth of Bowie's material especially impressed. He progressed from the fascistic funk of ‘Fashion’ or ‘Fame,’ to the glam-rock of ‘Rebel Rebel’ and ‘Hang on to Yourself,’ to the theatricality of ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘The Man Who Sold the World.’ The passion of Bowie's performance rescued these pieces from nostalgia. Here, they sounded like lost cousins to the new songs, connected by his still thriving skill at delivering good work.”
--Jim Farber, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, 12/17/03
“…songs from that disc (Reality)--including the driving ‘New Killer Star’ and the haunting ‘The Loneliest Guy,’ which was given a Spartan reading with just vocals, one keyboard and one guitar--shined in live performance.”
--Jim DeRogatis, CHICAGO SUN TIMES, 1/15/04
“…in stellar voice…in a world where only a handful or artists of Bowie’s stature remain active--and few new ones can sustain interest in their second album, let alone their 26th--it was impressive that he not only still had something to say but could also make us want to hear it.”
--Natalie Nichols, LOS ANGELES TIMES, 2/2/04
“In a remarkable two-hour-plus performance…he was nothing short of a marvel…Singing with astonishingly youthful power but also the sort of nuance and control that only comes with age, and conceiving an eye-grabbing but never distractingly theatrical show that revived most of his previous personas while lacing them in fascinating new contexts--simply put, he arguably has never been better…a masterful, thought-provoking and often poignant performance.”
--Ben Wener, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 2/2/04
“The highlights were many: the slashing, soaring ‘Reality,’ the Pixies’ punkish, falsetto-voiced ‘Cactus,’ the bracing rocker ‘Hallo Spaceboy,’ the crowd-pleasing baroque ‘Under Pressure,’ the dramatic ballads ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘Sunday,’ the menacing ‘I’m Afraid of Americans’ and the wham-bam ‘Suffragette City”…a generous, well-paced, 28-song show…The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer had enough arena-anthem choruses to keep the crowd rocking and enough genre-expanding experimentation to please the aging hipsters. In other words, the real David Bowie was cool to all his constituencies.”
--Jon Bream, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 1/12/04
“David Bowie gave a performance that was greater than a simple greatest-hits show at Madison Square Garden Monday night…For the first concert on the U.S. leg of his ‘Reality Tour’ Monday, pop's chameleon king didn't pander a greatest hits program to the sold-out house. That would have been too easy. Instead, Bowie and one of the best ensembles he's ever fronted challenged themselves by playing the show the hard way. He didn't just rely on the songs that have defined him as an artist--though there would have been no complaint if they had…If Bowie had a master plan for the Garden show, it might have been to create an event that would shake your mind and body. His rendition of the ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ did just that, as did the pairing of ‘I'm Afraid of Americans’ and ‘Heroes’ in the last moments of the concert before the encore call…He continues to defy time. His voice was strong, he was physically fit and stylishly dressed, and he was always ready to strut.”
--Dan Aquilante, NEW YORK POST, 12/17/03
"Bowie, 56, bounced energetically through new tracks like ‘New Killer Star’ and his cover of The Pixies' ‘Cactus.’ He crouched like a punk rocker during ‘Suffragette City’ and portrayed the narrator of ‘The Loneliest Guy’ [from Reality] with amazing power..."
--Glenn Gamboa, NEWSDAY, 12/18/03
“David Bowie has found himself at another creative peak. He's 57, he's more than three decades into his career, yet he's able to leave fans ecstatic and nearly speechless…New songs such as ‘New Killer Star’ and the gorgeous ‘Days’ stand out as highlights in a concert that featured the best of his 35 years of hits. The best part about having strong new material is that Bowie's enthusiasm is infectious; even the songs he has played a million times are infused with new energy. Bowie is exploring not only his hits, but the more obscure corners of his catalog…Two years ago he gave a stunning performance in Denver as part of Moby's Area 2 tour. This performance was just as stunning--and it was two or three times as long…Bowie displayed boundless energy and the crowd gave it back in waves of wild applause and stretches of rapt silence.”
