DETROIT. MARCH 1, 1973. DAVE DiMARTINO SEES BOWIE TAKE AMERICA.

THERE MAY have been no better place or time to first hear Panic In Detroit than in that city itself –watching it performed at the Masonic Temple Theatre by David Bowie And The Spiders From Mars during the Ziggy Stardust tour, months before the release of Aladdin Sane.

“The largest Masonic building in the world,” as the venue still bills itself, was packed with joyfully rowdy Detroiters who’d missed the man at his unheralded local debut the prior October and now had two nights to catch up. If the title of the new song itself was not local recognition enough, that Bowie had been working on mixing The Stooges’

Raw Power – released just weeks earlier – and had plopped a ‘Z’ in front of ‘Iggy’ to name his fictional superstar did not go unnoticed.

And this was a juiced-up band. Joining Ronson, Bolder and Woodmansey were five extra players, including pianist Mike Garson, whose impact was considerable. His keyboard riffing on the previously unheard Aladdin Sane title track was dazzling, even offering Bowie the opportunity to unexpectedly ad lib the chorus of On Broadway at its end. Combined with the frequent costume changes Detroit witnessed in no small awe, it made all sorts of sense.

And with the opening chords of Space Oddity – just re-released by RCA to cash in on Ziggy’s success – everyone leapt out of their seats, roaring. This was fricking great.

If it was any indication, America was loving David Bowie, and this was his moment.