Five Years and A Day: REVISED

 

 

 

It appears that many of the videos that were on YouTube have been taken down. Taylor Momsen's version of "Quicksand" is all that remains of what I posted earlier.

Original post below-

Yesterday marked the five year anniversary of David Bowie's passing. I'm still not over it. 

On Saturday evening, there was a PPV event hosted by longtime Bowie piano player and occasional music director Mike Garson, which featured an amazing number of Bowie alumni backing a very diverse array of singers covering hits and deep cuts. This was no ordinary concert. How could it be during a pandemic?

From what I could see and hear, some performances were pre-taped and lip synced, some were newly recorded studio versions, some were live, some were live and then lip synced to a live track. It was a distraction for the first 20 minutes, but then, I was so overwhelmed by the performances and the visuals, that none of it mattered. This was one of the greatest tributes I had even seen.

 

Forty songs, with few lemons. Most every performance was special. No one phoned it in, though Billy Corgan should have phoned in sick. His laughable take on "Space Oddity" was truly the only low light.

I was surprised to see any of this already on YouTube, but I am thrilled that it is. If you're a Bowie fan, I urge you to watch as much of this show as you could track down. I'll get you started with some of my favorite moments.

Up top is Gail Ann Dorsey with the "Young Americans" deep cut "Can You Hear me."

Below is Taylor Momsen, someone I new nothing about before Saturday, but she killed me with her version of "Quicksand." 

I fully expected to get all snarky over Judith Hill & Andra Day's "Under Pressure" but instead, was left speechless.

There are so many more highlights including Bernard Fowler covering the "Sweet Thing/Candidate" medley from "Diamond Dogs," Catherine Russell's gorgeous reading of "Conversation Piece," Corey Glover from Living Colour providing the real soul that was missing from "Young Americans," and Trent Reznor delivering two, "Fantastic Voyage" and "Fashion." 

I only hope the entire set is released in one form or another. It seemed like a true labor or love for all involved.