Sometimes it’s hard to remember that David Byrne started out as, and is actually, a musician. Between directing films, creating PowerPoint art, turning buildings into musical instruments, and helping score and choreograph ballets (and what about that collaboration with Dizzee Rascal?) , it would seem that Byrne had little time to produce music. I was actually introduced to his film True Stories before I had listened to a full Talking Heads albums. His performance on Monday night at Meymandi Hall had pieces of each of these talents intertwined very meticulously. It is for this reason that I officially change my entry in the best musical show seen in Raleigh to Mr. David Byrne.
Starting with “Strange Overtones” off of his new collaborative album with Brian Eno, and ending with three (yes, three) encores, David Byrne and his white-clothed family barely stopped to breathe between songs, playing for almost a full two hours. Byrne has a very fine care for detail and his taste level for art and music has spanned and inspired generations. Can’t think of too many other musicians that bring to mind the phrase Avant Garde. Byrne is one. The generational bridge was evident in the packed crowd at Meymandi. From college students to folks older than Byrne, everyone was dancing from beginning to end.
Choreographed dancing played a huge part in the show. Byrne had three members on stage that were dancers, dressed in white. They had what looked like digital musical players on their arms and danced very fluidly robotic to each of the upbeat songs performed by Byrne and crew. Aliens? Robots? Not sure of their exact identity, but their entertainment level was quite high. Byrne and his backup singers also participated in the dances a couple of times, some of which looked as though they were from a science fiction musical. Props were used often and microphones were passed around at one point like batons in a relay race. The audience never knew what could or would happen next.
The energy level in the venue was high and each song seemed to build the excitement of the crowd as well as the performers on stage. By the end of the performance, Byrne and crew seemed just as happy to be at Meymandi as the screaming fans. The colorful lighting was a nice mood-altering contrast to the white outfits on stage. Never have I been to a louder concert in the area. Between two of the encores, it was hard to refrain from covering my ears, although that would have stopped my clapping.
Byrne’s music spans from gospel to african beat and new wave. No one particular style defines his career. Byrne performed songs off of both albums in which he collaborated with Brian Eno. He also incorporated a handful of old Talking Heads songs and even some songs that he rarely performs live (including one from the ballet The Catherine Wheel). After a two-song encore, he took multiple bows before coming back out and performing another song and, the venue bouncing, “Burning Down the House” in a tutu. The ballet theme continues. He ended with a very passionate version of “Everything Will Happen.” I would recommend you go to Charlotte on Wednesday and check out Byrne at Ovens Auditorium. The tutu alone is worth the trip.
Here is some, but not all of the setlist, and in no particular order….
Strange Overtones
I Zimbra
Home
Life During Wartime
My Big Nurse
Crosseyed and Painless
Once in a Lifetime
Heaven
The Great Curve
Houses In Motion
I Feel My Stuff
One Fine Day
Life is Long
Encores -
Take Me to the River
Burning Down the House
Everything that Happens
Photos by David and Jedidiah
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