NASHVILLE |DATE: FEBRUARY 27, 2004
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/LATHUM NELSON
BOWIE’S 'A REALITY TOUR' LANDS IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND;
FIRST TREK DOWN UNDER IN FIFTEEN YEARS
DAVID BOWIE and his “A Reality Tour” touched down in Australia and New Zealand recently, celebrating his first trek down under since 1987's “Glass Spider Tour.” The concerts earned BOWIE enthusiastic critical praise before capacity audiences and celebrities.
Russell Crowe and his wife Danielle Spenser took in the February 21 show at Sydney Entertainment Centre, while director Baz Lurhman (BOWIE contributed the song “Nature Boys” to his Moulin Rouge soundtrack) and David Spade attended the previous night in the same venue.
After the dates down under, BOWIE will head to Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong before returning to Philadelphia March 29 for the second North American leg of his “A Reality Tour” that will conclude with two New York area shows June 4 and 5. Immediately following the new North American dates, BOWIE will revisit Europe and the U.K.–where the worldwide tour was launched last October–for select festival dates, including a headlining appearance at the Britain’s Isle of Wight festival June 13. The influential rock legend’s first major world tour in nearly a decade will encompass 17 countries.
Photos of BOWIE with the celebrities are available at www.wireimage.com.
Meantime, here’s what local critics had to say:
“Fit, happy, jovial even, David Bowie has found a way to avoid the frozen-in-history trap that has caught many of his contemporaries. The solution is as simple as the stage set on this tour: new songs that are as capable of exciting us now as he did a generation ago…to finally, after 33 years, hear him sing ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ could make the night worthwhile on its own. But that a haunting new song like ‘The Loneliest Guy’ or a jagged ‘I’m Afraid of Americans’ still kick stones means no one need feel guilty about the nostalgia…His voice is in great shape, he looks and acts half his age and seems to be having one great time…The old was revitalized and contextualised and the new was worthy of standing alongside…a return worth celebrating.”
–Bernard Zuel, SUNDAY MORNING HERALD (Sydney, Australia), 2/23/04
“Few artists command as much respect—and reverence—in the music world as David Bowie. He avoided the clichés that have befallen most 50-something rock stars by cannily keeping up to date with musical trends, still releasing inspired new albums, and never merely relying on the past…New tracks such as ‘New Killer Star’ and the cover of the Pixies’ ‘Cactus’ were brilliant.”
–Cameron Adams, THE HERALD SUN (Melbourne, Australia), 2/27/04
"…(Bowie) can tour the world with a show that offers more than feel good greatest hits. There also is musical adventure and new songs that can match the power of the old, delivered by a resilient rock legend…"
–Noel Mengel, COURIER MAIL (Brisbane, Australia), 2/17/04
“David Bowie let it be known he was here to please–not tease…Kicking off his first Australian jaunt since 1987's Glass Spider Tour…a capacity crowd of 13,000 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Tuesday night…Bowie and his blistering six-piece band (including famed 1970s guitarist Earl Slick, Bowie collaborator of 30 years Mike Garson on keyboards and powerhouse drummer Sterling Campbell) rehearsed 50 songs for the A Reality Tour, which has played to sold-out crowds in 17 countries in the past seven months…mixed album tracks with pop gems like ‘China Girl,’ the set perfectly showing off his vocal dexterity and the importance of his contribution to popular music over the past 35 years."
–Suzanne Simonot, GOLD COAST BULLETIN (Brisbane, Australia), 2/19/04
"David Bowie opened his first Down Under tour in 17 years last night with a powerhouse and fun-filled journey through a career spanning more than three decades…Bowie won the crowd over with a thumping rendition of ‘Rebel Rebel’ to open
the show and he had them in the palm of his hand for the rest of the
performance…This was a rocker clearly enjoying himself…"
–Steve Connolly, AAP (Brisbane, Australia), 2/18/04
"…this was simply about him playing his songs–no theatrics, no theme, no glass spider. The emphasis was instead on his voice (which sounded, quite frankly, bloody fantastic) and 30-plus years of fantastic music…Perhaps the biggest surprise was how well Bowie’s new stuff fared; tracks from Reality proved he’s well and truly back on form creatively, with the spare, touching ballad The Loneliest Guy and the dark cover of the Pixies’ already spooky Cactus causing genuine chills. But it was his version I’m Afraid of Americans from 1997’s under-rated Earthling album that provided perhaps the biggest highlight of the night. While the lyrical content couldn’t have been timelier, the ferocity that Bowie and band brought to the track, turning it almost into heavy metal, underscored the song’s meaning far better than words."
–Brett Collingwood, RAVE MAGAZINE (Brisbane, Australia), 2/24/04
"…simply amazing. "
–Leanne Levinge, SCENE MAGAZINE (Brisbane, Australia), 2/24/04
"To say Bowie is in fine form would be an understatement. A cracking show, Bowie remains as vital onstage now as he has at any time in his career."
—TIME OFF (Brisbane, Australia), 2/24/04
"…the concert had all his musical flavours: folk, glam rock, soul, blues, disco, funk and techno, old gems peppered with songs from recent return-to-form albums Reality and Heathen…Unlike the recent spate of nostalgia tours, Bowie's A Reality Tour stands apart because of his strong recent work…His bellowing, golden voice and commanding stage presence make him the consummate live entertainer."
— Paul Harris, THE AGE (Melbourne, Australia), 2/27/04
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