David Bowie, Frankfurt Festhalle, 18-10-03

26/10/03 17:30 Filed in: Gigs

I found this old review, never printed, and thought I'd share it with you because I'm feeling generally blog uninspired at the moment and this harks back to a thrilling time. I wrote this review of a Bowie show in Frankfurt in a hotel. I'd been to a drunken after party when the gig was over and I didn't start writing til about 1am and though I wrote it fast, as I always do, it was just too late to get into Bowienet news. In fact, it's the only review I've written that *didn't* get used as the official review, I've been pretty lucky in regard to getting my reviews printed there. I miss those times and hope that they return soon. I remember this piece being very hard to write, literally, because all the keys on German keyboards are in different places to regular computer keyboards!

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David Bowie: Frankfurt Festhalle October 18 2003

So here I am in Frankfurt trying to get my thoughts together about this gig. Firstly I must say the Dandys were good tonight: all foppish caps and louche demeanour. The best I've seen them so far. He started with Jean Genie for the second time in a week (the first I saw too in Rotterdam) which was a bit of a surprise, having only started with NKS thus far up until Wednesday. Storming versions of Battle for Britain tonight and a quite amazing run through of Suffragette City. The crowd took a bit of warming up but by the end were his. Spaceboy raised the roof as ever and Ziggy sent us home happy to say the least.

What struck me most of all tonight, watching the crowd, was how he has them in the palm of his hand. What a performer, filled with experience and knowledge of how to, pardon the phrase, get everyone off. Each Reality song improves with every play especially Never Get Old: he'll be playing it for years. Hearing Heroes performed in Germany was something I thought I'd never hear so it was such a pleasure and very different in terms of vibe from hearing it in England, for example.

I tell you, I'm knackered and I've only done 3 gigs. I have no idea how he does this night after night... the man has stamina to shame us all! Next gig won't be for a month (in Lyon)... can't wait!!
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Now the funny thing is that I decided I couldn't possibly wait a month to see him again, such was the groove of flying and getting up early and travelling and staying in cheap hotels that I'd gotten myself into. I realised that 2 weeks after Frankfurt he was playing in Hanover on Nov 1, bisecting the Frankfurt and Nov 15 Lyon gigs. I bought a ticket, booked the flight and just went. It was a Saturday, as many of the gigs I saw were, so no time off work required. What a wonderful time it was, getting up on Saturday and jetting off to some random European city to see him play live, nice and close up too! I'm grateful I had the opportunity to do it because I'm pretty sure it'll never happen like that again. Good times...

Tags: David Bowie, Reality Tour