Bowiephonics
This was a special night starring 3 stellar acts. Gary Shuffler opened with his band Ziggy Shuffledust and the Spiders from Mars covering Davie Bowie’s famed 1972 release The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
Second was the always energetic Schizophonics, that night known as the Bowiephonics, which featured extra members Daniel Cervantes from Mrs. Henry as well as Will Lerner from The Strawberry Moons. The foursome flamboyantly ripped through a mix of pre-ziggy stardust stuff, such as tracks off of Hunky Dory, The Man Who Sold the World, and Space Oddity much to the delight of the rambunctious crowd.
To finish off the night was a very special performance by the lovely and talented Ariel Levine and his star studded band. These guys took on the difficult task of covering Bowie’s last record Black Star. This is a beautiful, complicated, and moody record; very tough to cover musically. Members of Ariel’s band Eric Brozgold, Jesse Johnson, Sakura Toyama, Tim McNalley as well as special guests Heather Nation, Daniel Crawford and Johnny Tarr did total justice to what could honestly be the first live performance of this record in the world. It was a brilliant way to end the tribute night to Bowie. A brave delivery of something so important and layered with maximum execution. Bravo Ariel and band. Bravo.
