Tibet House Benefit Concert - 22nd February 2002

I was eagerly awaiting this trip to New York having been booked and ready since early January. Thursday morning (21st) with bags packed, tickets checked and money counted I boarded the coach for the journey down to Heathrow airport. I whiled away the couple of hours by listening to my personal stereo and thinking about the fun that lay ahead. On arrival at Heathrow I met up with my friend Alison and we went off to check in. Friends of mine knew someone that worked at Heathrow for the airline I was flying with so I had to ask for a guy called Matt who works at T4 as he would help us and possibly get us upgraded to the next class, which he did. What a star. Great seat, right by the bulkhead so more legroom. A few extra TV channels than in standard class and a slightly more comfortable seat. So far, so good. Matt also checked us straight in so we didn't have to queue. What a diamond.

After checking in we had a sandwich and a drink before heading off to board the plane (leaving it to the last minute almost!) and begin our journey to New York City. The flight was about 7.5 hours, we landed in NY and caught the bus to Port Authority. We then walked to the hotel "Aladdin" which I had booked via the internet only to be told on arrival that the hotel had closed 3 weeks earlier and was now a shelter. They had provided us with a reservation at their sister hotel on 110th Street!! We didn't want to stay up in Harlem, we wanted to be central so I asked them to cancel that and we would make other arrangements. They said I would get a refund (something I'll be checking up on over the next few days!) so we went off in search of alternative accommodation. Luckily we found another hotel very conveniently situated, not far off Times Square and extremely close to our local pub "The Pig & Whistle". We checked in, dropped our bags, freshened up and set off for a beer and to meet our friends in the Pig. Now was the start of our short holiday.

The following day we got up early, showered and went out for breakfast. Then it was a couple of hours shopping and off to Carnegie Hall. We found a few fans outside when we arrived, including Susans, Spaceface, Starla and Cavebat to name a few, but not much was happening. Eventually David arrived for the soundcheck and he went in, not stopping. At that point Ali and I went for a coffee deciding to get back to the venue in about an hour hoping to catch him on the way out. The security put barriers up which we were supposed to stand behind but they put them by the stage door which is next to the door where David went in. So we decided not to stand behind them. As deducted, David came out of the same door that he went in so we were in the right place. He stopped and signed autographs and we took some pictures. It was all over in a couple of minutes and he was on his way. But just a few minutes of his time and a prize signature made the 8 hour odd flight all the more worthwhile.

Then it was just a case of waiting for the gig. Only a couple of hours. Firstly I went up to the Heartlands Bar with Tom as Bowienet were in there handing out posters and giving out drinks (thanks HJ). I had a beer and got a great poster (almost all gone and we were early!). Didn't stay long, wanted to get back to the venue. We went in about 1910 and took our seats, eagerly awaiting the treat of a Bowie performance.

The show itself started with the Monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastry, geared out in bright red robes with orange "smurf" hats. They looked quite comical but their vocal was amazing. Deep, throaty booms and accompaniment with flutes and cymbals. Philip Glass played host, introducing the acts and playing piano himself. He introduced other acts, the first of whom was Mark Anthony Thompson who opened with a haunting version of "Soul Love"! We then had a performance from Bebel Gilberto and Ray Davies of The Kinks (great) before Bowie came on and blasted us with two songs.

Bowie wore a black suit which a small check pattern and a white shirt. He joked that his 17-month old daughter had slipped something in his pocket before he left and produced a harmonica. He gave it one blow and laughed. He also joked that he was well known for not knowing the words to any songs he has ever written and laid out his usual easel and lyrics.

Firstly a brand new song called "I Would Be Your Slave" which was quite excellent. Great beat and Bowie's vocals were incredible, strong and powerful. His voice was fantastic. He was accompanied by The Scorchio Quartet, aswell as Sterling Campbell on drums and Tony Visconti on bass. It was great to see him perform with Tony. This was followed by "Space Oddity" which had been rearranged by Tony Visconti and had quite an eerie yet enchanting feel to it. Adam Yauch played bass while Tony conducted the strings, which was increased by the presence of The Kronos Quartet.

Philip Glass played an excellent piano piece and was followed by a solo monk (Nawang Khechog) who did more vocal work and played the flute. The show was closed with Patti Smith doing a couple of songs before the entire company joined her for one last song.

My time in New York was then filled up with shopping, a visit to the East Village and more beers in The Pig & Whistle.

On the flight home I was able to watch Zoolander and catch clips from The Brits featuring David's two appearances of the 90's.

Another fantastic trip, over far too soon.