The It's My Life Tour was a concert tour by the Anglo-American hard rock band Tin Machine. The tour commenced on 5 October 1991 after two warm-up shows, one press show and three trade-industry shows, visiting twelve countries and concluding after seven months and sixty-nine performances, a larger outing than their first tour in 1989.
Tour details The band rehearsed and warmed up for the tour in Dublin in August 1991. Joined onstage by guitarist Eric Schermerhorn, Tin Machine presented songs from the Tin Machine album and the Tin Machine II album, augmented with cover versions of songs from the Pixies, Neil Young and The Moody Blues.Pegg, 2004, pp. 594–595.
To start the show at some venues, an old TV was placed on stage, playing old sitcoms while the prelude to Wagner's Tristan and Isolde played over loudspeakers."Bowie, Tin Machine offer what may be rock's new frontier" by Cary Smith, Journal-American, December 1991
The band purposefully booked intimate venues of a few thousand seats or less so that they could focus on the music without any theatrical trappings, a stark change from lead vocalist David Bowie's previous Glass Spider and Sound+Vision tours;"David Bowie Music Interview" by George Varga for The Star Entertainment Weekly, 1–7 January 1992, pp 2 & 10 Bowie also wanted to avoid playing larger venues and arenas lest his fans show up "hoping I'd be doing old songs or something. We don't want that feeling at all."
Bowie claimed that the setlist for the tour was made on the fly each night, saying "We have no setlist whatsoever. We have a complete list of all our songs on the floor of the stage and we yell it out as we feel it. If you catch us on a bad night, it can be one of the most disastrous shows you've ever seen. But on a good night – and fortunately with this band most nights have been good nights – it really happens"."Beaming Bowie excited about current direction of his life, music" by Patrick MacDonald, The Seattle Times, 20 December 1991
Critical reception The review of the performance at the trade show at Slim's in San Francisco was not kind: "It's hard to imagine people walking out on a David Bowie show at Slim's, but all you had to do was look around the room Thursday at the end of the appearance by Tin Machine. (...) Bowie and his associates gave a more than hour-long display of his latest incarnation, and the music turned out to be nearly unlistenable.""Bowie's Band Unimpressive at Slim's" by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 September 1991, C4
The show in Seattle was met with positive reviews: "Let it first be said that on every level, Tin Machine is an outstanding band. (...) [they] may well represent the next evolutionary step in rock and roll – or just another blind alley. In any event, it is powerful stuff." During the show, Bowie played alto and baritone sax and electric, acoustic and 12-string guitar.
The Los Angeles Times had a positive review of the first New York show, complimenting the band on their desire to tinker with songs' arrangements and appreciating Bowie's "theatrical gift" for performing.
Live recordings Their performance on 1 September 1991 at the Los Angeles airport was taped for broadcast in America as part of the ABC In Concert series, and was aired on 6 September 1991.
Tin Machine were the musical guest on Saturday Night Lives 17th season on 23 November 1991.
The show in Hamburg on 24 October 1991, at Docks, was filmed and later released on the video, Oy Vey, Baby: Tin Machine Live at the Docks, with the song "Baby Can Dance" from the same performance appearing on the compilation album Best of Grunge Rock.
Songs from the concerts in Boston, New York City, Sapporo and Tokyo were recorded and released on the live album Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby (1992).
Setlist
The following set list was obtained from the concert held on 30 October 1991, at Le Zénith Paris in Paris. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.
