David Byrne @ Allen Theatre 10/23/08

You never really know what to expect with David Byrne, even if you've seen him a few times since he and Talking Heads parted ways. To hear that he had rekindled his musical partnership with Brian Eno, who produced the Heads' three mid-career albums (More Songs About Building And Food, Fear and Music and Remain In Light) and released the experimental instrumental My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, with Byrne in 1984, was excitement enough. Their new collaboration, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, recently released online, was inspiration for this tour featured " Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno," and the show, for the most part, represented music from those five albums. But the lucky Cleveland crowd received so much more.

While many artists are saving money with solo or acoustic sets, cashing in on their name recognition while saving money on the road, Byrne instead chose to rehearse solidly with a core of young musicians (drums, bass, percussion, keyboards), most of whom he had not worked with previously. But the real surprise was a trio of young dancers (Lily Baldwin, Natalie Kuhn and Steven Reker) and the three backing vocalists, which brought the stage to 10 performers and raised the energy level considerably. In fact, the entire show was choreographed (by Noemie Lafrance, Annie-B Parson, Sonya Robbins & Layla Childs), so that the entire ensemble was injected with a spasmodic, contemporary feel that complemented Byrne's off-center songs and quirky performance style. Just as Jonathan Demme's groundbreaking concert film, Stop Making Sense, was essentially choreographed from beginning to end, each song in Byrne's set featured a highly rehearsed performance with layers of sound, lights and stage movement. The almost-capacity 40-something (or better) audience, it's safe to say, was stunned.

With consummate skill, Byrne blended eight songs from the new album into a set that surprised many with its focus on the big MTV hits from Talking Heads: Life During Wartime, Once In A Lifetime, and Take Me To The River were some of the Heads' biggest faves, and favorite album cuts like Heaven, Crosseyed and Painless, and Air drew squeals of recognition from an audience that continually rose to its feet to dance and applaud the lively stage show. Even Byrne himself seemed taken aback by the extended ovations from the audience.

The culmination of the evening was a rousing Burning Down The House, (off-theme, since it wasn't produced by Eno, but no one was complaining), and a quiet version of the title track from his new album. By this time, everyone had received more than they had bargained for.
Review & photos by Thomas Mulready LettersATCoolCleveland.com (:divend:)