A Reality Tour

      This article is about the David Bowie concert tour. For the concert tour by Jessica Simpson, see Reality Tour (Jessica Simpson concert tour).
      A Reality Tour
      Tour by David Bowie
      Associated album Reality
      Start date 7 October 2003
      End date 23 July 2004
      Legs 5
      Shows 70 in Europe
      28 in North America
      1 in the Atlantic
      8 in Oceania
      5 in Asia
      112 in Total
      David Bowie tour chronology
      Heathen Tour
      (2002)      		 A Reality Tour
      (2003-4)

      A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the Reality album.[1] The tour commenced on 7 October 2003 at the Forum, Copenhagen, Denmark continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealand and Australia for the first time since the 1987 Glass Spider Tour.

      Originally scheduled to play in 24 countries over a ten-month period, the tour was curtailed after the Hurricane Festival performance in Scheeßel, Germany on 25 June 2004, as a result of Bowie being diagnosed with an acutely blocked artery that required an angioplasty procedure.[2] The previous performance at the T-Mobile Arena, Prague, Czech Republic on 23 June 2004 had been interrupted as Bowie was forced to leave the stage believing he was suffering from a trapped nerve in his left shoulder. A previous incident in Oslo on 18 June 2004 saw Bowie being struck in the left eye with a lollipop thrown by a member of the audience.[3] On 6 May 2004, a performance at the James L. Knight Center, Miami, FL was cancelled after a lighting technician fell to his death prior to Bowie going onstage.[4]

      History

      Bowie promoted this tour with appearances on primetime television shows such as The Tonight Show and on AOL Sessions.[5]

      A DVD video of the Point Theatre, Dublin performances of 2003 was released as A Reality Tour in 2004. A CD on the same performances was released as A Reality Tour in 2010.

      ↑Jump back a section

      Performance

      Bowie sought to perform in the format of a stadium concert with less focus on elaborate staging and more focus on the musicians in his band. The stage featured a number of platforms, some extending into the audience, as well as multiple video-screens projecting artistic images and live footage of the concert along with many colored lights for effects. The stage was typically placed at one end of the stadium or arena with seating in the stands or on the field itself with a back-stage area on the far side of the stage.[6]

      The musicians were dressed in casual but colorful outfits; nearly each musician had a set of outfits in different colors, such as Bowie's cut-off shirt and neckerchief or Gail Ann Dorsey's dress. Musicians were free to move about the stage as their instruments permitted with wireless amplification, though Bowie and Dorsey interacted most often as part of the acts.

      Each concert began with an introduction on the main video-screen, during which the band would enter the stage and prepare the opening number. After the opener, Bowie would greet the audience with the flexible line, "Hello, [city name], you crazy bunch of motherfuckers" as a sign of welcoming. The performances, between the somewhat staged pieces, were informal often with a dialog between Bowie and his audience, jokes, band introductions, and the occasional "Happy Birthday To You".

      ↑Jump back a section

      Repertoire

      The set list included tracks spanning Bowie's 30 plus years in the music business, from The Man Who Sold the World (1970) all the way to Reality (2003), along with collaborations such as Sister Midnight (with Iggy Pop) and "Under Pressure" (with Queen), and snippets and teasers of Bowie classics such as "Space Oddity" and "Golden Years". There is a bit more focus, however, on tracks from the albums released since the Earthling World Tour in 1997, Heathen (2002), and Reality.

      The only exception from his latest albums is 'hours...' (1999); no tracks from this album were included, possibly due to poor reception of the album. Other albums with no appearance included Space Oddity (1969), the cover album Pin Ups (1973), the ill-received Never Let Me Down (1987), the albums produced with the band Tin Machine, and Black Tie White Noise (1993).

      A notable inclusion into the tour were the tracks from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, usually performed as the final encores. "Ziggy Stardust" was nearly always the finale of each concert.

      The inclusion of tracks from Let's Dance and Tonight was also notable, considering a fan tendency to reject the albums as "too commercial", seeing the return of the singles "Modern Love", "Blue Jean", "Lets Dance," "China Girl", and a semi-acoustic version of "Loving the Alien".

