Ann Magnuson Channels David Bowie

'WHEN HE'S 64': On the occasion of David Bowie's 64th birthday on Jan. 8, 2011, Ann Magnuson reprises in Los Angeles a Bowie homage show first performed in her hometown of Charleston, W.Va., at the Empty Glass with a band led by an old high school flame.

This is footage from that original show July 15, 2010, featuring Magnuson and a band led by Chuck Biel, featuring Ryan Kennedy on guitar; Vince Biel on drums, Laurel Denny on backing vocals and Biel on bass, with special guest Doug Payne on sax. Magnuson's LA shows were set for the Steve Allen Theater, featuring her backing band, the Star Whackers From Mars (Kristian Hoffman, Jonathan Lea, Joe Berardi, Kristi Callanand, Miiko Watanabe, plus guest performer Michael Des Barres). See a companion interview with Magnuson on Bowie at http://WestVirginiaVille.com. Sample observation:

-----
WESTVIRGINIAVILLE: Why exactly does Bowie still matter in popular music, do you think?
MAGNUSON: "He wrote SONGS. Very good and smartly crafted songs. With melodies. That told very evocative --and quite frequently seductive -- stories. Plus, by his own admission, he 'purloins' and he tends to purloin from very interesting sources - at least he did when I was buying his records in the 1970s. I think those albums are still radical. I just watched the D. A. Pennebacker documentary of the last Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars show from July 3, 1973 and both the music and the visuals still hold up. If anything, the simplicity of the presentation makes it far more radical than anything out there today, since the likes of "American Idol" and Lady Gaga have turned rock into some kind of fast-food commodity, trundling out the samo-samo, with everyone trying way too hard to be 'outre'. What struck me during this latest viewing of the Ziggy doc is how little Bowie actually does on stage. He's so clearly in his element and knows how to just let his charisma do most of the work, choosing to be very economical with his movement. That mime training surely helped."

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Ann Magnuson
• Steve Allen Theater
• Los Angeles
• David Bowie
• David Bowie videos
• Bowie videos
• Bowie homage
• Kristian Hoffman
• West Virginia
• West Virginia videos
• Empty Glass
• Ryan Kennedy
• Chuck Biel
• Diamond Dogs
• Major Tom

[jamietfranklin]

delicious--Go Ann

[Divinewatersfan79]

Awesome, I just ran across this, it was a great show! Thanks for posting!

[deckard97]

Very cool,considering in The Hunger she was his dinner.Ann Magnuson is Beyond hip