David Bowie 1972-10-07 Chicago ,Auditorium Theatre (RAW)
Sound Quality Rating
SIDE A
01. Ode To Joy (Fade In)
02. Hang On To Yourself
03 Ziggy Stardust
04. Supermen (Slight Break At Sad-Eyed Mermen)
05. Queen Bitch
06. Changes
07. Life On Mars?
08. Cuts To Five Years Drum Intro
09. Space Oddity (Break In Middle)
10. Break & Cuts Into Andy Warhol {False Start – Sings Up To Dress My Friends Up..Then Stops)
11. Starts Andy Warhol Again And Says “Sorry About That”
12. My Death
13. Width Of A Circle (Cut During Bowie’s Whooo Whooo vocal just before “His Nebulous Body…”)
SIDE B
14. Width Of A Circle (Resumes After The Last Verse)
15. Band Introduction
16. John I’m Only Dancing
17. Moonage Daydream (False Start)
18. Moonage Daydream (Break In Middle)
19. Starman (Break After Starman)
20. Waiting For The Man
21. White Light/White Heat (Break After White Light)
22. Suffragette City (Break After Suffragette City)
23. Jean Genie (Bowie Intros Song Telling Crowd This Was Written About A Friend Of Ours Called Iggy Pop)
24. Couple Of Breaks THen Cuts Into Ode To Joy which Fades
Label : No label
Audio Source : audience
Lineage : From audio cassette (thanks Craig Wilkinson) converted to audio WAV format
Total running time : 1:15:16
Sound Quality : Not good ,much Noise ,very dull
Attendance : 4.300
Artwork : None
Note : The Jean genie ,Performed for the first time
“Thank you very much,were gonna do a number from the Hunk Dory Album it’s called Life on Mars“ Bowie tells the audience who are reasonably enthusiastic and clap along with many a song.Afrer Five fears Bowie gets his 12-string guitar shouldered for Space Oddity,and meanwhile people from the audience call out the names of their favorite songn,e.g. Andy Warhol and Saviour Machine. Space Oddity Starts and the audience quite enjoy that too.It is splendidly performed with Robson playing the second part.
At the beginning of Andy Warhol Bowie stops and a lot of screaming of the audience can he heard. Something is happening with over-enthusiastic fans or something of the sort; at least Bowie soon continues.
This time Bowie does not announce My Death and when it Starts no one applauds,for no one knows it. But the audience are quite silent while the song lasts and gives it a great applause when it is over.
To Moonage Daydream Bowie.says “This is a number by Ziggy” and for the first line e he sings – off key – “Well I’m an ace invader”! Not very successful,so he stops immediately and starts anew. “This is a number from Ziggy,it’s Called Moonage Daydream“ .
“Thank you!” he calls gratefully when he is called back for Jean Genie. “We’ve done some recording and this is one we recorded in New York,and it’s for a friend of ours,Iggy Pop. He’s not here tonight so it’s for you here,it’s called Jean Genie“. After this song there is Rock & Roll Suicide.
Auditorium Theater, Chicago – October 7 1972
Remember the time you were at a concert and you really needed to pee? Now, remember the sound of the concert you were at from behind the walls of the cubicle as you went about your business. That’s almost how this concert recording from the windy city in early October 1972 sounds. It was the fifth show on Bowie first legitimate concert tour of America and sandwiched between the shows in Boston and Detroit. A few songs in however, and the quality begins to improve. This was Bowie’s make or break tour of America. He would return during the early months of 1973 to play much larger venues as his star began to shine brightly but for now, he was playing small theaters, often half empty as Americans struggled to come to terms with the strange alien like creature that had invaded their shores. The crowd who did arrive to see Ziggy on this night were rewarded with an impeccable show from someone or something that he most likely had never experienced before or after for that matter.
Halfway through the show, Bowie stops during the intro to Andy Warhol because of technical issues. During this period he jokes with some of the audience, sprinkling some of his stardust over them, reeling them in. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be a Bowie fan in America during 1972. Remember, it was all tight jeans and t-shirts back then so stepping out from the shadows to profess your love for a cross dressing Englishman would have led to some severe harassment. Train crashes were the flavor of the month in 1972. The night before Ziggy’s first appearance in Chicago, 208 people died in a train derailment in Mexico whilst at the end of the month, some 45 commuters perished in a morning train crash in the city of Chicago itself.
Overall, the recording reveals a nervous band, not yet at the tight sound that would be on show for all to see later in the tour. Bowie’s vocals do however, have a raw spark and he hits some deliciously high notes, particularly during Width Of A Circle. It’s part of the subtle charm when a performer is not quite there yet. A lot of the material played at this show was only a few months old and had only been in record stores for an even shorter period of time.
There is indeed an interesting historical connection to this show as it was the first time that The Jean Genie was performed live. It had only been recorded the day before in a studio and would be released as a single a month later for the Christmas market. In the days prior to this recording, Bowie laid his own version of All The Young Dudes to tape in New York as well. Quite the prolific week one could suggest. Two iconic songs recorded and a couple of shows to boot.
Whist not by any means, the best quality of bootlegs, this Ziggy show in Chicago is a view through the looking glass at an artist on the verge of greatness. It first saw the light of day to the wider collecting community in August 2014 and i’m glad it found its way out of the cupboard from wherever it did in fact spring from. Now, what did I do with that time machine?
David Bowie Tour Band – The Ziggy Stardust Tour
David Bowie – vocals, guitar, harmonica
Mick Ronson – guitar, vocals
Trevor Bolder – bass
Mick “Woody” Woodmansey – drums
Matthew Fisher – piano (20 Apr 1972 – 27 May 1972)
Robin Lumley – piano (2 Jun 1972 – 15 Jul 1972)
Nicky Graham – piano (1 Aug 1972 – 7 Sep 1972)
Mike Garson – piano, mellotron, organ (22 September 1972 – end of tour)
John Hutchinson – rhythm guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar (8 Apr 1973 – 20 Apr 1973 – 3 July 1973)
Aynsley Dunbar – additional drums (8 Apr 1973 – 20 Apr 1973)
Geoffrey A. MacCormack – backing vocals, percussion (19 January 1973 – end of tour)
Ken Fordham – saxophone (19 January 1973 – end of tour)
Brian Wilshaw – saxophone, flute (19 January 1973 – end of tour)
Crew
Robin Mayhew ,Will Palin ,Mick Hince ,Dean Heiser – Sound ,Ground Control ,Front of House Engineer ,Stage hands
Nigel Olliff, Nick Gilbey, Paul Normand and crew – Lights ,1972 Heavy Light ,1973 See Factor Industries NY Bob See ,Steve Hurston ,Mick Fussey
Peter Hunsley – Stage Equipment
Suzi Fussey – Wardrobe, Makeup and Hair
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