      ↑Jump back a section

      Tour Band

      ↑Jump back a section

      Tour dates

      9 December 2003 Boston United States Fleet Center

      Date City Country Venue
      Europe
      7 October 2003 Copenhagen Denmark Forum Copenhagen
      8 October 2003 Stockholm Sweden Globen Arena
      10 October 2003 Helsinki Finland Hartwall Areena
      12 October 2003 Oslo Norway Oslo Spektrum
      15 October 2003 Rotterdam Netherlands Ahoy Rotterdam
      16 October 2003 Hamburg Germany Color Line Arena
      18 October 2003 Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt
      20 October 2003 Paris France Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
      21 October 2003
      23 October 2003 Milan Italy Forum D'Assago
      24 October 2003 Zurich Switzerland Hallenstadion
      26 October 2003 Stuttgart Germany Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
      27 October 2003 Munich Olympiahalle
      29 October 2003 Vienna Austria Wiener Stadthalle
      31 October 2003 Cologne Germany Kölnarena
      1 November 2003 Hanover Preussag Arena
      3 November 2003 Berlin Max-Schmeling-Halle
      5 November 2003 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis
      7 November 2003 Lille France Zénith de Lille Grand Palais
      8 November 2003 Amnéville Galaxie Amnéville
      10 November 2003 Nice Palais Nikaia
      14 November 2003 Marseille Le Dôme de Marseille
      15 November 2003 Lyon Halle Tony Garnier
      17 November 2003 Manchester England Manchester Arena
      19 November 2003 Birmingham National Exhibition Centre
      20 November 2003
      22 November 2003 Dublin Ireland Point Theatre
      23 November 2003
      25 November 2003 London England Wembley Arena
      26 November 2003
      28 November 2003 Glasgow Scotland Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
      North America
      13 December 2003 Canada Montreal Bell Centre
      15 December 2003 New York City United States Madison Square Garden
      16 December 2003 Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena
      Atlantic
      20 December 2003 Nassau Bahamas The Atlantis Paradise Island Hotel
      North America
      7 January 2004 Cleveland United States CSU Convocation Center
      9 January 2004 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills
      11 January 2004 Minneapolis Target Center
      13 January 2004 Rosemont Rosemont Theatre
      14 January 2004
      16 January 2004
      19 January 2004 Denver Fillmore Auditorium
      21 January 2004 Calgary Canada Pengrowth Saddledome
      24 January 2004 Vancouver General Motors Place
      25 January 2004 Seattle United States Paramount Theatre
      27 January 2004 San Jose HP Pavilion at San Jose
      30 January 2004 Las Vegas The Joint
      31 January 2004 Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium
      2 February 2004
      3 February 2004 Wiltern Theatre
      5 February 2004 Phoenix Dodge Theater
      6 February 2004 Las Vegas The Joint
      7 February 2004 Los Angeles Wiltern Theatre
      Oceania
      14 February 2004 Wellington New Zealand Westpac Stadium
      17 February 2004 Brisbane Australia Brisbane Entertainment Centre
      20 February 2004 Sydney Sydney Entertainment Centre
      21 February 2004
      23 February 2004 Adelaide Adelaide Entertainment Centre
      26 February 2004 Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
      27 February 2004
      1 March 2004 Perth Supreme Court Gardens
      Asia
      4 March 2004 Kallang Singapore Singapore Indoor Stadium
      8 March 2004 Tokyo Japan Nippon Budokan
      9 March 2004
      11 March 2004 Osaka Osaka-jo Hall
      14 March 2004 Kowloon Hong Kong Star Hall
      North America
      29 March 2004 Philadelphia United States Wachovia Center
      30 March 2004 Boston FleetCenter
      1 April 2004 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre
      2 April 2004 Ottawa Corel Centre
      4 April 2004 Quebec City Colisée Pepsi
      7 April 2004 Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena
      9 April 2004 Edmonton Rexall Place
      11 April 2004 Kelowna Skyreach Place
      13 April 2004 Portland, Oregon United States Rose Garden Arena
