Once again last night, bored out of our minds, my friend Doc Brown and I got into his DeLorean and sped at 88 mph down the Belt Highway until we wound up back in July of 1974. David Bowie was giving a show at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia, so we decided to check it out. What a show

After disbanding the Spider from Mars, I was worried Bowie’d never find a band that rocked, but my concerns were very much unfounded as this new line-up kicks just as much a$$ as anything else Bowie’s done. Mick Ronson had been replaced by Earl Slick on guitar and that was my biggest fear, but, man, when Slick hits his stride, it seems there’s nothing he can’t do, and with Herbie Flowers on bass and Tony Newman on drums, this is one tight band. Mike Garson was there, too, on piano, along with a very young David Sanborn on sax.

The show this time around seemed more refined than the Ziggy Tour, even though several of the songs were the same. “Time”, “Width of a Circle”, “Moonage Daydream” and “Cracked Actor” were carried over to this show and I daresay Slick outdid Ronson on each and every one. In fact, that might have been my favorite “Cracked Actor” performance yet.

Touring in support of his album DIAMOND DOGS, six of the19 songs performed at the show were from the then-recent release with the rest of the set list spanning most of his other albums, 3 songs from ZIGGY STARDUST, 5 from ALADDIN SANE, 1 from HUNKY DORY, 1 from THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD, and a few covers like the Mott the Hoople hit “All the Young Dudes”, which Bowie wrote, as well as the disco smash “Knock on Wood”. A song I didn’t recognize was played during the encore, “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”.

What I liked about this show was how, although familiar with most of the songs, Bowie had done enough re-arranging to make them all sound so fresh, adding a bit of the soul flavor he’d begun to experiment with around that time (the flavor would be more fully explored with the release of YOUNG AMERICANS a year later). The songs were performed with more flare and passion than they would be on any other live album. In fact, this was definitely the best show I’ve heard yet. His vocals were stronger than in previous live shows, the band sounded more rehearsed and much more tightly focused. All in all, this is the show in which Bowie truly left it all on stage, giving his all to the crowd, and it was awesome.

There were some tired tunes that I’d be fine never hearing live again, like “Changes” and “Suffragette City”, but I have to remember that back in 1974 these songs weren’t as overplayed as they would be in my time.

The energy at this show was very high, the sound was great, and the songs rocked. I do have a soft spot in my heart for the Ziggy show, but I think the next time I’m in the mood to go see another Bowie show, I’ll have to check this one out again.

I never got bored, never wondered how many more songs he was gonna do, and never found myself wishing it were time to go home. If anything, the show ended too soon as there were several more songs I would have loved to hear this new band play like “Black Country Rock” or “Queen B!tch”.

I know not everyone has my lucky access to a time machine, but if you’re interested in checking out this awesome Bowie show, you can pick up his 2-disc DAVID LIVE album; it’s pretty much the same show I saw, though the songs are culled from different performances over a 4-day period. It’s much more interesting than when he played Santa Monica in 1972 and there are no experimental instrumentals as when he played his STAGE show in 1977, it’s just Bowie and the band kicking out the jams, one after another. Absolutely worth checking out.

Set list:
1984
Rebel Rebel
Moonage Daydream
Sweet Thing
Changes
Suffragette City
Aladdin Sane
All the Young Dudes
Cracked Actor
Rock n Roll with Me
Watch that Man
Knock on Wood
Diamond Dogs
Big Brother
Width of a Circle
Jean Genie
Rock n Roll Suicide
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Time