Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Byrne-ing Down The House


How's that for a Robert Hilburn-esque headline?! Dang, I can't
believe that guy is still around. He was already here when I arrived,
sometime during the last ice age. Doesn't The Times have a 25-and-out policy?
From the little bit of research I just did, apparently he's as loved now as he was then (NOT!)
Not real flames, thankfully, but the house was definitely on fire. I had forgotten how much I really enjoy David's work. After years of being a huge Talking Heads fan, I'll have to admit I drifted away just a bit during his forays into world music, which ironically, I find myself listening to often now. I was so excited when I heard of this new collaboration with Brian Eno.

The show was incredible. The songs he chose were about half Talking Heads and half from the new album, with a few extras thrown in. A few songs in, he played Houses in Motion, which brought everyone to their feet and ended with a huge ovation from the crowd. David seemed genuinely pleased and a little surprised, in an almost "you-really-do-like-me" sort of way to the reaction he was getting.
The arrangements of the TH songs were from the "Stop Making Sense" tour, but even these were woven such that it allowed one to look at the songs in a different way. It was as if he "turned the beat around".  The new material was every bit as strong as the old stuff, and it was great to finally get to see it performed.
The staging was very sparse, no gimmicks. In addition to the band, he was accompanied by three backing vocalists and three dancers. All the performers wore white. I'm sure the show was at least two hours long, but it seemed to pass in five minutes!
I'm gonna go dust off my Talking Head albums and  maybe start a little fire of my own.

Since my photos came out crappy, I stole this one from The OCRegister. They also wrote a great review that includes a set list.
Losangealous has a bunch of great photos.
You can follow the tour at David's Journal page.

6 comments:

So Cal Peeper said...

holy cow, i was a step away from putting a T.H. song on my blog.

What, no big shouldered jacket??? He's looking so...so....normal.

Miss Healthypants said...

How weird--I just heard the song "Once In A Lifetime"--which I've always loved but never knew the name of--and I asked Iwanski who sang it.

Now that you talked about The Talking Heads on your blog--it's a SIGN! I have to download that song--and perhaps others by that band. *smiles*

Which are your favorite songs?

MaryRuth said...

SCP--so add one already! Your readers will love it! =)
I would hope *I* look more normal than I did 25 years ago too!

MHP--it IS a sign! Go download as much as you can. Or if you know any OLD people (like me), maybe they have some CDs you can listen to.
As for favorites....man, that's like a mom having to say which kid she likes best. Hmmm....."Born Under Punches", "Crosseyed and Painless", "Once in a Lifetime"...oh hell, they're all great!
Also check out "My Life in the Bush of Ghost", not TH, but is David Byrne and Brian Eno. This album is probably my favorite of all time.

Reasonably shorts said...

I cant wait for the show next year.

I have a compilation of Brazilian music that David compiled for his record label Luka Bop somewhere...

This post has reminded me of it. Must dig it out and dust it off.

MaryRuth said...

MR--I have one of those too--Zvuki Mu I think it was called. I would go dust it off, but it's on cassette tape! I remember going to that show of his with the Brasilian music in 1989 or so.
You are going to have such an awesome time at the show!

Monty said...

Hello mate nice poost