Watch Michael Stipe, Wayne Coyne + Chewbacca Perform at David Bowie Tribute Concert
The first of two David Bowie tribute concerts took place last night (March 31) at Carnegie Hall in New York, and it brought together Michael Stipe, the Pixies, Cat Power, J Mascis, the Mountain Goats, Wayne Coyne and… Chewbacca.
Not to be outdone, Coyne -- seemingly in an attempt to conjure this iconic image of Freddie Mercury -- covered Bowie’s “Life on Mars?” while seated atop Chewie’s shoulders. But the Flaming Lips frontman wasn’t alone in his earnest tribute to the Thin White Duke. The Pixies played their own song, “Cactus,” which Bowie covered in 2002; Cat Power tackled “Five Years”; Debbie Harry covered "Starman"; Stipe joined Karen Elston for a performance of “Ashes to Ashes”; and Cyndi Lauper delivered “Suffragette City.” Laurie Anderson, Mascis, Sean Lennon, the Mountain Goats and Robyn Hitchcock also performed. Check out fan-shot clips of the concert at the bottom of the page.
The second and final Bowie tribute concert is tonight at Radio City Music Hall. On Tuesday, Stipe previewed his appearance with a moving rendition of “The Man Who Sold the World” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.