--Mark Brown, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 1/20/04
“He was sexy and sassy of course, but even more, he was emotive and empathetic. And part of that poise likely comes from the fact that Bowie knows that his new album is the best he's produced in 10 years…the best moments from the first hour and a half came from Bowie's 4-month-old ‘Reality.’ The title track came early and was an explosion of vibrant rock 'n' roll. ‘New Killer Star’ was subtler but potent. Bowie's street-cred is never a matter of question, and after Monday, his relevance is air-tight as well.”
--Ricardo Baca, DENVER POST, 1/20/04
“…Bowie segued easily into a brace of songs from his latest album, Reality, landing a particularly strong psychic punch with the brooding 9/11 missive ‘New Killer Star.’ Band offered powerful, unobtrusive backing, with guitarists Earl Slick and Gerry Leonard alternating chunky glam riffs and slashing power chords sans the artsy fillips that have characterized Bowie's live presentations since the late '80s. A midset foray into more atmospheric material let Bowie flaunt his still-rich baritone, sensually preening on ‘China Girl’ and contemplative on ‘The Man Who Sold the World.’ A similar sense of gravity reared its head later in the set as well, peaking on stark, white-hot versions of the doomy ‘Five Years’ and ‘I'm Afraid of Americans,’ both of which got plenty of headiness from the contributions of keyboardist Mike Garson.”
--David Sprague, DAILY VARIETY, 12/16/03
“David Bowie delivered the sort of killer show at the Garden that well demonstrated why he's become one of the most venerated figures in rock. Delivering a nearly two-hour, career-spanning set that included numbers dating back three decades as well as songs from his new Reality album, Bowie and his amazing seven-piece band gave a transcendent performance. The set list was cannily chosen, featuring the classic hits (‘Fame,’ ‘Ashes to Ashes,’ ‘Changes’), vintage favorites (‘The Man Who Sold the World,’ ‘Life on Mars’), relative obscurities (‘Cactus,’ from last year's Heathen CD, and the powerful ‘Motel,’ from Outside) and a handful of songs from Reality. The latter, including the hard-rocking ‘New Killer Star,’ for which Bowie just received a Grammy nomination, and the moving ‘The Loneliest Guy,’ were strong numbers comparing well to his glory days and fit seamlessly into the set.
--Frank Scheck, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 12/17/03
“The tour landed at The Palace on Friday night, one day after his 57th birthday, and turned into something of a three-hour birthday bacchanal…crowd of about 8,000 diehards was beside itself…it was a real joy watching a man who has been a singular rock visionary for so long having so much fun.”
--Doug Pullen, FLINT JOURNAL REVIEW, 1/11/04
“While Bowie and his band--the best that’s accompanied him in years--delved into plenty of older material, there was nothing at all perfunctory about the fresh interpretations the songs received…He showed great range, seemingly tapping the depths of his emotional reserves for some soaring lines. Among the standouts was a rendition of ‘China Girl’ that left him wailing the final verse from his knees…it’s wonderful to find an artist of his generation who hasn’t lost his sense of creative adventure.”
--Rob Hubbard, MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 1/12/04
“David Bowie managed to redefine cool at the first of three sold-out stints at Rosemont Theatre last night. From his operatic sweeps to his more lustful, baritone intonations, Bowie danced, flirted, donned a guitar for many songs, and strutted his way through the hit-filled 25-song set, garnering the attention one of his long legacy should command… Touring in support of last year's studio release, Reality, Bowie was joined by a strong supporting cast…Earl Slick (guitar) and keyboardist Mike Garson (both of whom ‘ran away and came back and ran away and came back again,’ laughed Bowie) locked in with the mesmerizing Sterling Campbell on drums, guitarist Gerry Leonard, and the captivating bassist/backing vocalist Gail Ann Dorsey. Weaving extra texture into the mix was Catherine Russell, who provided everything from mandolin, bongos, and backing keyboards to colorful backing vocals.”
--Althea Legaspi, ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER.COM, 1/15/04
“Bowie's six-member band included guitarist Earl Slick and keyboardist Mike Garson, who have played with him on and off since the '70s. Along with guitarist Gerry Leonard, they spiked the songs with fresh potency… Bowie drew heavily from his '90s albums, including Heathen and Reality (ISO/Columbia), and set them against the gloom, paranoia and grandeur of his earlier work. The ambitious mixing and matching made clear his older catalog still had a purpose and his newer songs shared a rich pedigree.”
