David Byrne makes senses work overtimepick
On Byrne’s current tour, he wears a white digital wristwatch that may call for explanation. But surely most attendees of Saturday’s show at Clowes Hall would simply tell Byrne he delivered a concert experience to rival "Stop Making Sense" — the live album and film that documented Talking Heads at peak powers. The singer-guitarist wore his oversized suit when "Stop Making Sense" was filmed 25 years ago (December 1983). On this outing, Byrne and his collection of 10 backing musicians, vocalists and dancers wear white from head to toe. The color choice may signal readiness for a watery baptism as outlined in their cover of Al Green’s "Take Me to the River," but it likely has more to do with equal roles of the players in this theatrical tour de force. It’s impossible to downplay the amount of entertainment provided by dancers Lily Baldwin, Natalie Kuhn and Steven Reker. They made 1980’s "Houses in Motion" a literally kinetic celebration, and moves cycled through the robot, pantomime, vogue-ing and Irish step during "Life During Wartime." The show’s surprising weak link was its audio mix, as Byrne’s voice never sounded fully amplified and the heft of low tones was missing in bass guitar and drums. Byrne is on the road to promote "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today," a new album made with Brian Eno. The duo specialized in cutting-edge textures and compound percussion when collaborating on Talking Heads albums "More Songs About Buildings and Food" (1978), "Fear of Music" (1979) and "Remain in Light" (1980), plus their 1981 experimental opus "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts." Byrne was both self-referential and self-deprecating when singing, "This groove is out of fashion, these beats are 20 years old," on new tune "Strange Overtones." But most of the evening’s lyrics focused on the ever-timely topics of hope and dispair. The soothing "One Fine Day" brought promise in a year of election, thanks to lines such as, "We can use the stars to guide our way. It is not that far, that one fine day." Built on a sturdy gospel framework, "One Fine Day" is as far removed from polyrhythmic as possible. And as comforting as the number felt, it carried a gnawing undercurrent of tomorrow always being a day away. A feverish refrain of "still waiting" brought the audience to full attention during Saturday’s rendition of "Crosseyed and Painless," but the sentiment has yet to find fruition. During "Never Thought," an Does Byrne equate optimism to beating one’s head against a wall? This is the guy who famously sang "same as it ever was" on "Once in a Lifetime," and the title track to "Everything That Happens" offers a cryptic summary: "Nothing has changed, but nothing’s the same." When in doubt, we at least can grasp the tangible greatness of Byrne and his colleagues at Clowes. |
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"Why a big suit?" was the dumb question that once hounded ex-Talking Heads vocalist David Byrne.