LIVE: Tony Visconti at City Winery, NYC (1/3/2015)
Yesterday, fans across the world celebrated David Bowie’s birthday as well as his life and career. Like all great music artists, Bowie is not solely responsible for his success as a musician, singer, and songwriter; it takes the collaboration and talents of many fellow musicians as well as producers and the like. One of his most successful relationships in the industry was with Tony Visconti, who not only produced many of Bowie’s most popular albums and hit songs, but also produced several other artists as well as working as a musician himself.
Last Saturday, Visconti put together a gig at City Winery in New York City in a performance labelled as “The TV Show.” Featuring a diverse showcase of singers and musicians, the show was a celebration of Visconti’s contribution to rock music from the ’60s to the present, as well as a loving tribute to the artists whose songs were featured in the show. Visconti explained to the crowd that for a song to be in the show it had to either be produced, arranged, or played on by Visconti (who, for those out of the loop, plays bass guitar).
Joining Visconti onstage in the band were Richard Barone of the Bongos as well as his own solo career on vocals and guitar; Gerry Leonard, who has also worked frequently with Bowie, on guitar; Dennis Diken of the Smithereens on drums and vocals; keyboardist Joe McGinty, director of Loser’s Lounge, to which Visconti credits the idea behind his own “TV Show”; and Peter Hess on saxophone. Also featured in the show were several guest vocalists, including Kiah Victoria, Larkin Grimm, Nakia, and Suzanne Vega, who all alternated lead and backing vocals throughout the set.
The show itself was energetic as the band performed many popular hits by Bowie including “Heroes” and the danceable “Boys Keep Swinging,” though the highlight for me was a spot on rendition of “Young Americans.” The talents of everyone on stage seemed to perfectly meld for that number, and singer Nakia’s lead vocals were soulful. Marc Bolan was another heavily represented artist in the set, with songs from T.Rex as well as that of the earlier incarnation of the group, Tyrannosaurus Rex. Songs from the latter era of Bolan’s discography were especially interesting to mix into the show, as it not only provided a good balance of variety but exposed more casual T.Rex fans in the audience who might not be as familiar with a new repertoire of songs to discover.
Kiah Victoria, a young singer and student of Richard Barone, was clearly enjoying herself whilst performing the classic “Jet” off Paul McCartney & Wings’ Band on the Run, and Dennis Diken surprised the crowd by emerging from his drumset to sing lead on “Beautiful Daughter” from the Move. Special guest singer Suzanne Vega joined the group to perform a moving cover of the sultry “The Man Who Sold the World,” with Leonard hitting the guitar riff perfectly.
Visconti himself was delightful; he spoke lovingly of the artists he was covering as well as his guests on stage and generally filled the venue with a casual, sanguine atmosphere. Visconti warned the audience now and then of the show’s imperfections and seemed to delight in pointing out any possible lack of rehearsal and minor hitches in the show with blasé humor, which honestly just made him more endearing to the crowd, who laughed along with him. But the impression one truly got from the show was the sincerity of Visconti’s love for the music he and his band presented and the pride and honor he felt to have had a part in giving the world these often popular, catchy, and timeless songs from some of the most notable acts of the 20th century.
Set List (with original artist)
“A New Career In A New Town,” David Bowie
“Rock & Roll With Me,” David Bowie
“You Have Killed Me,” Morrissey
“Jet,” Paul McCartney & Wings
“Boys Keep Swinging,” David Bowie
“Ballrooms of Mars,” T.Rex
“Young Americans,” Bowie
“Yet Another Midnight,” Richard Barone
“Your Wildest Dreams,” The Moody Blues
“Dove,” Tyrannosaurus Rex
“She Was Born To Be My Unicorn,” Tyrannosaurus Rex
“Beautiful Daughter,” The Move
“Sweet Thing/Candidate,” David Bowie
“The Man Who Sold The World,” David Bowie
“Will You,” Hazel O’Connor, from the film Breaking Glass
“Fashion,” David Bowie
“Heroes,” David Bowie
“Oh Baby,” T.Rex
“Get It On,” T.Rex
(Cover photo from a Tony Visconti & Friends show at City Winery in 2012.)
