And this version of Heroes is awesome:

I loved the live version. It was far different than the album version, but in such a very groovy way.
I love how it builds. He looks so comfortable, happy, confidant; a mature, seasoned performer.
And what a great band!!!

Lol... I was so knocked out by the live version that I’ve listened to ( and watched) it 20 times since a friend of mine in FB turned me on to it.
That’s more times in three days than the number of times I’ve listened to the song in the last 25 years. ;)
According to Dave Hawk ( dvdhawk ) this video is from a show in Berlin in 2002. Based on this vid, it’s obvious that he was just so completely ON in that period.
His passing was a tremendous loss for music.

dvdhawk -
Pal, do you recognize any of the players in the vid? The only one I can clearly pick out is Gail Dorsey (bass).
Just curious if you might know.
:)

According to them interwebs that tour was called the HeathenTour.
And the band on that tour consisted of:

• David Bowie – vocals, guitar, saxophone, harmonica, stylophone
• Earl Slick – guitar
• Gerry Leonard – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Mark Plati – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Gail Ann Dorsey – bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals
• Sterling Campbell – drums, percussion
• Mike Garson – keyboards
• Catherine Russell – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals

Thanks Pal! :)

I was very impressed by his band; and the backing vocals were great, too.

I wonder what it must be like to be a musician in a band like Bowie’s - or as a player in other top tier artists’ bands; such as Peter Gabriel, Sting, McCartney...
I consider myself to be a pretty good musician and vocalist - but whenever I listen to bands that have A-List cats, I feel like I should probably be working at Burger King instead, LOL.
I recently watched clips from Peter Gabriel’s Secret World tour; and his band amazes me ( and I’ve seen the Secret World Live DVD many times before) and I’m always knocked out by the band he had (Manu Katche’, Tony Levin, Paula Cole, etc) regardless of how many times I’ve seen it. I was getting the same sense of amazement while watching the video above of Bowie performing Heroes.
Perhaps it’s because it’s such a fulfilling thing for me as a musician to see cats that can actually play, in the age of computerized recording - where creating “artificial” performances is so easy, both in the studio and in a live venue.
You know that my solo act is largely canned; I work with backing tracks that I record myself, and the motivation for that is mostly economic - because clubs just aren’t paying enough anymore to justify taking a whole band in. Guys like you, and Chris (audiokid), or any of the other RO members who are old enough to remember what it used to be like - those of us who played back in the hey-days of cool nightclubs, nice stages, healthy paychecks, and plenty of work available - know this to be true.
These days, (in most cases), the average pay I get for a typical gig is pretty much equal to what a four piece band would be paid. I do what I do, because it’s what I do, and I need to capitalize on that scenario.
But I miss playing with other musicians. I miss the energy, and those great spur of the moment parts that are played by great cats; I miss the “gel” that happens when a group of talented people are firing on all cylinders together.
So, when I see great live performances - like Heroes, or Gabriel’s Big Time, or McCartney doing Live And Let Die, or Steely Dan’s Deacon Blues, it’s fantastic to see real musicians playing on those songs. I’m certainly not comparing myself to any of those artists - or the musicians who are backing them up...
But these days, it’s getting harder to find local or regional bands (of any talent) anymore, so I get my “fix” vicariously through watching great players on that upper level.
:)

"Are you doin' okay for time?" That's priceless, I'm totally stealing that line at my next gig.

I know right! That was so cool. I’ve not been a big Bowie fan but this version stole my heart. Everything Donny felt and expressed about it... same for me.(y)

I love these docs; where the mixes are taken apart and all the elements are shown. I’ve seen some great ones; George Martin sitting at the desk with Paul, George and Ringo analyzing Sgt Pepper; there’s one with Fagan and Becker calling up tracks for Peg; and there’s a video that deconstructs 10cc’s I’m Not In Love. That’s a great one, too.
I think Visconti’s deconstruction of Heroes is very cool; I had no idea that both Robert Fripp and Brian Eno played on the tracks.
One of the main things I carried away after watching this one, was how much I miss making records in this fashion, with a room full of cats who are super creative; ( on both sides of the glass) and building a song with combinations of live rhythm sections, and then overdubbing; trying all kinds of different ideas for parts - whether it’s musical, textural ...or even esoteric.
One of the percs to owning your own studio was that you could record as long as you wanted; experimenting - some of which worked, and some of which didn’t - and building the tracks through section recording and overdubs, all without having to watch the clock. I miss those days.

DonnyThompson, post: 459378, member: 46114 wrote: One of the main things I carried away after watching this one, was how much I miss making records in this fashion, with a room full of cats who are super creative; ( on both sides of the glass) and building a song with combinations of live rhythm sections, and then overdubbing; trying all kinds of different ideas for parts - whether it’s musical, textural ...or even esoteric.

I share the sentiment.