Is Bowie a Natural Performer?

Artrockers,

Just what is it that makes a great performer? Conversely, what makes us cringe about certain performances? There are people who command the stage, who only seem to exist when the limelight shines, for whom the stage is home. And then there those who don't seem quite at home, who try too hard to 'perform' when what we really want is an insight into the person - what we get is a carefully constructed shield, an elaborate pantomime designed to cover up a lack of confidence and a real fear that some truth about that person might leak out. It makes for uncomfortable viewing. Freddie Mercury was a case in point, an unconvincing performer who's stage persona was that of a guy who regretted ever pulling the top half of a mic stand away from the base, leaving him with a 3 foot metal rod to play with; walk to left side of stage, strike pose with metal rod, get bored with that, move stage right and strike a pose with metal rod, get bored with that, turn back on audience and raise metal rod above head for no apparent reason. The metal rod was Mercury's security blanket, he needed it to divert our attention from his lack of natural rhythm and his obvious lack of comfort in the live environment. And the funny thing is that many will tell you that Mercury was one of the great performers, well, not for me, he always seemed uncomfortable, at times you could almost see his brain working: 'I'll just do a spin here and then I'll jump onto the drum riser and thrust my metal rod from the groin' - and that's the big give-away, if you have to think about it you're not a natural performer, which doesn't make you a bad person but does indicate that you might have been better advised taking up the drums.

A great performer can stand stock still, can silence an audience with a look, can command a room with a finger. There aren't many around these days, not since Frank Sinatra popped his Guccis.

Which brings me to the subject of artrocker.tv's extended Bowie season ('Oh no, he's not going to have a pop at La Bowie, surely?'). Well, yes I am. For all the love I have for the thin one and his amazing recordings I've never got him 'live'. It always seemed too mannered, studied, self-aware, very much like Mercury. Whether he was feeling his way out of a box on the Ziggy Tour, or flying over the audience on an extending chair during the 'Stage' period, the artifice only served to underline Bowie's lack of confidence, seeking to hide a shortcoming beneath choreography and Glass Spiders. I blame Lindsay Kemp, the louche Marcel Marceau whose art was pure artifice. I blame mime. For everything.

Tom Artrocker