FAN CONCERT REPORTS
Eire, Dublin
The Point

(Saturday 22nd November 2003)


Report: Dublin
From: Caroline

Brilliant Weekend In Dublin (including a Meet and Greet!)

So anyway this weekend, I got to meet David Bowie. Thanks to Ian Dempsey, Today FM and Jenny at Sony records. The M&G happened after the show, but I got my pass at 7.30 that evening so the viewing opportunities were limited when I got into the auditorium. There were 10 of us Meeting and Greeting. Five winners and our "plus ones". There were also a few record company people and the aforementioned Ian, who's one of Ireland's best and most popular DJs... and a huge Bowie fan. It was nice to see someone as famous as Ian get as starry eyed as the rest of us mere mortals when David came in.

He's very nice and smiley and it didn't take him an age from the end of the show to deign to meet us. He changed out of his stage clothes (which denied me access to BowieSweat!) He's also a lot shorter than I thought. I expected him to be 6 foot plus. I think he was around 5'7. Good handshake (I hate flimsy girly handshakes... even from girlies!). He was in good form, signed everything in front of him and then posed for a group photo. No conversations... But then again, I don't know him, he doesn't know me, so why would there be? And despite the wishful thinking, he's not leaving his supermodel wife for me! Bah!

After shaking Bowie's hand, all I could think of was that I wanted to make a hyperbaric chamber for my hand (like David Duchovny in Zoolander... oooh 6 degrees!) so it would forever have BowieResidue on it!

The concerts were among the best I've ever been to. Saturday night, my view wasn't the best, but I could still see him. He played a stormer and I'll never forget "Life on Mars" as long as I live. The crowd drowned him out and then applauded him for about 2 minutes. He looked visibly moved on the video screen. Sunday night I ended up in the front row (FRONT ROW!!!) and Bowie played for THREE HOURS! Three hours, people! The guy is old enough to be me Da and he put performers half his age to shame!

Oh, and a public service announcement. Don't get your ticketmaster tix laminated. I got my autographed ticket laminated and the ticket turned black. By some act of god you can still see the autograph. The poor shop assistant was mortified!

The set list differed for both nights and there were no real costume changes. A couple of jackets and that was it. The rest of the time it was a tight black tee and even tighter black jeans. (David Bowie has no arse - Fact!). Some of the best songs were minimal sometimes just a guitar, a piano and a voice, but when necessary, the band could rock out and get the crowd of kids, grownups and oldies moshing like there was no tomorrow. I would have been beside myself if he'd played Young Americans which is my fave Bowie song, but as it is, the sets played were spectacular. His band are amazing live! Not a bum note, timed perfectly.

Brilliant.

Highlights for me: Life On Mars, Loneliest Guy, Hallo Spaceboy, I'm Afraid of Americans, Bring Me The Disco King, Ashes To Ashes, All The Young Dudes... I could go on! After behaving myself at the last concert I went to in October because I had to save my voice for a show that week, I sang my self silly and roared myself hoarse. It was worth the money, the time off work, the effort, the sore ankles, the wrecking of my dodgy knee, the sore back, the 3 mile walk afterwards because the buses weren't running after midnight and the lack of sleep.

Unforgettable stuff.




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