It would be easy for David Byrne to rest on his laurels and dabble in music here and there. His Talking Heads catalogue alone is enough to keep fans happy forever, and his mere presence is enough to keep them sated. But Byrne is an artist to the core, never content to sit idly or just give people the occasional greatest hits tour. Evidence of this can be found in his new album American Utopia and the world tour to support it, which made a long sold out stop at Portland, Oregon’s Keller Auditorium on May 27.
At the age of 66, David Byrne is still one of the most innovative minds in music (and art for that matter). His live show was a spectacle of proportions that made it as impressive as a work of theater as it was a concert. At most points there were around twelve musicians onstage, the bulk of whom wore drums or other percussion instruments. Everyone was barefoot in grey suits, a look that seemed to fit the songs off Byrne’s new album. These songs made up the bulk of the non-Talking Heads material, and in this heavily choreographed live setting the stark optimism and social commentary made them especially powerful. Many of the songs went from high to low, triggering a range of emotions that speak directly to our rollercoaster polarized society. There were moments that were jarring in an art-rock-meets-industrial style and others that were pure dance party euphoria as the band members never stopped swirling around Byrne in variety of configurations.
Not surprisingly, the crowd went especially wild for Talking Heads songs. Byrne gave them what they wanted as he led the band through the tribal funk of “I Zimbra”, the dark-edged disco tune “Slippery People”, and the jubilant “This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)” with its unmistakable bouncy synth line. These songs haven’t aged a bit in the decades since the Talking Heads first played them, and in fact they sounded more current than ever in light of a million artists who have tried to copy them. The band layered oodles of heavy percussion and thick synth on songs like “Once in a Lifetime”, “Born Under Punches” and “Burning Down the House”. It was impossible to stay seated with such heavy funk reigning down, and the crowd danced approvingly as they fed not just off the timeless songs but off the gaggle of musicians perpetually prowling the stage like a musical street gang.
When Byrne and his band finally left the stage it was to a wall of applause. Those that came to dance got it, and those that came to take in the production and performance as art also got it. Not only did David Byrne prove that his voice and dance moves have held up after all these years, but he also gave each of his many backing musicians a chance to showcase his or her talent. This was a democratic performance where everyone played a vital role, and an innovative live spectacle at that. The pinnacle came during the final moment of the night when the band played an intense and massively percussive cover of Janelle Monae’s “Hell You Talmbout”. Closing with a cover of a new and hip artist, as well as powerful cultural statement on racially charged police violence, was one last reminder that David Byrne always has and always will be a pure artist who is ahead of the great curve. The audience was left picking their collective jaw off the floor by the end of the nearly two hour performance, making it clear this is a tour that is not to be missed.
