As the world grieves the loss of David Bowie, San Franciscans have started what is sure to be a long process of saying goodbye to the legendary queer rocker. And much like the man himself, the local response spans from thoughtful to sexy to fun.
The (obvious) fans over at KQED News have put together a look back at Bowie's sometimes downplayed film career, recognizing that he was a power force on the screen as well as the stage.
"His casting by director Nicholas Roeg was regarded by many at the time as a stunt — it would be his look, his androgyny, his weirdness audiences would be coming for," notes KQED. "But then they saw his Man Who Fell to Earth, struggling to appear normal, to not attract suspicion, and audiences realized this enigmatic, infinitely changeable musician had acting chops as well."
The mashup lovers over at Bootie have gone another direction, making several of their Bowie Bootie mixes available for download.
"[It] was devastating news to learn that one of our biggest musical heroes — and influences — died yesterday," notes the Bootie blog. "While listening to dozens of Bowie songs in remembrance, we decided to pay tribute the only way Bootie knows how: by mashing him up!"
As Bowie was beloved in the LGBT community, expect a memorial to take shape at 18th and Castro in the coming days. Local scribe Violet Blue already placed candles there for him Sunday night.
18th and Castro. #RIPDavidBowie pic.twitter.com/SKtzQtUyUz
— Violet Blue ® (@violetblue) January 11, 2016
Mother, the party formerly known as Trannyshack, will meanwhile do what it does best and throw a tribute show at Oasis for the deceased artist on March 12. Although at present the lineup is TBA, expect it to fill out fully with SF's top drag stars.
Heklina spoke with Frontiers Media today about Bowie, and said what is sure to be a sentiment widely shared across San Francisco.
"A world without David Bowie in it? I’m strangely calm about it, because I realize how lucky I was to have had him at all," mused Heklina. "We all were. People like David Bowie don’t just come along once in a lifetime. They come along once in life."
Indeed.
Update: Also, more here.