Friday On My Mind...
BowieNetter FranksWildYears, aka Marik, performed a short but very sweet set of Bowie covers in Montreal last Friday the 5th by all accounts...and lord knows I was sent many accounts! (All gratefully received, of course.)
Under the banner of The Fantastic Voyage, Marik performed a set of seventeen songs that went something like this:
Buddha Of Suburbia
Time
Hang On To Yourself
Look Back In Anger
Fantastic Voyage
Shadow Man
Let's Dance (Bosanova)
TVC15
Word On A Wing
Life On Mars?
Slip Away
The Jean Genie
Teenage Wildlife
All The Young Dudes
Amsterdam (Marik's version)
Quicksand
Voyeur Of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)
Sadly, I wasn't there to witness what sounds like a spectacular presentation, but the BowieNetters that did attend were clearly impressed enough to write and tell me about it, so I'll hand over to them. First up is avogadro, who also took all of the great pictures of Marik on this page...
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Marik has a pure and powerful voice that is both warm and enchanting, and that moves you to the core. She presented a tribute to David in her own way and, believe me, she was incredible. It was really interesting to hear a woman sing my favourite Bowie?s hits. Her musicians did some arrangements to songs like Let?s Dance, she added saxophone to The Jean Genie. She interpreted extremely well very difficult songs such as Buddha of Suburbia, Voyeur of Utter Destruction and Amsterdam. This last song was really amazing and she changed the end to add some French to it.
When she sang, we felt her sensitivity; she was enjoying herself during the show. While Marik seemed a little insecure, her performance was outstanding. The only drawback was that the show was too short; We all wanted more.
Words fail me to describe such a tribute to Bowie. The band?s name is Fantastic Voyage and Marik made us travel through all eras of David Bowie?s career. Her band did a great job for all seventeen songs of the set list. All BNetters (and normal crowd) attending the show were simply blown away. She selected songs that we all love and some rare ones too. Such as Shadow Man for example.
That show started our Montreal meet-up with a bang; we had a fantastic week-end with BNetters from many places. - avogadro
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Next up, BowieNetter prrrrr, aka Renata...
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Marik really did an outstanding job of interpreting Bowie's songs. As I understand it, the band had very little practice, as Marik had put them together just for this occasion since she left her band when she had bambino #3. Marik?s voice is beautiful, and each song was given her special touch. I have to say also, the songs she chose to perform were tremendous. We all came away with our favourites; there was something for everyone.
For me, Fantastic Voyage and Quicksand gave me goosebumps (and probably Life on Mars? too). The ultimate though was Voyeur. You wouldn?t believe the band on this one! Their interpretation left me speechless.
Of course, there were the usual festivities that go along with any BNetter get-together. Along with members local to Montreal there were those that travelled from Minneapolis, New Jersey, Michigan, as well as fellow Canadians from Windsor and Toronto.
I truly hope other BNetters get the opportunity to hear Marik?s interpretations. She plans to post a song weekly in Gallery. I, along with others that were there to experience that evening certainly think that as one of our own BNetters, Marik deserves every opportunity.
Cheers, Renata
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I'll leave you with two shorter bits from BowieNetters moonage_daydream and twozpots respectively...
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As I'm sure you've already heard, Marik's show was FANTASTIC. I thought she had a wonderful voice and it would actually even compliment David Bowie's voice quite well. Once you hear her CD, you'll see what I mean. I even drove a long way just to see the show, it was 12 hours each way. Thank you so much! - Denise aka moonage_daydream
I attended Marik's The Fantastic Voyage this past Friday night. What can I say, she really did take us on a Fantastic Voyage. Her voice is incredible and her rendition of Quicksand gave me chills.
I hope she will do this again so more BNetters can have the opportunity to hear her sing. Her performance was well worth the 14 hrs drive to reach her!!! - Melanie aka twozpots
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Well, if that doesn't intrigue you, I guess nothing will. I asked Marik how she thought the evening had gone and she replied: "It was a real pleasure to sing Bowie songs for Bowie's fans and I am planning to do it again next summer if it's possible...we'll see what happens."
You can read more of Marik's feelings about the show in her BowieNet Blog which you can reach by clicking on any of the above pictures.
I'm very much looking forward to hearing some of Marik's recorded work soon...and who knows, she just might venture a little further afield to give the rest of us a chance to hear that voice.