DAVID BOWIE graced Dublin with a surprise show at The Factory in Ringsend on Saturday, treating 300 lucky space cadets to a bass heavy explosion of old tunes and new beats. The Thin White Duke seems to enjoy doing secret gigs in Dublin, and many of us have fond memories of the time he played the Baggot Inn with his band, Tin Machine, back in the mists if time. We don't have such fond memories of the music, however, since Bowie was, to put it kindly, in his "crap" phase at the time, but it was great just to have been there.
On Saturday night, however, not only did we get to bask in the close presence of a rock legend once again, we also got to hear some classic Bowie songs along with some of the better offerings from his recent albums, Outside and Earthling. Not a single Tin Machine tune to be heard, although sometimes the widdly guitar playing of Reeves Gabrels sent you spinning back into that obsolescent era.
Bowie's current band also features Aladdin Sane alumnus Mike Garson on keyboards and samples, bassist Gail Ann Dorsey and drummer percussionist Zachary Alford, but before the band launched into the festival set which they'd been rehearsing this past month there was the small matter of Bowie's current musical fixation for the new model dance genre known as drum n bass. The first hour of the set was an extended experiment in psychotic loops and blockbusting bass, and only the hardcore clubbers could endure the stomach pummelling bass frequencies which throbbed from the speakers.
After a short break, Bowie gave songs from Earthling their first live airing, but the tiny crowd gave a big cheer for Fashion, perfectly upgraded to suit the band's bassheavy sound. Gail Ann Dorsey shared lead vocals with Bowie for Under Pressure, but Heroes and Scary Monsters were handled with panache by the Dame himself. The Man Who Sold The World got the drum n bass treatment, falling neatly among newer songs like Looking For Satellites and I'm Afraid Of Americans.
Just when we were beginning to get used to Bowie's recent, robust output, the man suddenly whipped out an acoustic guitar and dug up the organic spirits of Quicksand and Queen Bitch, getting all bluesy for The Jean Genie, then going into rock n roll overdrive for Lou Reed's White Lights White Heat and I'm Waiting For My Man. Bowie topped off his surprise party with All The Young Dudes, forgetting the words of the second verse and laughing loudly at the renewed innocence of it all.
