please let me ramble for a minute...

I had the good fortune of seeing Bowie play in Singapore last night. I've only been into Bowie for the last six months, since I saw Prince play in Hong Kong and was so blown away that I didn't want to listen to any of my current music collection and so got a couple of Bowie's CDs for something new.

Well, Bowie and his band are absolutely tops. Has anybody else here seen him recently?

I couldn't help but compare his performance to Prince's. His band is very tight, like the NPGMC, but it's a rock-band with up to three guitars versus P on his lonesome guitar. Bowie hardly danced, making Prince seem quite animated in comparison. What really struck me about Bowie's performance was the battle of old classics versus new material. It looked like he enjoyed playing the old songs, but the band came completely to life on the Heathen and Reality material. The newer songs were so strong live, yet the audience weren't into it. They just didn't know the songs.
So how do artists such as Prince and Bowie move on to new material when their fanbase are stuck in the past? Bowie has the excellent Heathen and Reality while Prince has The Rainbow Children and Musicology (I'm assuming it's going to be a good one , yet the bulk of the fanbase just romantisize with the past...

feel free to discuss your Bowie fandom and such!

I saw Bowie in Chicago this past January and will be seeing him again in Indianapolis this May. I thought he was absolutely amazing, and his band was fantastic. Keep in mind, most of the folks in his band have been with him for a minimum of a decade, so you're seeing a lot of history on that stage. His keyboard player Mike Garson has been with him on and off since the Ziggy Stardust tour!

I think a lot of Bowie fans see his current output as gravy - the good stuff has already been done, and that's what made us love him. I don't think any fan wants him to quit making new music, but I also don't think anything he can do now can contend with his classics...that's probably why you didn't see as much enthusiasm for Reality stuff as there was for the oldies.

But who knows how his current albums will be thought of by fans ten years down the road?

IMO the new albums really are very good. What do you think of them?

I'm lucky in a way that I'm seeing Bowie from the outside. I'm not a big fan and aren't affected by his back-catalogue and years of fandom. Sometimes I wish I could see Prince with those same glasses on.

I saw him on January 24th, and am seeing him again on April 11th!
I've only been a fan for about a year. I always seem to luck out with tours... when I start liking a particular group/artist they go and announce a major world tour. Happened with both Prince and Bowie.
Anyway, I thought the Bowie show was fantastic. The crowd loved him, but of course there were those in the crowd who were there just for some nostalgia. I loved the hits as well as the new material though, and thought the band and Bowie did an awesome job handling both.
I can't wait to see him again!

sabaisabai said:

I love "Heathen". It took a while to warm up to, but since I have, it's become one of my favorites.

"Reality" is okay, but I could do without it. I don't think it has a lot of personality, to be honest.

I'm going to see him in Philly at the end of the month
so I checked some Bowie sites & got a look at his current setlist.
Plays a lot of new stuff I've never heard
so the rest of the month is dedicated to listening to
Heathen & Reality & Hours.

thedoorkeeper said:

He hasn't really been doing anything from Hours on this tour, though Heathen and Reality are good to get you up to speed.

I need to see him live. He's coming here soon, but I'm catching hell getting tickets. He's a truly rad guy.

With the quality of Bowie's writing and the power in his voice, it's hard NOT to compare him to Prince.

MorningStar05 said:

There's nothing like hearing Bowie's voice live and in the flesh. The man has definitely still got the pipes.

Anxiety said:

He is somebody I have never seen live and would love too. I saw the video for Modern Love on T.V recently, (it was a concert performance) he looked amazing, such charisma :swoon:

I saw Bowie in Sydney, right before he toured your location, sabaisabai.

He was wonderful!

Second best gig I have ever seen, after Prince.

A different kind of artist to Prince though....for starters, Bowie is a very daggy dancer. Not a match to Prince of course, but emotionally, Bowie connects with the audience just as well as Prince...no lengthy funk jams or guitar blowouts, but intriguing lyrics and musical soundscapes are the order with Bowie.

Just like Prince, Bowie is a true artist's artist and musicians's musician...and indeed singer's singer....the pipes the guy has for 56 years of age?! ASTOUNDING. He can really belt it when he wants to.

A real inspiration.

P.S. That funky all singing/all playing bass player he has....she's very sexy.

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[This message was edited Sun Mar 7 21:08:38 2004 by mrdespues]

I caught the show in Brisbane and I'm happy to confirm that the man is still firing on all cylinders, not to mention teasing everybody with his saff London accent .

I was relieved to see that, for once, the usual excessive theatrics that tend to mar a regular Bowie show were consigned to the back burner and instead Bowie concentrated on delivering a killer, crowd-pleasing career-spanning set.

Perhaps a little too safe by Bowie's standards but it was money well spent.

Thanks for booking those tix, Pandy

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