Have you seen Stop Making Sense (1984)? Do you have the entire Talking Heads catalog on your iPod? How about the Byrne/Eno collaboration projects? Even that one with all the weird newscast sampling that music critics seem to hate? No? Well, no matter, this recommendation still applies to you. David Byrne’s performance last Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 would have blown your mind, regardless of your inability to commit to such obsessive Byrne love.
Twenty-five years after the legendary Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” tour, David still manages to bring that extremely 1980s quirkiness to the stage in a way that only someone who defined it can do. One will notice at a Byrne show that nothing about him, his presence or his music, seems washed-up or outdated. I have attended too many retro acts where I thought to myself, “This would have been great . . . in the 70’s” or “Man, that would have been sexy . . . if it were done by a 30 year old.”
I think the former is the more pertinent, seeing as how David’s performances have never been about sexiness. Watch those 1984 performances and note that you can call them a lot of things: strange, post-modern, funky, upbeat, energetic, even downright weird, but you can never refer to them in erotic terms (in any seriousness, anyway). This is why there is just as much force in David Byrne’s show today as there was 25 years ago; you can lose your looks, you can lose your mojo, but no matter how old you get, you only get stranger.
His set included songs from both his solo career and his time with the Talking Heads, as well as some tracks he and Brian Eno did together. He treated the crowd with the utmost respect, giving them license to dance in the aisles and take and upload as many pictures as they wanted, “so long as he looked good.” As he awed the crowd, a troupe of contemporary dancers frolicked around the stage doing kicks and throws and even moves that manipulated David himself. All and all, a sight that, when paired with the excellent lighting and presentation of the Paramount Theatre, made for a non-stop optical euphoria.
The encore presentation? David Byrne and the Extra Action Marching Band, a San Francisco-based marching troupe of entertainers dolled up to portray a group of meth-addicted trannies who have been given pompoms and brass instruments and told to “rock the shit out of the audience.” It was at this moment I realized that point I mentioned earlier—you know, about it being really hard to get sexier w/ age, but it being nearly impossible not to get weirder. Needless to say, this was the crux of all Seattle performances, the pinnacle of Northwest stage presence. I doubt that I will ever be as into a Seattle show as I was at that particular moment. A brilliant showing by both parties. Thank you for completing my summer so early on!
David Byrne: Strongly Recommended
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Love this band, always! You guys are awesome.
by Karen on Mon Nov 9, 2009 at 12.31 pm from the entry: Kris Orlowski Band & Interview - Spar (Tacoma, WA; Oct. 17, 2009)
Here’s a link to the rest of the show for you, for you, a link Dan, for you.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JBT9ZC6V
And here’s the info on the release:
Bruce Springsteen - Prodigal Son at the Main Point
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
February 5th, 1975
One of the more famous Bruce Springsteen concerts: February 5, 1975 at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. This show was broadcast on WMMR and was characteristically long for the time (2.5 hours). It has been bootlegged many times—on vinyl as “You Can Trust Your Car To The Man Who Wears The Star” and then on CD as “The Saint, The Incident, & The Main Point Shuffle”. This remastered version is titled “The Prodigal Son At The Main Point”. Note, this was at the same time Bruce was writing and recording the Born To Run album, so there’s an early version of “Thunder Road” called “Wings For Wheels” and “She’s The One” has a lot of lyrics that would later become part of “Backstreets”. Also, Suki Lahav plays violin and adds backing vocals.
Disc 1:
01. Incident On 57th Street
02. Mountain Of Love
03. Born To Run
04. E Street Shuffle Intro
05. E Street Shuffle
06. Wings For Wheels (Thunder Road)
07. I Want You
08. Spirit In The Night
09. She’s The One
10. Growin’ Up
11. It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City
12. Jungleland
Disc 2:
01. Kitty’s Back
02. New York City Serenade
03. Rosalita
04. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
05. A Love So Fine
06. For You
07. Back In The USA
by Colin on Mon Nov 9, 2009 at 02.19 am from the entry: Springsteen is coming to NYC with more old albums to play
Couldn’t agree more. I put this up because of the hype around it on the rap blogs and how much people seem to love him, but after listening to it, I just don’t get it. There is nothing new here. Which may just be the fault of the material on this mixtape. Overall, though I think I’m tuning out on Wiz.
by Colin on Sun Nov 8, 2009 at 07.58 pm from the entry: Wiz Khalifa: Burn After Rolling (Mixtape)
not feeling this. he says that his sound is unique, but all i hear is some unremarkable braggadocio.
by josh on Sun Nov 8, 2009 at 05.42 pm from the entry: Wiz Khalifa: Burn After Rolling (Mixtape)
WOW - that’s not the Mainpoint version that I have. Do you have more of that, or can you point me to it? Also a jpeg or pdf of the artwork? That looks great too.
Thanks
by Dan on Sun Nov 8, 2009 at 11.45 am from the entry: Springsteen is coming to NYC with more old albums to play
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by Angeguggegide on Sat Nov 7, 2009 at 05.53 pm from the entry: Phish Setlist from Fenway for Sunday, May 31st
THIS BAND IS FUCKING AMAZING… VERY PROMISING… I HOPE THAT THEY DONT BECOME ONE OF THOSE SELL OUT FUCKING BANDS… THAT WOULD BE SUCH A SHAME… LOVE THEM!!!!!
by Angie on Sat Nov 7, 2009 at 04.53 pm from the entry: Must listen: the Local Natives
