Legendary is a word that has been diminished somewhat over time, but this man is certainly worthy of the title. The band Talking Heads formed over 50 years ago, and their 1984 album Stop Making Sense was pretty much a staple of everyone who was buying records collection at the time.
The release of Stop Making Sense live is often regarded by many as the greatest live recording ever released, and Byrne’s oversized suit became iconic. That concert was actually filmed over 3 nights; unfortunately, the Piece Hall could only get him for 1, and it was certainly one of the hottest tickets of this run of events, selling out in mere minutes when released.
The stage was somewhat different to all the previous gigs this year; instead of the usual single rear screen, the stage was flanked on each side with 2 more and just one band’s set of equipment in front of them; it was clearly going to be something different from the usual offering.
The support was from Anna Calvi, who had recorded with Byrne previously; I already knew she possessed a unique and powerful voice, but what I didn’t know was just how proficient a guitarist she is too. With just 3 on stage, she managed to fill the Piece Hall with a powerful sound for her set, but the biggest sound of all was the cheer from the crowd as she introduced David Byrne on stage to sing Strange Weather with herself and her band.
After her set, the usual removal of the support bands’ equipment took place, but then I noticed that nothing was replacing it, bar the screens; the stage was empty and remained so right up to the time David was due on stage.
Was the band set up behind the stage and it would be just him up front? The answer happened as soon as the show opened up with Heaven; I was right: the band was behind the stage, but they weren’t going to be there throughout the performance; instead, they would be moving, dancing and performing alongside the dancers and Byrne himself.
This approach is something I have never seen before on stage, taking the approach of marching band musicians in a gig environment, and I have to say it was a stroke of genius! With many songs getting reinterpreted and the background visuals providing a near full wraparound effect, you couldn’t look away for a second at times, especially the flying shots during And She Was and the drama of the spotlights during Psycho Killer.
For over 100 minutes, Byrne took us, the viewers (we were definitely viewers; this was a show, not a gig), down a magical rabbit hole into the elaborate mind of David Byrne as we transcended across his 50+ years of material both in Talking Heads and as a soloist. It was hard to get your head around the fact that the man on stage is 1, 74 and, 2, is doing what he was doing at the age of 74!
This man didn’t stop other than occasionally stepping to the side of the stage and letting the other performers on stage have their chance to shine in the spotlight; I was getting exhausted simply watching it, so fair play to him!
The only disappointments for me personally were extremely minor: the white suit didn’t make an appearance, the current version of Once In a Lifetime didn’t quite land for me, and my favourite Talking Heads song, Road To Nowhere, failed to make an appearance.
Still, other than that, wow, just wow, I could have watched this night for the following seven nights and not get bored for one second; yes, it was that good!
If you get a chance to see him on his Who Is The Sky tour, then grab it; if you already have tickets, then I’m extremely jealous that you’re going to experience what you will. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this night, and I doubt you will forget yours either.
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