I never had much use for art-rock when I was younger, and I didn’t know about the early NYC punk scene before I knew about music beyond the radio. But the Talking Heads had some songs that I liked when I found them, and they could be just another pop band as far as I knew. Sand in the Vaseline was the greatest hits that I was hungrily awaiting in the early days of getting CDs, and I didn’t shy away from a two-disc set that had a lot more songs than I wanted but plenty I could explore, and I eventually got into it over time, though I still clung to the hits (mostly off Little Creatures then some of the easy, later stuff). Even then I didn’t follow David Byrne into his solo stuff and I didn’t have much to do with him without the anchor of the 'Heads (though I got The Heads album and still put “The Damage I’ve Done” on playlists (it being a pretty great Johnette Napolitano song)). As such I wouldn’t have bothered with Byrne’s American Utopia except for getting it from the library, and it still didn’t do much for me. If Byrne wasn’t leaning hard into pop or rock then it was too arty for me to stay with. A little too weird to be catchy, and not enough easily consumable moments. As such we wouldn’t have bothered with the live show, but friends had to ditch out and we said we’d take the tickets, and Carla & I went with Candy. I had read that the show was an arty thing but it was another experience to see it in person. It was less a concert and more of a performance, which can happen with some of the edgier music we might be into, since if there aren't expectations for the music then there might not be the same for the performing of it, and it doesn’t always work but it can at least be interesting and fresh, enough to set it off from just a rote run-through of songs. And while I didn’t hew with Byrne’s music as much, I could appreciate that he was trying to do something new and creative, as he always does (and probably why he's refused to go back to the Talking Heads, though even just a little bit wouldn't have killed him). I wouldn’t normally be into such a thing but it was good to see something new from a show. Byrne even thew in a few Talking Heads tunes, a surprise from someone who has so adamantly tried to separate himself from his past, more successful endeavors, even at this own expense, though it was to get something more out of them with new versions than to just flog the hits or revisit what he’d already done decades ago (as evidenced by hitting "Once in a Lifetime" early in the set instead of building up to it (though still conceding to climaxing with "Burning Down the House")). Though it also marked how we don’t need a Talking Heads reunion if Byrne would be allowed to only take it back to what it was, since his restless spirit wouldn't accept the vacuity of a rehash when he could do something new, and on his own (as interesting as it could be, it would flop if they didn’t recapture the purity from what the people loved, such is the conundrum of new art vs. old love). Byrne even took a sampling of this show to SNL and it worked just as well. It was even better to see this performance before Byrne moved well beyond it with his next project, which could even be the complete opposite of what he’d done, which might not be something I’d love but it’s a thrill to witness where such a wildly creative mind’s impulses take him. We missed opener Ibeyi. (And I wouldn't always bother to note which are songs from the old band in the set-list, but those stood out as the better bits.)
David Byrne’s set-list:
“Here“
“Lazy“ (X‐Press 2 cover)
“I Zimbra“ (Talking Heads)
“Slippery People“ (Talking Heads)
“Dog's Mind““
“I Should Watch TV“
“Everybody's Coming to My House"
“This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)“ (Talking Heads)
“Once in a Lifetime“ (Talking Heads)
“Doing the Right Thing“
“Toe Jam“ (Brighton Port Authority cover)
“Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" (Talking Heads)
“I Dance Like This“
“Bullet“
“Every Day Is a Miracle“
“Like Humans Do“
“Blind“ (Talking Heads)
“Burning Down the House“ (Talking Heads)
“Dancing Together“
“The Great Curve“ (Talking Heads song)
“Hell You Talmbout“ (Janelle Monáe cover)
“The Great Curve“ (Talking Heads song)
“Hell You Talmbout“ (Janelle Monáe cover)
