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The last David Bowie concert in the
southern hemisphere took place in Perth.
It was an outdoor show - the first since Wellington (at
the beginning of the down under leg of the A
Reality Tour).
For some years prior, the western metropolis had been
suffering from an absence of medium to large sized
concert venues. The Perth Entertainment Centre
(which Bowie played in 1978 and again in 1983) was by
this time laying in an abandoned and decrepit state.
In the first announcement of dates, it
appears that Bowie and Dainty were going to skip Perth
altogether but a few weeks into the initial tickets
sales for other Australian shows, a resolution was
reached. A tract of parkland in the Perth CBD - the
Supreme Court Gardens - would now be adapted for the
event.
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Set up progress for David Bowie
Perth concert. Photo by Stevee.
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Ticket provided by Leanne Ebbs. |
Writing for the Western Australian,
Simon Collins reported:
"We were all on our feet, as the ageless, rock icon
swaggered out to the front of stage."
"New Killer Star, from his newest and 23th
studio album, Reality, was a hit with the audience -
as were most of the new songs. Pablo Picasso and
Looking for Water maintained the energy levels of his
1970s material, while the plaintive The Loneliest Guy
echoed the tone of his 1969 classic, Space Oddity."
According to our man on the scene, Stevee,
the audience managed to pass the sing-a-long challenge
of 'China Girl' - Bowie pointing out that the second gig
in Melbourne - and Perth - were the only two places in
the world that could do it. Reportedly,
a girl at the front fainted when Bowie touched her hand.
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Bowie
- Perth concert, 2004.
Photo by Tim from Perth
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At one point, Bowie cracked a joke about Brian Eno
playing Satan in the new Mel Gibson directed movie, Passion.
Bowie also thoroughly embarrassed Sterling Campbell by
thrusting his hips at him.
He also joked with the huge crowd of people that had
gathered on the other side of the fence, in a park by
the river, listening for free. He called the payed
audience "the legitimates" and them "the illegitimates".
The final down under show was also signaled
by a large shooting star that blazed
across the night sky.
Many people at the concert let out a gasp of surprise
and after the concert, Paul Dempsey (from the support
act, Something For kate) reported the moment to Bowie
for which he responded:
"Paul, if you work hard enough, you'll get your own
shooting star someday".
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