John Hendow

On Saturday 5/24, BowieVision performed at the Triple Door in Seattle. This was our first run of new shows at this venue, and it was a great opportunity to show off our full production.

This was also my first big stage performance with my Fractal Audio AxeFX II XL system. About a month before this show I purchased the AxeFX unit along with its dedicated MFC-101 Mk III controller. It took me about a week to program my tones for the BowieVision show, and I was glad to have a few opportunities to make tweaks at rehearsals before we embarked on this performance. The AxeFX does a beautiful job of delivering the tones from a myriad of amps / cabinets, plus has very deep effect chain management. I was able to dial in very accurate recreations of the classic guitar sounds in Bowie’s catalog, which left me with the equally daunting task of playing those great parts accurately!

Managing my guitar rig during this performance was amazingly simple, which is a big change from the complexity of my previous system. I was able to move easily between the sections of the songs, recalling appropriate tones for each part. It was also much simpler switching presets than ever before. I’m very pleased with the Fractal Audio system and already looking ahead at programming bigger / deeper patches.

The show was very satisfying on many levels. It was a sold-out house, with some familiar faces present. The Triple Door has perhaps the best light and sound system in the state, which let us show off both the sonic and visual quality of the band. Overall,I thought it was one of our best performances to date. The band was very prepared and delivered a polished show.

Here is the set list that we performed for the Triple Door show:

• Changes
• China Girl
• Suffragette City
• Starman
• The Man Who Sold The World
• Life On Mars?
• Jean Genie
• Ashes To Ashes
• Space Oddity
• Absolute Beginners
• Blue Jean
• Rebel Rebel
• Fashion
• Golden Years
• Ziggy Stardust
• Fame
• Young Americans
• Let’s Dance
• Under Pressure
• Heroes