      14 April 2004 Seattle KeyArena
      16 April 2004 Berkeley Berkeley Community Theatre
      17 April 2004
      19 April 2004 Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Bowl
      22 April 2004 Los Angeles Greek Theatre
      23 April 2004 Anaheim The Theatre at The Arrowhead Pond
      25 April 2004 Loveland Budweiser Events Center
      27 April 2004 Austin The Backyard Amphitheater
      29 April 2004 The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
      30 April 2004 New Orleans Saenger Theatre
      5 May 2004 Tampa Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
      8 May 2004 Atlanta Chastain Park Amphitheater
      10 May 2004 Kansas City Starlight Theatre
      11 May 2004 St. Louis Fox Theatre
      13 May 2004 Hershey Star Pavilion
      14 May 2004 London Canada John Labatt Centre
      16 May 2004 Fairfax United States Patriot Center
      17 May 2004 Pittsburgh Benedum Center
      19 May 2004 Milwaukee Milwaukee Theatre
      20 May 2004 Indianapolis Murat Shrine
      22 May 2004 Moline The Mark of the Quad Cities
      24 May 2004 Columbus Columbus Veterans Memorial Auditorium
      25 May 2004 Buffalo Shea's Performing Arts Center
      27 May 2004 Scranton Ford Pavilion at Montage Mountain
      29 May 2004 Atlantic City The Borgata Event Center
      30 May 2004
      1 June 2004 Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Arena
      2 June 2004 Uncasville Mohegan Sun Arena
      4 June 2004 Wantagh Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theatre
      5 June 2004 Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center
      Europe
      11 June 2004 Amsterdam Netherlands Amsterdam Arena
      13 June 2004[A] Isle of Wight England Seaclose Park
      17 June 2004[B] Bergen Norway Koengen
      18 June 2004[C] Oslo Frognerbadet
      20 June 2004[D] Seinäjoki Finland Provinssirock
      23 June 2004 Prague Czech Republic T-Mobile Arena
      25 June 2004[E] Scheeßel Germany Eichenring
      • On 19 August 2003 Bowie performed a one off show in Poughkeepsie, New York at The Chance, as a warm up show.
      • On 8 September 2003 Bowie performed a show at the Riverside Studios in London which was a 'satellite show'. This was a live performance beamed via satellite to cinemas and theatres across Europe and due to time delay the following day across Asia, Australia, North and South America.[7][8]
      Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
      A This concert was a part of "Isle of Wight Festival"
      B This concert was a part of "Bergen Festival"
      C This concert was a part of "Norwegian Wood Festival"
      D This concert was a part of "Provinssirock"
      E This concert was a part of "Hurricane Festival"
      Cancellations and rescheduled shows
      12 November 2003 Toulouse Le Zénith de Toulouse Cancelled
      6 December 2003 Atlantic City The Borgata Events Center Rescheduled to 29 May 2004
      7 December 2003 Fairfax Patriot Center Rescheduled to 16 May 2004
      9 December 2003 Boston Fleet Center Rescheduled to 30 March 2004
      10 December 2003 Philadelphia Wachovia Center Rescheduled to 29 March 2004
      12 December 2003 Toronto Air Canada Centre Rescheduled to 1 April 2004
      6 May 2004 Miami James L. Knight Center Cancelled
      26 June 2004 Tuttlingen Southside Festival Cancelled
      29 June 2004 Vienna Schloss Schönbrunn Cancelled
      30 June 2004 Salzburg Residenzplatz Cancelled
      2 July 2004 Roskilde Roskilde Festival Cancelled
      4 July 2004 Werchter Rock Werchter Cancelled
      6 July 2004 Ile De Gaou Festival de la Gaou Cancelled
      7 July 2004 Carcassonne Festival de la Cite Cancelled
      10 July 2004 Kinross Balado, T in the Park Cancelled
      11 July 2004 County Kildare Oxegen Festival Cancelled
      14 July 2004 Bilbao Bilbao Festival Cancelled
      16 July 2004 Compostela Xacobeo Festival Cancelled
      17 July 2004 Oporto The Dragon Festival Cancelled
      20 July 2004 Nyon Paléo Festival Nyon Cancelled
      21 July 2004 Monte Carlo Club du Sporting Cancelled
      23 July 2004 Carhaix Vieilles Charrues Festival Cancelled
      ↑Jump back a section

