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March 31, 2004
Bowie
Um. I've just been watching that 2002 concert by Mr David Bowie on ITV 1 tonight and throughout it found myself thinking more than once: 'oh hang on a minute, this doesn‘t feel right‘. For example 'Sound and Vision' is a song that concerns loneliness and isolation, it’s about holing yourself up and shutting out the world. It’s actually quite a bleak little number -so why is it now being played out as a jolly little knees-up? Likewise where was all the distance and irony that made 'Heroes' such a classic? - here it was played out on all the one level. Where was the drama of it? It merely trudged along. The edge that has long made Bowie one of my all time favourite artists simply wasn’t there in this performance. But then at last it did make it’s overdue return (and thus restored a little of my faith that David hadn‘t completely lost it) in the final number ’I’m afraid of Americans’ which was played as an unrelenting wall-of-sound, thankfully free from silly little piano doodles or twiddly guitar solos*. Phew.
(*Which is precisely the sort of thing that makes watching Jools Holland‘s ‘Later’ on BBC 2 such torture for me. Musos jamming away -ugh. Shudder. No.)
Posted by groc on March 31, 2004 02:57 AM
Comments
AUTHOR: Ian
EMAIL: comatose@critic.co.uk
IP: 62.53.63.180
URL: http://www21.brinkster.com/komosa/comatoseblog/
DATE: 03/31/2004 04:10:37 AM
oh yeah I always groan at the beginning of that show, where they're all "jamming". Oh dear. I thought they only did that in Spinal Tap and in sixth form bands...
wibbled by: Anonymous at December 13, 2004 11:34 PM
AUTHOR: Tim
EMAIL: tim@nonstoptotokyo.co.uk
IP: 213.122.15.254
URL: http://www.nonstoptotokyo.co.uk
DATE: 04/02/2004 12:46:11 AM
Yeah, Jools Holland is so cheesy isn't it ..... I haven't watched it for years, cos it's just full of people ruining perfectly good songs by playing them acoustically. Why would they want to do that? God invented the electric guitar for a reason, you know!
wibbled by: Anonymous at December 13, 2004 11:34 PM
AUTHOR: groc
EMAIL: groc@groc.org.uk
IP: 212.159.95.250
URL: http://www.groc.org.uk/blog
DATE: 03/31/2004 10:43:03 AM
'twas a small 'intimate' crowd which is probably why he wasn't trying so hard.
wibbled by: Anonymous at December 13, 2004 11:34 PM
AUTHOR: Jeremy Dennis
EMAIL: cleanskies@yahoo.co.uk
IP: 213.232.79.150
URL: http://www.alleged.org.uk/jrd
DATE: 04/02/2004 02:43:40 PM
He looked like he was hating every minute of it, and the audience (prize winners? feebies? didn't look like fans!) didn't look much cheerier. It really made those TV gigs look as nasty to do as I suppose they must be given that I've never seen anyone do a good one. Quips measured to fit around ad breaks, not even time for an encore. Ack thpt.
wibbled by: Anonymous at December 13, 2004 11:34 PM
AUTHOR: mike
EMAIL: mikejla@btinternet.com
IP: 217.205.37.3
URL: http://troubleddiva.com
DATE: 03/31/2004 10:07:26 AM
That's a surprise: his live version of Heroes at Birmingham NEC last autumn was truly electrifying, and the highlight of the night (or, indeed, of any night). Thankfully, he seemed very able to swap from easy-going Hollandaise jokey-blokeyness between the songs, into whatever performance style was needed next - and to pull off each "performance" with integrity and passion. (In which case, I'm glad I missed the ITV gig...)
wibbled by: Anonymous at December 13, 2004 11:34 PM