More than a dozen performers paid tribute to the late David Bowie on Saturday night during the second "A Bowie Celebration" livestream on Jan. 8, which would have been the influential English rock legend's 75th birthday.
Mike Garson, the veteran pianist/keyboardist who did more concerts with Bowie than any other band member, including both Bowie’s first and final performances in the United States - put the event together again.
Since the music world lost Bowie exactly six years ago today, Garson has done an admirable job at keeping the flame alive.
A portion of proceeds from the virtual ticket purchases go to Save the Children, a charity important to Bowie and the beneficiary of funds raised from his 50th Birthday Concert held in 1997.
On Saturday, the frequently compelling two-hours-plus event featured 26 songs (full setlist is below). The lineup included former Oasis leader Noel Gallagher, Def Leppard, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon and John Taylor, Living Colour, Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas, Walk the Moon and more.
Garson served as host, introduced acts, played on every song and chatted with Ricky Gervais via Zoom. The actor/comedian recalled his interactions with Bowie as a fledging singer in the short-lived 1980s new wave group Seona Dancing and when Bowie was a guest on his BBC sitcom "Extras."
In honor of the recent 35th anniversary of "Labyrinth," the cult classic fantasy film starring Bowie, actress Evan Rachel Wood sang an enchanting version of "As the World Falls Down," which Bowie recorded for the original soundtrack.
After finishing it, she bantered with a worm character puppet from the film. Then Garson and Wood walked to a separate room apart from the soundstage that the Bowie Celebration band played on. They sat down next to puppeteer Brian Henson, whose father Jim Henson directed and co-wrote the movie.
Some artists sang live onstage with the Bowie band alumni, others were pre-taped or seen via newly created videos specially for this livestream that the Bowie band played along to.
Young Ohio alt-pop band Walk the Moon (best known for the hits "Shut Up and Dance," "Anna Sun," "One Foot") kicked off the evening livestream with a spirited "Fame." Nicholas Petricca really got into it and was all over the stage. The singer was even more animated for "Golden Years" when his jump onto Garson's piano seemingly surprised the host while playing keyboards.
An orange dreadlocked Corey Glover of Living Colour (Garson noted it was one of Bowie's favorite bands) effortlessly nailed all those words and verses in "Young Americans" (Glover, like many participants, was involved with A Bowie Celebration concerts in the past). Vernon Reid got to show off some electric guitar dexterity when they took on "I'm Afraid of Americans."
The 2021 Celebration livestream video clip of Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins on a reworked, classical-oriented "Space Oddity" was shown again.
Joe Elliott of Def Leppard wrote a lovely new Bowie tribute song called "Goodnight Mr. Jones."
The midtempo piano ballad included lyrics that referenced Bowie tunes, plus this key refrain: "You showed us that we're not alone." It was a highlight, as was the band's great cover of "Drive-In Saturday."
Charlie Sexton played guitar on nearly all the songs. He sang lead on the spooky "Lazarus" (featuring "blackstar" album drummer Mark Guiliana) and was nearly a dead ringer for Bowie on the standout "Ashes to Ashes." The latter was sharply presented as an homage to the original groundbreaking music video with a beach backdrop and pale lighting.
Other highlights were Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon and John Taylor on a vibrant "Let's Dance." Both guys were grinning ear-to-ear.
They were accompanied by musicians that played on the original studio recording like drummer Omar Hakim, bassist Carmine Rojas and saxmen Stan Harrison and Steve Elson. Another bassist, Tim Lefebvre, was also somewhere in the mix. Now that's a mighty groove! It was so much fun that I watched it three more times before the online replay window closed on Sunday.
Noel Gallagher (pictured, top) handled the pleasant "Valentine's Day," a lesser-known track off 2013's underrated "The Next Day" while playing acoustic guitar. Gail Ann Dorsey, Bowie's bassist/backing vocalist on his later tours, was projected inside cool-looking graphics. She delivered an exquisite "Shadow Man" - included on the just released "Toy" and "Brilliant Adventure" box sets - backed by The Section Quartet and the Bowie alumni.
Rob Thomas closed out the proceedings alone in a theater on "Changes" and "Heroes," with the band superimposed on his image.
What was really interesting for diehard Bowie fans was seeing which Bowie alumni musicians would be paired with which song. Let's hope some of these tracks are eventually released for purchase (like Duran Duran's 2021 Celebration contribution "Five Years").
Setlist:
1. Fame - Walk the Moon
2. Young Americans - Living Colour
3. I'm Afraid of Americans - Living Colour
4. It Ain't Easy - Judith Hill
5. Five Years - Gaby Moreno
6. Space Oddity - Billy Corgan
7. The Gene Jenie - Bernard Fowler
8. Goodnight Mr. Jones - Joe Elliott
9. Time - Gaby Moreno
10. Lazarus - Charlie Sexton
11. Golden Years - Walk the Moon
12. Starman - Gretchen Parlato
13. As the World Falls Down - Evan Rachel Wood
14. Drive-In Saturday - Def Leppard
15. Ashes to Ashes - Charlie Sexton
16. Slip Away - Gary Oldman
17. Let's Dance - Simon Le Bon & John Taylor
18. Wild is the Wind - Bernard Fowler & Judith Hill
19. All the Young Dudes - Joe Sumner
20. Valentine's Day - Noel Gallagher
21. Shadow Man - Gail Ann Dorsey
22. Under Pressure - Walk the Moon
23. Modern Love - Jake Wesley Rogers
24. Life on Mars - Jake Wesley Rogers
25. Changes - Rob Thomas
26. Heroes - Rob Thomas
Photos: A Bowie Celebration/Rolling Live Studios
