RIP: David Bowie, 1947-2016
Photographs by Martin Benjamin
He was a fiercely creative cultural icon whose influence extended far beyond the realm of popular music to include film, fashion, art and theater. David Bowie died on Sunday (January 10), following a private 18-month battle with cancer. Just two days earlier, he celebrated his 69th birthday with the release of his new album, Blackstar. His new theatrical musical, Lazarus, is also running off-Broadway through Tuesday, January 19.
David Bowie’s lone Local 518 concert took place at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, July 7, 1990 on his Sound + Vision Tour.
READ:
David Bowie’s obituary in The New York Times
DAVID BOWIE SET LIST from SPAC, 7/7/90
Space Oddity
Rebel Rebel
Changes
Ashes to Ashes
Life on Mars?
Pretty Pink Rose (Adrian Belew)
Stay
Blue Jean
Let’s Dance
Sound and Vision
Ziggy Stardust
China Girl (Iggy Pop)
Station to Station
Young Americans
Suffragette City
Fame
Heroes
ENCORES
White Light/White Heat (Velvet Underground)
Baby What You Want Me to Do (Jimmy Reed)
The Jean Genie
I’m Waiting for the Man (Velvet Underground)
Gloria (Them)
I know this is not Albany or even the greater Albany area but David Bowie played the Chance in Poughkeepsie back in 2003. Does anyone have any details on this? Was these show somewhat of a secret? Seems like a strange venue for Bowie.
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/david-bowie/2003/the-chance-poughkeepsie-ny-73d2d6b5.html
Here is an article I found. I didn’t realize he had ties to Ulster County.
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/2016/01/11/david-bowie-iconic-singer-strong-ties-hudson-valley-dies-69/78617770/
Concert review of David Bowie @ The Chance, Poughkeepsie:
http://www.liztray.com/LT/files/357b7e4c4de39fe8dc04b9907bb3478f-5.html
I saw the July 7, 1990 SPAC show on Bowie’s Sound and Vision tour at SPAC. Very cool show. Adrian Belew was guitarist and “bandleader”, riding a #1 college radio hit with Pretty Pink Rose off of Young Lions which they played that night. The show started with Space Oddity and closed with Heroes, plus no less than 5 encores ending with Gloria. There were a lot of older tracks that I don’t think were ever played live again. Interesting stage set with a gauze curtain sometimes in front of, sometimes behind the band, that images were projected on; also left and right video screens and several acrobatic dancers.
The dancers on the Sound + Vision Tour were Édouard Lock’s Montreal-based troupe, La La La Human Steps, who just disbanded last year…
I was at both the SPAC and The Chance show. The latter was a warm-up gig for the Reality Tour. Tickets were made available to BowieNet subscribers. I had previously seen Bowie on the Serious Moonlight tour at what was then Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. and the Glass Spider tour in Giants Stadium, so being able to see the man in a tiny club was an unbelievable treat. Bowie came outside the theater during the sound check to greet fans, signing autographs and posing for pictures. He was tremendously friendly and gracious. I was also supposed to see the Diamond Dogs tour in 1974 at Cape Cod Coliseum, but when we arrived at the venue we discovered that the concert had been cancelled.