On May 17th, my wife and I went to see Bowie & Beyond at Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel. It's a show I've been meaning to see for years and one I think any fan of Bowie's music should check out.
Bowie & Beyond is a special type of tribute show - something that goes more for a theatrical experience than a note for note recreation. The "Beyond" part gives the show the freedom of including songs by other artists that may or may not have a connection to Bowie.
Created by Ray Andersen (Meat Loaf, Blue Van Gogh, Mr. Ray), the band includes Reagan Richards, Layonne Holmes, Arne Wendt, Ralph Notaro, Tommy Labella, Mike Doktorski, and David Anthony. But since the show contains musicians who all have their own bands, the lineup might have a replacement player or two on any given night. The band has been the same core group since beginning in 2018.
This was our first trip to Bell Theater, which opened last year and is run by the Axelrod Performing Arts Center. Bell Theater has concert seating and great sightlines. In fact, there doesn't seem to be a bad seat in the house. Bell Works has several restaurants and bars near the theater, but check the restaurant websites in advance. The show took place on a Saturday night when many of the restaurants were closed.
When I was about 11-12, I had a Bowie's Greatest Hits cassette that I played to death. I'd have to check the track listing, but I'm pretty sure the show played every song on that tape and many more. There's something special about hearing these songs performed live.
You can expect to hear hits like "Space Oddity", "Changes", "Heroes", "Rebel Rebel", etc, but what I loved was hearing songs I didn't expect to hear live; songs like "Fame" and "Fashion". Bowie and Beyond has the perfect setup for these tunes - guitars, keyboards, percussion, horn, and a pair of backup singers.
Some of the "Beyond" songs played on May 17th included Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side", T-Rex's "Bang a Gong", and Sweet's "Fox on the Run" - to give you an idea of the vibe.
I reached out to Ray Andersen to learn more about the show.
On social media, you said that the show isn't supposed to be a carbon-copy of Bowie tunes, but more like a theatrical show with vocals spread around. Was that the goal from the beginning or did it evolve over time?
That’s exactly how I envisioned it since its formation. That’s why we call it a celebration. Some singers in other tribute bands do an amazing job emulating everything about him from the makeup, the clothes, the voice….but I wasn’t interested in transforming myself into Mr. Bowie, wholly, and taking on all the vocals.
We do glam-out, style-wise, but for me, it's SO much more fun being like a cast that has multiple amazing vocal talents to give these songs even more life and color.
When did you first become a fan of Bowie?
Becoming musically active in the 70s, the Ziggy Stardust album coincided with my evolution as a performing musician, and it had such an impact on me and inspired me to no end.
Is the setlist the same each time or do you rotate tracks in and out a bit?
We do rotate the tracks, but there is absolutely a core of songs that must be performed at every show. No Bowie show without Space Oddity, Heroes, and many others.
I’d love to do deep tracks, but when you do a show like this, you want folks to look forward to the popular tracks they grew up with, which are traditionally, the hits. Occasionally, we will do an “album track”….a song that wasn’t an absolute chartbuster.
Reagan Richards and Layonne Holmes
What are your favorite songs to perform live?
Personally, I simply love singing Heroes and China Girl….but not just….and seriously…. every song unto itself, is like living inside his musical world.
He’s the only artist that I’ve ever thought about doing this type of show.
His writing and his recordings have so many layers that you go deep inside of them when you perform them - musically, lyrically, what’s played on each instrument, and the sonic nature of each song. Breathtaking.
Songs from Let's Dance were the most recent, I think. Is there a specific time period you're focused on Bowie-wise?
We go from Ziggy through the 80s. His glam period, post-glam songs, his funky vibe…to the Berlin era, then the 80s upbeat ones.
I liked how you mixed in several Bowie-related and glam-sounding bands into the night. The "Beyond" part is a nice twist for a tribute show. What do you hope the audience takes away from these songs? What do these add to the show?
I just thought it would give the show even more sonic colors, and take people of a certain age, back to their youth, representing the glam era, when Bowie truly made his initial mark, and artists like Lou Reed, T Rex, etc, coexisted with his musical output.
And some of the &Beyond songs we do, Bowie co-wrote or produced, and others we do, have been featured in movies from recent times, like Fox On The Run which was in Guardians Of The Galaxy, so some younger people come up to me and tell me that’s the first time they heard that song-from the movie.
What was the hardest song to set up in a way you liked for the show?
Hmm. Don’t know if I’d call it the hardest, but Young Americans has so many layers, a key change, dynamics like no other song of his that we do…. And that one truly comes off as a musical theater cast would do it - sharing the lead vocals, since we do have five lead singers. I mean, that concept has been my original idea for this entire project, and we do that on other songs like Diamond Dogs, but Young Americans really feels like a cast singing it.
You've got a good group of musicians who all perform regularly in other bands, and you definitely come up with conflicts on the schedule from time to time where you have to find a replacement. I thought the guitarist was excellent and he was filling in for the night.
Yes! David DiPietro did an outstanding job on guitar, filling in for our Ralph Notaro, as well as Damian Cremisio, who filled in for our regular sax/flute pal, Tommy Labella.
When you have to find new people for a gig, is there a lot of rehearsal time beforehands? Or do you just bring in people you trust can get the job done?
Absolutely I call upon folks who I trust will do a wonderful job. That means I’ve either performed with them or I’m aware of their musical gifts from mutual musician pals, etc.
Typically we rehearse the same week as the show, for a good four to five hours.
How difficult is it scheduling shows for a band like this? Do you have to set up shows far in advance to help with everyone's schedule?
Oh. My. G-d.
I say this with the utmost respect for everyone in the band, but it’s my least favorite thing to do with this project. LOL.
Due to the phenomenal talent of everyone involved, they’re all gigging constantly, so securing a show date AND a rehearsal date and time….is an art unto itself. One that sometimes I contemplate paying someone else to do!!
That said….happy my friends are doing what they were all born to do.
UPCOMING shows for Bowie & Beyond:
* Saturday, June 14 at Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA. Click here for tickets
* Friday, August 8 at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, NJ. Click here for tickets
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