Rock out to classic David Bowie at Fraze tribute show


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What: Classic Albums Live presents David Bowie's "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"

Where: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13

Cost: $5 in advance, $10 day of show

More info: 937-296-3300 or www.fraze.com

Artist info: www.classicalbumslive.com

In a recording career that spanned six decades, David Bowie was the rare hit-maker with the chameleon-like ability to adopt different styles and musical genres from album to album. Much of that musical experimentation started with the 1972 release, “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.”

Classic Albums Live, the Toronto-based group known for note-for-note recreations of albums by Led Zeppelin, Prince, the Beatles and other popular act, presents Bowie’s iconic album at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering on Saturday, Aug. 13.

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“We’d done ‘Ziggy Stardust’ years before and we had a couple of shows on the books before David passed in January,” founder Craig Martin said. “Then as soon as he died, everybody started lining up for shows. I understand that. We all want a way to celebrate the life of this important artist.”

Martin tackled this particular Bowie album because of its classic songs and the loose theme that ties it all together.

“As if it wasn’t musical in itself, ‘Ziggy Stardust’ almost has this story that taps into our own inner rock star,” Martin said. “There’s a real theme to it, all the way down to how he ends the album with ‘Rock ‘n’ Suicide.’ It’s the first peek behind the scenes at what it meant to be a rock star.

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“Bowie really brought that inner-rock star vibe into our consciousness,” Martin continued. “We all got on stage with him with this record and that’s what I like it about. The songs are great and there’s a story in there.”

The first half of the concert is ‘Ziggy Stardust’ in its entirety. Classic Albums Live will close out the night with a selection of Bowie favorites.

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“We have our outro set, which is kind of like a greatest hits collection of his music,” Martin said. “That’s a little more difficult, especially when you get into Bowie’s later stuff like ‘Ashes to Ashes’ and things like that. You need a little more attention to detail in that. It was a lovely challenge to have but nonetheless we’ve got it. We’re ready, we can do this. We’re not scared of a challenge.

“It’s going to be an emotionally charged show,” Martin added. “The greatest hits set is going to keep people happy, dancing and feeling something. They’ll know all of the songs. I carefully chose the second set so it reflects what a great artist David Bowie was. We’re here to curate his musical legacy and make sure his life is celebrated note-for-note.”

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