up close, this is the prettiest acoustic I've seen in ages

(I've seen these pictures floating around cyberspace on a couple different reviews, so I think I'm safe in using them for noncommercial use)

I bought my quite expensive ticket for "A Evening with David Byrne" the day the tickets for the North American tour went on sale exactly 2 months prior to my 29th birthday, intending it for a birthday present. I can't count on my friends or family who live in the greater D.C. to provide me with music-related joy for my birthday or Christmas (the notable exception, my dear late father, may he rest in peace). I was a little disappointed that Brian Eno, one-half of the partnership responsible for Everything That Happens Will Happen Today would not be present. He's the cute, cuddly, and bald ambient producer who's responsible for some great music (think Roxy Music, U2, Talking Heads for just three popular music-changing examples; Mr. Eno, I will forgive you for producing the fourth Coldplay album). He made some incredible, hymnal-sounding music for this album and we must stop and give props to him, even if he's not legging around the world with David Byrne. And if you can't manage to see David Byrne live performing these new songs, you owe it to yourself to get the album and enjoy the musical goodness of the songs.

That said, David Byrne live in concert is a treasure to behold. This wasn't just a rock concert. This was a full-fledged musical and dance production. I was skeptical upon hearing of the dancers when the show opened in Bethelem, PA - I mean, come on. I go to gigs to hear and *experience* the music, not to watch some modern dancers skip, hop, and preen across the stage. That's what an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is for. You may say then, were you equally skeptical of the backup singers? No. Must remember the spectacle of Jonathan Demme's "Stop Making Sense" from 25 years before. Backup singers supporting David Byrne are a necessity. Especially if you are carrying out a party feeling like this November party. I was certainly in the minority of twenty-somethings in the crowd - most of the people appeared to be in their 40s or older, and some had brought their sprogs with them. These kids appeared not to know what was going on or what would transpire over the next 2 hours as their parents ushered them to their seats. Hrm. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if my parents were gig-goers in the '80s and had brought me along to gigs with them. (I have a hard time thinking about this, b/c the only "gigs" my parents ever took me to were symphonic ones, at the Kennedy Center, as they had season tickets to the National Symphony Orchestra.)

FYI, David is a local boy - he spent his young formative years in a Baltimore suburb and graduated HS from around here) and even though it's been 2 decades since he worked with Talking Heads, he's been putting his own stamp on whatever's his art du jour - new music, new film or tv scores, gallery installations, lectures, you name it. But for me, it's the music that's the ticket. You can't say, "so-and-so sounds like David Byrne" b/c you'd be lying. He's unique and the more that I think about it, he has more in common with Morrissey (another one of my loves) than I previously thought.

I wasn't sure if I was going to attend at all - I had torn a muscle in my right calf the month prior and had tried - unsuccessfully - to unload my ticket to someone on craigslist. However, fate intervened (I suppose). By the night of the concert, I could move enough to get dropped off in front of the venue and hobble to my seat with a cane. I will say here that if you can offer to help someone with a disability - even a temporary one - it is much appreciated by the person who already feels like everyone is staring at them b/c they've got a cane, or a limp, or a wheelchair, or whatever. I asked a bloke nicely if I could have the aisle seat instead of sitting 3 seats in - I never would have asked if I didn't have an injury. His wife finally convinced him he was being a scrooge and let me sit in the aisle seat.

At the start, he made everyone laugh when he said he would describe that night's "menu": "this is the chef's choice, you don't get to choose tonight." Fine with me! As told and retold by other reviews of this tour, he quipped - rather naughtily - that he would be playing songs he played with "other musicians" - including his former Talking Heads bandmates; this resulted in some whoops and cheers, and some sniggers from the audience.

He counted down the "one, two, one, two, three, four" into the first song, "Strange Overtones," the song he'd sent round to the radio stations (including 6Music, where I first heard it). The lyrics of this song are fabulous. Seriously, who wouldn't want David Byrne living next door in your brownstone, wondering if he could help you finish your song? My heart just leapt for joy - I had been waiting for hear this live for months. Why is it that I'm usually the only one who knows and sings along to the most recent songs at a gig? Especially when it's a band or singer whose heyday was from yesteryear. No matter. I was going to sing along, though b/c this was the Warner Theatre - a nicely appointed old-style stage in D.C. - not as loudly as I would elsewhere. Must maintain some sense of decorum, eh?

The audience clapped loudly for all the songs, but it was obvious the songs by Talking Heads were what they'd come to see. The venue became a veritable dance party every time the first chord of a Heads song was struck. I made a point of not paying too much attention to previous setlists, as I wanted to be surprised by whichever Talking Heads songs would be played. David was feeding off the energy of the crowd and wow, when "Life During Wartime" got going, he was absolutely radiant.

\ I really enjoyed the new songs. I expected to shed a couple tears for these but was surprised when I saw how great the audience was reacting to the old Talking Heads songs and in turn, how validated David felt by it all.

I've known for years that David Byrne was a great singer and musician. Now I feel incredibly blessed that I've had the opportunity to see him perform live. He is and will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

setlist
(approximate from my scribblings and then later piecing together via an earlier Toronto review
ETH denotes new stuff from the Byrne/Eno album, TH denotes Talking Heads track)

Strange Overtones (ETH)
I Zimbra (TH)
One Fine Day (ETH)
Help Me Somebody
Houses in Motion (TH) - followed by first standing ovation and breather by band
My Big Nurse (ETH)
My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks) - this was a total guess based on the Toronto review
Heaven (TH)
Home (ETH) - so says this blog, funny...I don't remember it :P)
The River (ETH)
Crosseyed and Painless (TH)
Life Is Long (ETH)
Once in A Lifetime (TH) - this felt very weird b/c the chord progressions and chorus weren't as I remembered them
Life During Wartime (TH)
I Feel My Stuff (ETH)
--
Take Me to the River (TH)
The Great Curve (TH) - followed by another huge standing ovation
--
Air (TH)
Burning Down the House (TH) - I didn't think I'd ever hear this one live; the theatre felt like it was shaking after this one
--
Everything That Happens (ETH)

Concluding notes:

• The lights and production allowed for a seamless transition between songs. It allowed for a near instant change of mood from jungle dancing, to a little light introspective music, back to gospel-tinged pop, then to a funky beat. White light would give way to romantic, thoughtful blues, then to jungle-themed reds and greens to get you out of your seat. Overall, it was a sensory experience I'll never forget.
• For someone like me who's seen the film "Auntie Mame" (in which the lead actress, Rosalind Russell, is always the last person highlighted in a scene), this reminded me that David Byrne is still the star of the show. But...
• ...this is not to say the sum whole was not better than its parts. Indeed, the musicians, backup singers, and dancers all added to the spectacle of the show.
• It just boggles my mind when I see people with ants in their pants who have to leave their seats DURING a concert. You pay good money for a gig, and you don't know a song, so therefore you must go out for a fag or another drink? Eh...
• I really need to find some gig-going mates. It feels funny going up to the merch table by yourself. It also feels funny drinking by yourself, and I don't drink much as it is, so it wasn't happening that night. Sitting by yourself in the theatre itself feels funny too...you'd think after all these years and gigs I'd be used to it, but no.
• Also - I need to stop making it a habit to be at the Warner Theatre in November. Never fails to freeze my bum off.

posted 29.11.08
moved on over 07.09.09
gig-going habits