January 24 - Sunday

I had to double check my memory against the setlist, because it is now just a little more than 12 years ago I had the privilege of seeing David Bowie on his last tour. It was a concert that really lived up to the roughly 20 years I had been building expectations for this momentous occasion. The band was top notch. Sterling Campbell on drums, Mike Garson on keyboards, Earl Slick on guitar, Gerry Leonard on guitar (and his musical director on this tour), Mark Plati on bass and guitar, and Catherine Russell on keyboards, percussion, acoustic guitar, and backing vocals.

I was very familiar with Mike Garson's work with Bowie - I was a huge fan of what he did on Outside, which was an album that may not have been too popular, but that really sat well with me. Earl Slick was another long running and familiar name with Bowie, but the person aside from Bowie I really was excited to see was Gail Ann Dorsey. This female bass player with her shaved head, playing and singing with both skill and grace, had long been on my radar. I even remember her song Wasted Country from the album The Corporate World back in 1988, when it was played on the very interesting music show Pandora's Jukebox, which aired on Norwegian radio every Saturday from the mid 80s to the mid 90s, I believe.

Another musician that really intrigued me in the band was Gerry Leonard, who was a new musical acquaintance for me. His use of effects to create moods and textures was fascinating, and I kept watching him to see how he constantly was turning knobs on a device that appeared to be at about hip height. I have since come to really appreciate his work, and it is very prominent on today's song.

About halfway through the main set, following the freneticism of Hallo Spaceboy, they toned everything down, dimmed the lights a little more, and the eerie, cold sounds of Sunday filled the Palace of Auburn Hills. On a winter day like today, I am thinking that Sunday is a very appropriate song. Please enjoy.