Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

You can attempt to capture the conscious of a king, you may have the ear of a president but for some the insistence that you cannot capture the soul of a Duke is the most sacred of idioms, the utmost of respects delivered, after all, the soul and image, the words and thoughts of a Duke are surely only ever realised when it comes from the mind of David Bowie.

It is possible to not fully understand the impact that David Bowie had on music, it is perfectly reasonable to not be a fan, to sit in a different realm and look upon the adoration shown, in life, the outpouring of grief in his sudden passing, and find yourself wondering what all the fuss was about. However, when David Bowie’s music, his catalogue of artistic endeavours and passionate introspective caught you, when they touched your own soul, then the life you have lived here on Earth can feel as if it belongs in the heavens, that is a belief that you may have been Live On Mars, that you were blessed to hear a statesman of acceptance sing.

There is still the feeling of shock to be felt in the Philharmonic Hall crowd, the sadness that David Bowie was suddenly taken from the fans in January 2016, almost three years on, the tremor of that moment can still be keenly felt, still reverberates and it takes steely nerves and just as cool an onstage presence in which to capture the soul of a Duke.

Alex Thomas and the scintillating band that surrounds him not only capture the ideal of David Bowie’s performance, the electrifying sound somehow manages to send shivers of anticipation down the spine, a tingle of astonishment, a reminder from start to finish of the music that was left behind for all to hear.

It could be argued that in the end a tribute band is just that, a compliment, a mark of respect from the loved to the original lover, and yet as songs such as The Man Who Sold The World, Five Years, Sound and Vision, Fame, Golden Years, Young Americans, Rebel Rebel, Ashes To Ashes, Fashion, Changes, Modern Love, Heroes and the song that Bowie gifted Mott The Hoople with, All The Young Dudes, played out over two halves of the evening, what was in evidence was the acknowledgement of beauty in which David Bowie gave to the world; an acceptance to just go out and do. A night in which tribute was paid and which Alex Thomas and the band majestically provided their own sincere homage to a Duke whose image remains in the fan’s eye, resolute.

A truly fantastic evening, to be sure, David Bowie would have danced in the aisles all night long.

Ian D. Hall