2008 Woodie Awards
Byrne still dazzles
Ian Nelson, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: Arts & Living
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The man in white was David Byrne, who flawlessly played the Calvin Theatre Tuesday night as part of his "Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour."
It doesn't seem as though Byrne has lost a beat, be it in his voice, his movement, or his odd, undying sense of visual artistry. Those who were born too late to see Byrne's Talking Heads in their prime, or at all, were unimaginably treated to the band's numbers, which still sound as urgent and relevant as they must have back in the late '70s and early '80s.
Byrne was of course not reunited with his original band, but with an apt cast of 10 back-up singers/musicians/dancers, also in all-white, who upped the energy, filled out all the songs as they were originally supposed to feel and brought a youthfulness to Byrne's being which was not necessarily expected.
Byrne obligatorily started the night with some of his new material, which certainly sounded better than on the record. He sounded vibrant, backed by the huge sound of his band, producing a brilliant version of "My Big Nurse," among others.
Before diving too heavily into Talking Heads material, Byrne experimented with some of his work with Brian Eno, going all the way back to 1981 to perform songs from their record "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" to strange effect.
The songs on record are riddled with samples, or what Byrne called "field recordings" from various sources including radio voices, mountain singers and other found sounds. Byrne substituted those vocal parts with fresh vocals of his own, reviving those songs from 1981 and turning them into something completely different nearly 30 years later.
The whole crew onstage glowed radioactively in various washes of orange, green and blue, an impressive light show to match an equally impressive performance.
Byrne wowed with Talking Heads jam "Houses in Motion" from 1980's "Remain in Light," the dancers interpretively prancing around him while he summoned otherworldly sounds from his guitar. The back-up singers crafted gigantic harmonies which beefed up Byrne's vocal unintelligibly, making him sound like a preaching loudspeaker.
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