Outside Reality




"...welcome to Reality..."


After coming back from Italy our lives had changed. We had missed Italy like it was our Homeland. As the months went by, we got wind that Bowie was coming to London, ON. Who knew? I was quite shocked that he would be gracing his presence in London of all places. And in the same breath I was happy that he would be giving Londoners some culture with his music.

When we saw him in Milan, we were so far away; we could only make a small man on stage out to be Bowie. But with his presence being so large, who needs to see him up close... well we needed to this time. We had managed to get floor seats, in the second section away from the stage. Who can beat that?

So on our drive down to London, we tuned into 96FM that had an entire hour dedicated to Bowie. It was a great warm-up to the concert. Only 7 and 1/2 hours left to go. We did some last minute running around. Only 3 and 1/2 hours to go... oh the wait was too much to bear. Finally 7 o'clock rolled around. Our friend came home, who was coming with us. She was a Bowie virgin, not really knowing too much of his music, but after hearing what an experience we had in Milan, our friend was more than convinced to see him in London.

We arrived at the Labatt Center. The crowd was of all walks of life. We had found our seats and sat down and made ourselves comfortable. The opening band was The Stereophonics. They were brilliant live. I had listened to them the night before just to get a feel for what they did. And to see them live, their energy was great. Then the wait would seem like forever before Bowie would grace the stage.

When the lights dimmed and the intro and the rush of energy hit. The first chords of 'Rebel Rebel' rang clear and the energy was like a tidal wave had hit. Being right in the crowd and so close to Bowie was immense. You were taken away into Bowie's energy and you were brought into this euphoric space. With every song the energy kept on building and getting more and more intense. It just drew in you more and you just wanted to get closer to him. So my wife inched us closer and closer to the stage before we were rudely stopped by some security who just took the fun of being at a Bowie concert. So there we were just one section away from Bowie. We enjoyed our small amount of time seeing Bowie in our new seats, but only to be pushed back by more security people to get out of the aisles and back to our seats. We had made some friends and they helped us get only a few rows behind where we were. So that was awesome.

Taking in as much Bowie as I could, there came a pause when he was about to tell a story. The lights were bright and my wife yanked on my arm and said "Come on, stand on the chair and make your presence known to Bowie." I was timid at first from the reaction of the bouncers, and didn't want to get thrown out... but in the back of my mind it all made sense. So there I was, standing above everyone else, it was just Bowie and I. We had both made that contact and when that happened it was like I was transported into his energy and that was so intense all I could do was cheer louder. In my heart I just felt almost frightened because of how intense Bowie's energy was. But what I really felt was a deep admiration and humbleness for the great talent that he holds. Truly a brilliant man.

As the concert went on, it kept on getting more and more intense. To hear 'Station To Station' was brilliant, not having heard it ever live. 'Under Pressure' was beautiful, and Gail just held that last note for what seemed to be heaven.

Bowie was on top that night. Holding such a wit, that most of the Londoners just didn't get it. I thought it was hilarious, but most said it was due to the accent. Bowie showed his love to the audience by blowing kisses, and telling us that he loved us. It was truly an amazing performance. Bowie went all out, and told us that he would even perform in his underwear if he had too. His favorite part about London was the Thames river, and that it was so clean... little does he know magical things happen in the Thames. The night ended, and I was still at the concert. My ears rang out Bowie melodies. That night had changed my life. It would open a whole new clarity for me.

Thank you Sailor.


Outside Reality.
05-14-2004.


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