--Mark Guarino, CHICAGO DAILY HERALD, 1/15/04
“Playing to a sold-out and visibly ecstatic crowd, Bowie-in phenomenal voice and backed by a crack band-offered a flawless, career-spanning evening.”
--Matt Sebastian, BOULDER DAILY CAMERA, 1/20/04
“Bowie’s new album Reality was the centerpiece of the show-after ‘Rebel, Rebel,’ Bowie headed into a three-song series of ‘New Killer Star,’ ‘Reality’ and ‘She’ll Drive the Big Car.’ No groans when he pulled out the new stuff, because the music is still good and Bowie still matters. ‘Big Car’ and the chilling ‘The Loneliest Guy’ were especially strong.”
--Bill Reed, COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE, 1/20/04
"...his musicians were absolutely as tight and dynamic as a group could be. In fact, the chemistry within the unit shone brightest with Bowie's newer material, which also included ‘Cactus,’ ‘Sunday,’ ‘Afraid’ and ‘5:15’ from 2002's Heathen, among five picks from his new Reality."
-- Nick Brandon, NEWS HERALD (Detroit), 1/18/04
“Bowie remains the most seductive of rock stars. He charmed and teased the audience, especially the mostly young, wildly energetic fans clustered at the lip of the stage…The set was a celebration of his whole body of work. He featured some of his biggest hits, songs from his impressive new Reality album, covers from a variety of sources, and obscure songs from his past.”
--Patrick MacDonald, SEATTLE TIMES, 1/27/04
“…the new material rang as true as the old and was played with the same intensity and conviction.”
--Brad Kava, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/29/04
“…Bowie’s voice sounded as vibrant as it ever has during his 30-plus year career.”
--Spencer Patterson, LAS VEGAS SUN, 2/2/04
“His voice retained its cool, masculine yet sensitive drama. He was epic, as usual.”
--Doug Elfman, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 2/1/04
“…his leonine voice more powerful than ever before…if there was a concert to catch these last five years, this was one of them…the rock ‘n’ rollin’ bitch has returned.”
--Kerry Gold, VANCOUVER SUN, 1/26/04
“…Bowie’s voice has only grown richer and more powerful with time…but he is making better use of it, still staking a legitimate claim as a contemporary artist with something more than oldies in his repertoire. That was clear enough during the third of his four local shows--at the Shrine Auditorium on Monday (February 2)--where early classics mingled easily with recent work, and his delivery often carried the newest material much further than the original recordings.”
--Steve Appleford, LA CITYBEAT, 2/5/04
“…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.”
--Richard Abowitz, LAS VEGAS WEEKLY, 2/5/04
“…a set that celebrated his classic catalog but also showcased new material that kept the audience engaged…the crisp, rocking ‘New Killer Star’ has become a quick concert classic…the wildly rocking title track from Reality, fueled by the slicing guitar of longtime Bowie collaborator Earl Slick, also played well live, as did an emotional reading of the Pixies’ ‘Cactus,’ from the Heathen album.”
--Larry Rodgers, ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/6/04
“…Bowie’s appeal is timeless and the proof lied in the multi-generational makeup of his fans at the show.”
--Thomas Bond, ARIZONA TRIBUNE, 2/6/04
“From the underrated, dark Outside he played ‘Hallo Spaceboy,’ freaking out up on a platform to give everyone in the nosebleeds a better view. The sound, incidentally, was really crisp and strong, proving that it can be done in coliseums. No, really!”
--Fish Griwkowsky, EDMONTON SUN, 1/22/04
“Backed up by a muscular six-piece band, Bowie kicked off his set with the glam classic ‘Rebel Rebel,’ as a crowd of about 12,000 that included baby boomers, gen-Xers and high school kids went nuts in unison…next up was the excellent ‘New Killer Star’ and the thrusting, explosive ‘Reality’ off his latest album…And guess what? The latest stuff holds its ground bloody well next to the old.”
--Heath McCoy, CALGARY HERALD, 1/22/04
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For press information on David Bowie, please contact: Mitch Schneider/Lathum Nelson at MSO (818) 380-0400.