Over the weekend, the “Just For One Night” David Bowie tribute livestream was held, albeit a day after originally scheduled due to technical difficulties and COVID-19 restrictions (it was initially set for January 8, Bowie’s birthday). Still, the show went on just fine, and among the highlights was Trent Reznor performing a pair of covers, “Fantastic Voyage” and “Fashion.”
On “Fantastic Voyage,” Reznor was joined by Nine Inch Nails bandmate Atticus Ross and Bowie keyboardist Mike Garson. Then, on “Fashion,” that trio welcomed Reznor’s wife and How To Destroy Angels bandmate Mariqueen Maandig Reznor into the fold.
Elsewhere during the show, other performers included Duran Duran, Adam Lambert, Peter Frampton, Andra Day, Mott The Hoople’s Ian Hunter, Yes’ Rick Wakeman, and a supergroup established specifically for this event, Ground Control (Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, and Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlBDGXjfvD4
Ahead of the performance, Reznor spoke about Bowie’s impact on him, telling Consequence Of Sound:
“I think in terms of chronology, it was the Scary Monsters album that I became aware of Bowie’s music. None of my friends were super-big Bowie fans. But there was something about Scary Monsters. […] And then over the next few years, I had the pleasure of going through Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust and Station To Station. He just really started to become the best archetype for someone who has a fantastic voice and was kind of an actor pretending to be a rock star, in a way, which seemed to give him the ability to reinvent himself in ways that just felt like it would take a lot of courage to have had success at something and then throw it away and try something new. […]
I still think about that dude all the time, and I still listen to him constantly. And I’m grateful that our lives intersected, and I’m grateful for, whether he knew it or not, how much he helped me in those dark times before I chose to get my sh*t together. And I can hear his voice. He penetrated through the layers of bullsh*t that I’d built around myself. I’m grateful for that.”
Watch Reznor perform for the Bowie tribute above.
