So I've been working on this list for a while, and would like to know what you all think of it. Right now I'm calling it the "Come Back Fare Well Special."

My fantasy Bowie concert would be that he'd have a band, music support, light/video show, posh venue, and great film crew all at the same time (shocking I know) to capture a kick ass contemporary Bowie you'd be able to show to family and friends.

The intent would be to not only have a great concert- but a great concert film when all's said and done. The song selection was hard- but I'm pretty happy. There's some strange stuff here- but what do you think? Of course it's all conjecture and wishful thinking...


David Bowie performing with the Reality Tour band, and supported by:

-Tony Visconti
-Lenny Pickett and the Borneo Horns
-Kimmo Pohjonen Kluster
-Lisa Germano

And special guest appearance by Yoko Ono.



Set List:

The London Boys
-An unexpected opener- and sets the tone for the evening. Arranged in a fashion similar to the Toy track.

New Killer Star
-Kicks into high gear here, with KPK and Lisa lending support during those low broody parts.

Afraid
-Keeps the up-tempo feeling going- the arrangement would be the more expansive one found on Toy with more emphasis on the backing singers like Gail.

Slow Burn
-Bowie reminds us of the danger lurking in the horn section.

Young Americans
-Just a rockin' version of it- complete with soul backing from Gail. Almost like a duet for Bowie and Gail.

She'll Drive The Big Car
-Keeping the soul vibe from YA, this is done up to complement the previous track. Again more emphasis on strong backing vocals.

The Man Who Sold the World
-Another treat, to tell us he's not down and out.

Wood Jackson
-As there are no Ziggy numbers, (quite purposefully), the line here, "And he played" is made into quite a big deal. Could be a bit more guitar heavy.

Never Get Old
-Used to affront the rumors he was dead. This would be a great place for some fantastic video projections from past endeavors- to show just how much he's accomplished.

Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
-The beginning of a three song freak out. Uses the growling outtro favored during the Outside/Earthling tours- and maybe some of the freaky guttural instruments from that same period's version of Diamond Dogs.

The Heart's Filthy Lesson
-Everything quiets down for a moment, only to get funky again here. A nice time for some sexy dancing.

What in the World
-Close it out with a coked up blitz replete with hand shakin'.

Survive
-Similar to the Marius De Vries mix. Slow down and reminisce about those "Beatle Boys."

Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)
-First big surprise. Gail and the string would really kick this one up- possibly with a more classical arrangement from Visconti. Keep the tango.

I'm Afraid of Americans
-The dissonant rave up at the end of Sweet Thing leads into this monster.

Slip Away
-And quiets down for a fair well.

Rebel Rebel
-Before doing this number properly with the Borneo horns and complete ending.

The Width of a Circle
-Second big surprise, and should be a perfect closer for the concert proper.

Encore:

Glass Spider
-The third surprise for the show. Yoko comes on to perform the opening monologue, and then lends vocal support- making this track the wild frightening animal it should always have been.

Little Wonder
-Big, BIG version of this with strings and some "Under Pressure" style vocals from Gail at the end.

Memory of a Free Festival
-Last big surprise, to end the encore everyone on stage joins in for the end. Starts with a solo from Lisa.

That's that.

Nice!! Iwould kick Yoko off if i was directing...but, the rest is cool! I've ran the scenerio through my head before as i'm sure others have. In mine i mix live performances with special-made videos of certain songs.

'You start out wrinkled and you cry...you end up wrinkled and you die.'

Very imaginative setlist and comments, especially Yoko doing the intro to Glass Spider, and the Sweet Thing outro leading into Afraid Of Americans.

That was a very enjoyable read, thanks.

I'd sit through that. Somebody pitch it to him and design the costumes.

You never know the real story.

I would want to drop some of those Reality tracks. Apart from that great.

-----------------------------------------------

Thanks for the input. Dockock, what Reality numbers would you drop? I struggled to get rid of "Bring Me The Disco King" but finally gave in when I realized other songs were covering that territory.

Any "must have songs" missing?

What would you want to see recorded live?

I threw Yoko in because she's so darn cool, and I felt she'd add something missing to "Glass Spider." She's got a new album coming out in September, and I was lucky enough to listen to it (not with her or anything fancy like that) and it's fantastic. She and Bowie have been around too long to not have collaborated yet.

That said, I was also thinking Laurie Anderson... given her fantastic Moby Dick show.

'Afraid' whilst extremely competent I find very boring. Its like he listened to all these other bands he likes and did a song in the style of them. Not up to his usual standard for me I'm afraid.

'Slip away' I used to like but have really gone off over the last couple of years. It just feels like one of those Euro songs where everyone is supposed to hold their lighters up to. Yawnful.

-----------------------------------------------

As thylacine suggested, an (absolutely) final encore with 'MOAFF' and everybody singing "the sun machine is coming down" would have me in floods of tears.
All the decades of fandom and good times and memories would unravel before my eyes. That chorus and the experience would resound in my head for years after.
I would rather he just fade out very very gradually. As someone has mentioned here, (and I myself have in other posts) he must have a hell of a lot of songs ammassed by now. Just give us some new tunes, and the odd new media project - surely that won't be a strain for him.
No.more.tours.