A David Bowie Celebration puts the Major Tom to Syracuse, A-

A blend of old and new musicians made up for a wonderful evening of hits, dancing, and sing alongs to A David Bowie Celebration at the Palace Theater in Syracuse last night.

It was around 8pm when A David Bowie Celebration graced the stage last night at Syracuse's Palace Theatre. A cold winter night, with, always a chance of snow, didn't stop Central New Yorkers from attending the show of some British love from the 70s. With several members of the original band, including of course pianist Mike Garson, it was truly enjoyable witnessing musicians from a great era of music performing some of their original hits that everyone loves.

While it wasn't a sold out show, the Palace Theatre was about half way filled, the older crowd proved to be surprisingly energetic throughout the evening. There were several fans dancing up front that jazzed up the place for the evening, and by the encore, mostly everyone in the crowd was standing and cheering the rockers on stage. With songs like 'Rebel Rebel' and 'Suffragette City' it's hard not to get up and dance.

Before the concert began, an Onondaga Native America chief introduced the band, stating the Onondaga nation truly loves groups like David Bowie. The chief had actually met Bowie, along with other iconic British singers like John Legend and Mick Jagger.

'It's always nice being introduced by a Indian Chief,' Mike Garson commented afterwards, 'Maybe we'll have some good spirits tonight!' Mike was indeed in a good mood tonight as he introduced almost every song with grace, and his piano skills are still top form.

Perhaps the highlight of the show wasn't Mike, but instead, Corey Glover of Living Colour. He was truly exceptional with every song he sang, and his vocal cords were more than impressive as he hit each high note perfectly. One of the best songs he sang was earlier on in the night when he came to the front of the stage in his yellow and black striped suite and performed Bowie's 'Young Americans'. Legendary back up singer  Bernard Fowler was also great and a sight to see live performing with the David Bowie Celebration, but it was clear from the beginning that Corey was stealing the show.

Legendary guitarist and original member Earl Slick was looking great as ever and continued to sound good throughout the night, proving that he can still keep up with some of the younger and other musicians on stage exceptionally well. Another legendary member from the original band was Charlie Sexton, and although most of his work was with Bob Dylan, it was still good to see him performing with this unusual but great group of musicians.

The setlist included dozens of hits from Bowie's career, including 'Heroes' at the very end, 'Ground Control to Major Tom'. and 'Fame' and 'Under the Pressure.' No matter what your age, it was great listening to some of the hits from the 70s being performed from those who actually wrote them. It was also great to hear some other songs especially 'Lazarus'.

It wasn't a perfect concert. The sound was a bit off, and it actually could have been a bit longer with benefiting having two sets instead of one, but besides those facts, it was still impressive and a fun night. Even without Bowie, A Bowie Celebration continues his legacy so both the older and younger generation can experience the music of a legend.

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Setlist, A David Bowie Celebration, Syracuse, NY, Thursday, March 7, 2019

1)
Bring Me the Disco King

2)
Rebel Rebel

3) 

Moonage Daydream

4)
Fame

5)
Young Americans

6) 

Space Oddity

7)
Lazarus

8)
Cracked Actor

9)
Quicksand

10)
Ashes to Ashes

11)
White Light/White Heat

12)

Sweet Thing

13)
Aladdin Sane

14)
Under Pressure

15)
Let's Dance

16)
Suffragette City

17)
All the Young Dudes

Encore:

Heroes

Photos by Justin Gorelick: