by DEmerson
2. Boston Garden - 3/17/76: This one still has to rank as my all time favorite show by Bowie or anyone else. The Thin White Duke on St. Patrick's Day. From the Dali film to the Station to Station/Suffragette City opening to the Diamond Dogs/Rebel Rebel/Jean Genie closer, plus a killer Stay - I've still never heard a crowd louder. For those of you who have just discovered Bowie in the past few years, I'll just say that this phenemenon of Bowie-Mania is NOT a new thing. Good boots of the Nassau show right around the time of this show attest to what an absolutely great tour this was - even if DB might not remember it!
3. Boston Garden - 5/6/78: The Stage Tour. Hitchhiked from college at UMass Amherst to catch this one. Another challenging show with much of the Heroes instrumentals, but the pay off comes with Ziggy and a Hang Onto Yourself that just seemed to go on forever and I think the one time I've seen Five Years done.
4. The Booth Theater, NY - 12/13/80: - I happened to see a performance of the Elephant Man the same weekend after John Lennon was shot. Reports are that this was very traumatic for David, as it was for the rest of us. On Sunday we all went to Central Park, where like a million people just gathered and cried over the tragedy and loss. Anyway, the play was fantastic. Check out Steve Edelson's site which is dedicated to David's performance as John Merrick, or click here to view my autographed Playbill from the play.
5. Hartford Civic Center - 7/15/83 - One of the first N. American Serious Moonlight shows. This one was not one of my faves for some reason. The Serious Moonlight Tour was to get better though.
6. Madison Square Garden - 7/27/83 - Much better in New York, the last night of the Big Apple run. I still have one of the moons that showered down on us at the end. Great show. We prowled Metropolis post-show looking for Bowie, and actually found the post-show party, but got only as far as the velvet ropes.
7. Foxboro Stadium - 8/31/83 - The Serious Moonlight Tour hits the football stadiums. To this day when I mention Bowie to many people around Boston they'll say "I saw the Serious Moonlight show at Foxboro." Certainly his "commercial" zenith. Click here to see a couple of ads for this show.
8. Veteran's Stadium, Phili - 7/30/87: Drove from Boston to Phili because I HAD to catch the opener of this tour. 10th row seats too in a football stadium. This tour gets a lot of knocks, but I thought it was fantastic. Probably his most elaborate staging, and well, I LIKE theatrics myself. That plus there were some very obscure tracks played on this tour - All the Madmen, Big Brother. etc.
9. Foxboro Stadium - 9/3/87: Another mammoth outing. Waited in line for hours for open seating and did get the front row! I can still remember him looking right at me as he shouted "Let yourself go" during Jean Genie.
10. Foxboro Stadium - 7/21/90: I wasn't crazy about the Sound and Vision tour. May have to do with the fact that I was hoping that this security guy my friend knew would get us backstage, but best he would do was put us in the front row. Shouldn't complain about that, but I was really hoping this would have been my chance to meet him. That plus I thought Adrien Belew and the whole band he had for this tour was probably his weakest. Again, just my opinion. That said, on this particular night he DID do an incredible version of Young Americans, breaking into the blues at the "Break down and Cry" part.
11. Orpheum Theater - 11/20/91: Tin Machine! I still think Tin Machine ROCKED! Another frustrating show though as AGAIN I was hoping to get to meet him and got only as far as watching him go into the show for the sound check. This show was broadcast by WBCN, and the live version of Betty Wrong I still think was one of his best performances.
12. Campus Club - Providence, RI - 11/24/91: I finally come face to face with the man who sold the world! Tin Machine played a small club in Providence (thanks still go to Sean D. for the ticket), and I heard which hotel they were at. I hung out in the lobby for over an hour while they were doing the soundcheck. Went to get something to eat in the bar, ready to give up, then I walked to the restroom and I saw Hunt Sales, and then I saw the tour bus out front. And then, standing by the elevator, there's BOWIE! I walked over, and his "handler" sort of put on arm up, but I said, "Please David, can I just shake you hand?" Sure enough he shook my hand, took a quick photo with someone, then off he went. I was SO thrilled, I mean I had been trying for YEARS just to do that. As silly as it sounds, I'm sure there are Bowie fans out there who can relate. Then the show that night was great too, in front of a packed, 1,000 capacity club, as I'm pressed against the stage, Bowie and the band come out and open with Betty Wrong and proceed to just blow the roof off the place!