      Songs

      Notation:

      From Space Oddity

      • "Space Oddity"

      From The Man Who Sold the World

      • "The Man Who Sold the World" DVD/CD
      • "The Supermen"

      From Hunky Dory

      • "Changes" DVD/CD
      • "Life on Mars?" DVD/CD
      • "Quicksand"
      • "The Bewlay Brothers"
      • "Queen Bitch"

      From The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

      • "Five Years" DVD/CD
      • "Starman"
      • "Hang on to Yourself" DVD/CD
      • "Ziggy Stardust" DVD/CD
      • "Suffragette City"

      From Aladdin Sane

      • "Panic in Detroit"
      • "The Jean Genie"

      From Diamond Dogs

      • "Diamond Dogs"
      • "Rebel Rebel" DVD/CD

      From Young Americans

      From Station to Station

      • "Station to Station"
      • "Golden Years"

      From Low

      • "Breaking Glass" CD (Bowie, Dennis Davis, George Murray)
      • "Sound and Vision"
      • "Always Crashing in the Same Car"
      • "Be My Wife" DVD/CD
      • "A New Career in a New Town"

      From "Heroes"

      From Lodger

      • "Fantastic Voyage" DVD/CD (Bowie, Eno)

      From Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

      • "Ashes to Ashes" DVD/CD
      • "Fashion"

      From Let's Dance

      • "Modern Love"
      • "China Girl" CD (originally from The Idiot by Iggy Pop, written by Pop and Bowie)
      • "Let's Dance"

      From Tonight

      • "Loving the Alien" DVD/CD
      • "Blue Jean"

      From Outside

      • "Hallo Spaceboy" DVD/CD (Bowie, Eno)
      • "The Motel" (Bowie, Eno) DVD/CD

      From Earthling

      • "Battle for Britain (The Letter)" DVD/CD (Bowie, Reeves Gabrels, Mark Plati)
      • "I'm Afraid of Americans" DVD/CD (Bowie, Eno)

      From Heathen

      • "Sunday" DVD/CD
      • "Cactus" DVD/CD (originally from Surfer Rosa by Pixies, written by Black Francis)
      • "Slip Away" DVD/CD
      • "Afraid" DVD/CD
      • "I've Been Waiting for You" (originally from Neil Young by Neil Young, written by Young)
      • "5:15 the Angels Have Gone" iTunes
      • "Heathen (The Rays)" DVD/CD

      From Reality

      • "New Killer Star" DVD/CD
      • "Pablo Picasso"
      • "Never Get Old" DVD/CD
      • "The Loneliest Guy" DVD/CD
      • "Looking for Water"
      • "She'll Drive the Big Car"
      • "Days" iTunes
      • "Fall Dog Bombs the Moon" CD
      • "Try Some, Buy Some"
      • "Reality" DVD/CD
      • "Bring Me the Disco King" DVD/CD

      Other songs:

      ↑Jump back a section

      Notes

      1. ^ Bowie announces world tour
      2. ^ Bowie recovers after heart surgery
      3. ^ Lollipop hits Bowie in eye at gig
      4. ^ Crew member dies at Bowie concert
      5. ^ AOL Sessions
      6. ^ Seating Plan
      7. ^ Bowie gig beamed into cinemas
      8. ^ Bowie thrills crowd with cinema gig
      ↑Jump back a section

      References

      David Bowie
      Studio albums
      With Tin Machine
      Live albums
      Soundtracks
      EPs
      Compilations
      Box sets
      Concert videos
      Promotional films
      and compilations
      Tours
      Related artists
      Related articles
      ↑Jump back a section

      Read in another language

      This page is available in 2 languages

      Last modified on 18 May 2013, at 13:05