"Bus Stop" "Under the God" "A Big Hurt" "Baby Can Dance" "Shopping for Girls" "Stateside" "Goodbye Mr. Ed" "I Can't Read" "Go Now" (Bessie Banks cover) "Baby Universal" "Sacrifice Yourself" "I've Been Waiting for You" (Neil Young cover) "Betty Wrong" "You Can't Talk" "Debaser" (Pixies cover) "If There Is Something" (Roxy Music cover) "Heaven's in Here" "One Shot" "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll"
Tour dates Date City Country Venue Tour rehearsals 10 August 1991 Dublin Ireland Factory Studios 11 August 1991 12 August 1991 13 August 1991 14 August 1991 15 August 1991 Warm up shows 16 August 1991 Dublin Ireland The Baggot Inn 19 August 1991 The Waterfront Press show1 September 1991 Los Angeles United States Rockit Cargo @ LAX Airport Trade shows 7 September 1991 Minneapolis United States Marriott 10 September 1991 Los Angeles 12 September 1991 San Francisco Slim's Europe 5 October 1991 Milan Italy Teatro Smeraldo 6 October 1991 8 October 1991 Florence Palazzetto Dello Sport 9 October 1991 Rome Teatro Brancaccio 10 October 1991 12 October 1991 Munich Germany Circus Krone 14 October 1991 Offenbach Stadthalle 15 October 1991 Ludwigsburg Forum 17 October 1991 Berlin Neue Welt 19 October 1991 Copenhagen Denmark Falkoner Teatret 21 October 1991 Stockholm Sweden Circus 22 October 1991 Oslo Norway Oslo Konserthus 24 October 1991 Hamburg Germany Docks 25 October 1991 Hanover Music Hall 26 October 1991 Cologne E-Werk 28 October 1991 Utrecht Netherlands Muziekcentrum Vredenburg 29 October 1991 Paris France Olympia 30 October 1991 Le Zénith 31 October 1991 Brussels Belgium Ancienne Belgique 2 November 1991 Wolverhampton England Civic Hall 3 November 1991 Manchester International 2 5 November 1991 Newcastle upon Tyne Mayfair 6 November 1991 Liverpool Royal Court 7 November 1991 Glasgow Scotland Barrowlands 9 November 1991 Cambridge England Corn Exchange 10 November 1991 Brixton Brixton Academy 11 November 1991North America 15 November 1991 Philadelphia United States Tower Theater 16 November 1991 Washington, D.C. The Citadel 17 November 1991 Philadelphia Tower Theater 19 November 1991 New Haven Toad's Place 20 November 1991 Boston Orpheum Theater 24 November 1991 Providence New Campus Club 25 November 1991 New Britain The Sting 27 November 1991 New York City Academy of Music 29 November 1991 1 December 1991 Montreal Canada La Brique 2 December 1991 3 December 1991 Toronto The Concert Hall 4 December 1991 Detroit United States Clubland 6 December 1991 Cleveland Agora Metropolitan 7 December 1991 Chicago Riviera Theatre 9 December 1991 Dallas Bronco Bowl 10 December 1991 Houston Back Alley 12 December 1991 Los Angeles Hollywood Palladium 14 December 1991 San Diego Spreckels Theater 15 December 1991 17 December 1991 San Francisco The Warfield 18 December 1991 20 December 1991 Seattle Paramount Theatre 21 December 1991 Vancouver Canada Commodore BallroomAsia 29 January 1992 Kyoto Japan Kaikan Dai Ichi Hall 30 January 1992 Osaka Festival Hall 31 January 1992 2 February 1992 Kitakyushu Kyusyu Kouseinenkin Kaikan 3 February 1992 Hiroshima Kouseinenkin Kaikan 5 February 1992 Tokyo NHK Hall 6 February 1992 7 February 1992 Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan 10 February 1992 Sapporo Kouseinenkin Kaikan 11 February 1992 13 February 1992 Sendai Sunplaza Hall 14 February 1992 Omiya Sonic City Hall 17 February 1992 Tokyo Budokan Hall
Songs Notation: CD Included on the Oy Vey, Baby album VHS/LD Included on the Oy Vey, Baby video album CD/VHS/LD Included on both versions of the Oy Vey, Baby album
