March 20, 1976 review: David Bowie at the Aud

 


At this particular moment in time, David Bowie can do no wrong.

March 20, 1976 

Bowie Sparkles Even Brighter 

Now That the Glitter's Gone 

          We play “Station to Station” after the David Bowie concert Friday night and it becomes perfectly clear why his current tour, now in its seventh week, has gotten great reviews.

          “You know,” my associate observes, “he sounded better at the Aud than he does on the record.”

          Sitting in point-blank range of a bank of speakers doesn’t hurt either. Actually, it does hurt. Carlos Alomar pierces his guitar through eardrums early on in the evening’s opener. Certain sensibilities will be tender all night.

          Sensibilities suffer their first assault before the music begins. Preceding the proceedings is the classic Salvador Dali-Luis Bunuel Dadaist film, “The Andalusian Dog.”

* * *

FORTY-SIX YEARS have faded this artsy-icky bad dream, but few of these 12,000 kids have witnessed such modern wonders as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” so the famous eye scene still inspires plenty of oohs and aahs and defensive reflexes.

          “Stupid,” the guy on the left reflects to his date as the crowd applauds The End.

          “I know,” she replies.

          Such antics, however, are the cornerstone of Bowie’s artistry. His success is in getting you to accept the painful beauty of his harsh chord progressions and the merciless images of his lyrics.

          No longer does ultra-glitter add to his effect. It’s a staid stage show, enhanced only by the clever intensity of the lighting.

* * *

BOWIE’S a crisp, conservative figure in white shirt, black vest and black pleated pants. He looks kind of like a student portraying a father in a school play with his bright red hair combed back severely and lightened around his face.

          He’s looser, more confident than his last time here. His reported I’m-only-doing-this-for-the-money attitude seems to have turned into gratitude for good response. The gratitude carries over into a mention that he learned Friday that his new movie’s a smash hit in London.

          He works mostly from the “Station to Station,” “Young Americans” and “Ziggy Stardust” albums. In “Stay,” he tantalizes by leaving.

          A blazing finale of “Changes,” “TVC-15” and “Diamond Dogs” is eclipsed by an encore of two rocking Bowie classics – “Rebel Rebel” and “Jean Genie” – as the Thin White Dude sheds his vest and gives a couple karate kicks for old times’ sake.

          He throws kisses into the applause, jumps a little jump and smiles before he walks through a wall of sound and light. After a night like this, it’s hard to imagine there’s anything Bowie can’t do.

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: David Bowie at the Forum in Los Angeles in early February 1976. Photo by Chris Walter.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: David Bowie hit Buffalo en route to a North American finale a week later at Madison Square Garden. A tour diary at bowiegoldenyears.com notes: “Bowie struggled through the show, suffering from influenza.” The film he mentioned was “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” which premiered March 18 in London.  

The next night in Rochester, he and sidekick Iggy Pop and two others got busted for marijuana in their hotel suite. The tour diary says they were nailed by a couple ladies they met in the hotel bar who turned out to be narcs. Bowie, gracious through it all, made bail for everybody.

          The band included his basic trio of Alomar, bassist George Murray and drummer Dennis Davis. Tony Kaye, one of the founding members of Yes, was on keyboards. Iggy Pop had caught up with the tour in Phoenix in mid-February and was Bowie’s traveling companion for the rest of the North American schedule. 

          The Buffalo show, according to setlist.fm, went like this:

Station to Station

Suffragette City

Fame

Word on a Wing

I’m Waiting for the Man (Velvet Underground cover)

Queen Bitch

Life on Mars

Five Years

Panic in Detroit

Changes

TVC-15

Diamond Dogs

(encore)

Rebel Rebel

Sister Midnight (Iggy Pop cover)

The Jean Genie

                   

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