Don't expect a single orange wig at this week's David Bowie tribute shows

When 20 some artists including the Pixies, Michael Stipe, Mumford & Sons and Blondie gather Thursday and Friday to pay tribute to David Bowie, you can guarantee not one of them will be wearing an orange wig or boa. 

That's because the show's producer, Michael Dorf, has set clear intentions for the two sold-out tribute shows: "No shtick, pure art." 

Dorf, who has produced tribute shows for the likes of Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, tells Mashable that viewers in the audience and at home -- Friday's show at Radio City Music Hall will be streamed live on Skype -- can expect something a little more reverent. He's taking the "Fab Faux approach," a reference to the renowned Beatles tribute band. 

"No one's trying to look like David Bowie, no one's trying to fake his voice or his shtick at all," he says. "These are artists all with their own style and their own integrity and own voice, and they're presenting a David Bowie song."

Michael Stipe previewed how he'll be paying tribute on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon  with a stirring rendition of "The Man Who Sold the World." 

On Wednesday, The Roots drummer Questlove announced that the group would no longer be performing at the show, citing a fellow musician's refusal to share equipment. 

"There was some confusion over the drum kit tonight unfortunately. Hopefully, all will be OK tomorrow," Dorf said in an email on Wednesday. "I love The Roots -- one of my favorites and regular asks to be involved.

But with the Roots or without -- the lineup includes Stipe, Patti Smith, Cat Power, Mumford & Sons, Blondie and more -- Dorf promises a show that highlights the many varied sides of Bowie's catalog.

"It's not just going to be a night of covers," he said. "We tried to select artists that are not purely of the same genre and style but picking artists that come form a lot of different eclectic sounds so that when you're rehearing the songs, you're hearing it with a very different voice, and sometimes that interpretive voice, it's really refreshing and different and actually brings a deeper and expanded meaning to it."

See the full lineups for the shows below:

March 31, Carnegie Hall:
Debbie Harry
Pixies
Michael Stipe
Patti Smith
Cyndi Lauper
Laurie Anderson
Bette Midler
Cat Power
J Mascis
Perry Farrell
Bettye LaVette
Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart
Jakob Dylan
The Mountain Goats
Robyn Hitchcock
Eugene Hutz
Holy Holy

Current April 1st Radio City Music Hall lineup:
Blondie
Pixies
Mumford & Sons
Michael Stipe
Bette Midler
Jherek Bischoff, Amanda Palmer & Anna Calvi
Cat Power
Perry Farrell
J Mascis
Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart
The Polyphonic Spree
Esperanza Spalding
Kyp Malone
Jakob Dylan
Donny McCaslin Group w/ Mark Guiliana, Jason Lindner, and Tony Visconti
Holy Holy

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