From Live Santa Monica '72 "My Death" (originally from La Valse à mille temps (1959) by Jacques Brel; written by Brel & Mort Shuman) "I'm Waiting for the Man" (originally from The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) by The Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed; outtake from various Bowie sessions 1966–72) From Tin Machine "Heaven's in Here" CD/VHS/LD "Tin Machine" (Bowie, Reeves Gabrels, Hunt Sales, Tony Sales) "Crack City" VHS/LD "I Can't Read" (Bowie, Gabrels) CD/VHS/LD "Under the God" CD/VHS/LD "Amazing" (Bowie, Gabrels) CD "Bus Stop" (Country version) (Bowie, Gabrels) VHS/LD "Pretty Thing" "Sacrifice Yourself" (Bowie, H. Sales, T. Sales) VHS/LD "Baby Can Dance" From Tin Machine II "Baby Universal" (Bowie, Gabrels) VHS/LD "One Shot" (Bowie, Gabrels) VHS/LD "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll" (Bowie, Gabrels) CD/VHS/LD "If There Is Something" (originally from Roxy Music (1972) by Roxy Music; written by Bryan Ferry) CD/VHS/LD "Amlapura" (Bowie, Gabrels) VHS/LD "Betty Wrong" (Bowie, Gabrels) VHS/LD "You Can't Talk" (Bowie, Gabrels) VHS/LD "Stateside" (Bowie, H. Sales) CD/VHS/LD "Shopping for Girls" (Bowie, Gabrels) "A Big Hurt" "Sorry" (H. Sales) "Goodbye Mr. Ed" (Bowie, H. Sales, T. Sales) CD/VHS/LD
From Black Tie White Noise''' "I Feel Free" (originally from Fresh Cream (1966) by Cream; written by Pete Brown & Jack Bruce)
Other songs: "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" (from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) by Bob Dylan; written by Dylan) "April in Paris" (from the Broadway musical Walk A Little Faster (1932); written by Vernon Duke and E. Y. Harburg) "Baby, Please Don't Go" (a single (1935) by Big Joe Williams) "Debaser" (from Doolittle (1989) by the Pixies; written by Black Francis) "Don't Start Me Talkin'" (a single (1955) by Sonny Boy Williamson II) "Dream On Little Dreamer" (from The Scene Changes (1965) by Perry Como; written by Jan Crutchfield and Fred Burch) "Fever" (a single (1956) by Little Willie John; written by Eddie Cooley and John Davenport (a.k.a. Otis Blackwell)) "Go Now" (a single in 1964 by Bessie Banks and later made famous by The Moody Blues the following year; written by Larry Banks and Milton Bennett) VHS/LD "I'm a King Bee" (a single (1957) by Slim Harpo; written by Harpo) "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" (from For Your Pleasure (1973) by Roxy Music; written by Ferry) "I've Been Waiting for You" (originally from Neil Young (1968) by Neil Young; written by Young), later included on Bowie's 2002 album, Heathen (David Bowie album). "Shakin' All Over" (originally a single (1960) by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates; written by Johnny Kidd; B-side to "You Belong in Rock n' Roll") "Somewhere" (from the musical West Side Story (1957); written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim) "Throwaway" (from Primitive Cool (1987) by Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, written by Jagger) "Wild Thing" (by The Wild Ones (1965) and made famous by The Troggs; written by Chip Taylor) "(You Caught Me) Smilin'" (from There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) by Sly & the Family Stone; written by Sylvester Stewart) "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" (from the Hard to Get soundtrack (1938) by Dick Powell; written by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer)
Personnel Tin Machine David Bowie – vocals, guitar, alto & tenor saxophone Reeves Gabrels – lead guitar, vocals Tony Sales – bass guitar, vocals Hunt Sales – drums, vocals Additional musicians Eric Schermerhorn – rhythm guitar, vocals
References
Nicholas Pegg, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2004, David Buckley, Strange Fascination: The Definitive Biography of David Bowie'', Virgin Books, 1999,