BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
Throughout his career, David Bowie played many Atlanta venues, including the Fox Theatre, the Omni, Lakewood Amphitheatre and even Smith’s Olde Bar.
The singer/actor/artist last played Atlanta in May 2004 during his “A Reality Tour” with a stop at Chastain Park Amphitheatre.
Peter Conlon, president of Live Nation Atlanta, promoted what turned out to be Bowie’s final concert appearance in the city and recalls the evening as “an incredible show … and an incredible production.”
While Bowie was primarily playing arenas on that tour, Conlon swayed Bowie’s people to do the show at Chastain instead.
“They went for him playing someplace different. The audience went crazy; he played a great set list,” Conlon said.
Conlon also remembered promoting Bowie’s “Glass Spider” tour at the Omni in 1987, another typically grandiose stage show.
“Bowie was doing big productions before there were big productions. He and Pink Floyd,” Conlon said. “But he was an incredible talent and the thing about him is that he always reinvented himself and he grew. He wasn’t Ziggy (Stardust) all the time and it showed in the range of his ability. Every (artist) took something from Bowie … sadly, we’re not going to have any more David Bowies or Eric Claptons. It’s going to be the decade of the dying rock icon.”
On Thursday, a group of local musicians performing under the moniker Bowie in Sweats will perform a tribute to the singer at the Earl . The show had been booked for months to celebrate Bowie's 69th birthday (on Jan. 8), but will now serve as a memorial to the artist.
One of the performers, T.T. Mahony, known for his holiday season tributes of Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” music, posted on Facebook Monday that Bowie was “as close to a musical parent as I ever had.”
Doors for the show open at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $7. The Earl, 488 Flat Shoals Ave. S.E., Atlanta. 404-522-3950, badearl.com.
If you attended a Bowie concert in Atlanta, please share your memories in the comments section.
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