David Byrne may well be the coolest 56 year old in music, he is also a proper showman. He emerged onto the stage accompanied by his band all dressed in white from head to toe. He displayed a mix of assured stage manner, proving to be a charming and affable figure, alongside his trademark nervous twitchiness.
The set opened with a superb rendition of ‘Strange Overtones’, the standout track from his latest collaboration with Brian Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. His relationship with the English musician and producer being the theme for the evening, the set showcasing the new album, their previous collaboration My Life In The Bush of Ghosts and a wealth of Eno produced Talking Heads classics.
One slightly odd element of the show was the inclusion of three dancers, who accompanied most of the numbers. I was left unsure as to whether the attention to stagecraft was outweighed by the slight ridiculousness of the dancing. On balance I think it did, and it in no way distracted from the quality of the music on stage. Byrne was in fine voice throughout, possibly a better vocalist than at the peak of Talking Heads, and it is easy to forget what a superb guitarist he is. One of the few disappointments of the gig was the lack of another guitarist to act as a foil for Byrne. The guitar interplay that was the feature of some of the best live moments from Talking Heads career was missing here, despite a fine band performance.
It was the funkier end of the Talking Heads output that really got the crowd going and songs such as ‘Once In a Lifetime’, ‘Crosseyed and Painless’ and Al Green’s ‘Take Me To The River’ all recived a rapturous reception. For me it was song that fell outside the Byrne and Eno theme that was the highlight of the evening, ‘Burning Down The House’.
As I looked around the packed Dome Concert Hall I wasn’t sure how I felt about the ageing audience dancing in the aisles. The music on stage didn’t seem to have aged at all, just as vibrant and relevant as when it was recorded nearly 30 years ago.
9/10
by Dorian Rogers
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