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Washington Post article on Area 2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...-2002Jul29.html
Area 2: Bowie to Busta to Blue Man
By Sean Daly
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, July 30, 2002; Page C09
Growling and grinning like a chemically altered Big Bad Wolf, Busta Rhymes provided the most deliciously awkward moment of Sunday night's Area 2 Tour stop at Nissan Pavilion when the rapper ordered a pair of nervous, middle-aged David Bowie fans in the front row to "Bounce, [expletives], bounce!"
This curious mingling of musical tastes was exactly what Moby had in mind when he created this entertaining and eclectic revue, now in its second year (hence "Area 2"). Besides signing Rhymes to the bill, the smooth-pated imp with a taste for blues-infused techno also invited creepy performance artists Blue Man Group and ageless glam-rock icon Bowie to perform on this steamy opening night of the tour.
If the diverse talent on the main stage wasn't enough to sate the less-than-capacity crowd, more music could be heard thump-thump-thumping from the enormous PlayStation 2 Dance Tent, where a younger, flesh-proud demographic gathered for sweat-demanding spins from DJs Tim Skinner, John Digweed and Carl Cox.
Blue Man Group, the earless oddities made famous by those annoying Intel commercials, took rubber sledgehammers to PVC pipes, oversize drums and an upended piano while a normal-hued backing band -- featuring four drummers, no less -- guided the mute ones through such covers as "White Rabbit." If the Alan Parsons Project were made up of nothing but percussionists, this is what it would sound like.
The Bowie fans had gone into hiding by the time the speed-rapping Rhymes -- insisting that "it's cool to smoke weed while you're driving" -- got around to such MTV-friendly hits as "Break Ya Neck" and "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check." But the rap-averse could have benefited from the ferocious performer's encore: Despite his profane frustrations with the mostly lethargic crowd, Rhymes rewarded the front-row faithful -- many of whom looked no older than 16 -- with a full bottle of hooch for his party anthem "Pass the Courvoisier."
The still-beautiful Thin White Duke, flashing those pearly whites throughout his hour-plus set and staying supernaturally dry in a black three-piece suit, mixed guitar-loaded songs from his sublime new album, "Heathen," with a smattering of faithfully delivered classics, including "Ashes to Ashes," "Heroes" and "Let's Dance." Claiming that he was "born in Manassas," Bowie closed with an incendiary "Ziggy Stardust," his voice sounding as otherworldly wonderful as it did all those eons ago.
Sprinting back and forth across the strobe-lit stage for a full 90 minutes, hyped-up show-closer Moby attempted to merge all of the day's sounds, mixing dollops of rock, soul, punk and hip-hop into his noisy electronic stew. And if the DJ turned pop star was a bit of a letdown after the brilliant Bowie, at least Moby managed to get all those sweaty kids in the dance tent to join the older folks at the main stage for a beat-mad finale that included "We Are All Made of Stars," "Bodyrock" and "Southside," the last featuring supremely soulful singing from crowd fave Diane Charlemagne.
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
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