David Byrne secures title of eccentric genius
- Samantha Blovits
- Aug 21, 2018
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 24, 2018
On August 10th, David Byrne treated a Detroit audience to the masterpiece that is the American Utopia Tour. Playing at the Fox Theatre, decorated with extravagant chandeliers and collections of dramatic masks framing the ceiling and stage, the scene could not have been better set for the former Talking Heads frontman.
Pre-show music consisted of ambient noise, chirping birds, and even a thunderstorm rumbling through the theater. That was a first. The enormous red curtain finally parted to reveal a three-sided silver beaded curtain rising up from the stage floor, continuing to elevate until it reached the ceiling. Not a single instrument was set up on the stage, all that was visible: a table with a prop human brain placed carefully on top. Byrne entered through the curtain and his 11-piece band followed one-by-one, and from there on out there was not a single break from entertainment.
The band was uniform in appearance, sporting grey suits and bare feet. For the majority of the songs the ensemble was made up of two dancers/back-up singers, a guitarist, bassist, and the rest of the band was armed with various percussion instruments. The most impressive feat: they were also responsible for the perfectly synced choreography that tied the entire performance together. All playing non-stationary instruments, the band freely roamed around the stage, dancing together to visually elevate the performances to a level not many other artists can achieve.
Byrne himself was swallowed whole inside of this visual concoction, immersing into the performance rather than guiding it. He spent most of the show engaging the audience with his meticulously planned choreography, but to everyone's delight, his signature white Fender Stratocaster was held out of the curtain for Byrne to play during a good handful of songs. It would be shameful to overlook his still crisp and funk-heavy riff playing.
As for the setlist, it can be difficult to satisfy every person in attendance when presented with such an extensive and unique discography such as David Byrne's, but that being said, this show probably got as close as possible. Of course, it was heavy on his new album American Utopia, because well, that's the reason he went on tour isn't it? Live highlights from the new eccentric album include Everybody's Coming To My House, Doing The Right Thing, and Everyday Is A Miracle.
My personal favorite off the album, I Dance Like This, opened from darkness with the entire band laying "dead" on the floor, gripping the attention of the audience with this shocking transition. Slowly, the band rose from the floor and made their way around the stage with robotic stiffness; the performance ending with intense strobe lights as the band formed into a single moving entity center stage. This is just one of the moments during the show that leads a viewer to hark the odd genius that is David Byrne.
Very aware of his fan base, Byrne made sure to breathe new life into eight classic Talking Heads songs, consisting of radio hits such as Once In A Lifetime, This Must Be The Place, Burning Down The House, and Slippery People. As the last song of the regular set, Burning Down The House instead brought the house up to its feet. Exiting the stage after a group bow, the audience erupted into even louder cheering, roaring for the return of the proclaimed King of Weird.
Returning triumphantly to a standing ovation, the audience was treated to a two song encore consisting of Dancing Together and The Great Curve (Talking Heads). It would have been very easy for the show to end there, but this show wasn't meant to be easy. This show was created to engage, captivate, and challenge. Byrne and the band returned once more to perform an angry and stirring cover of Janelle Monáe's Hell You Talmbout, shouting out the names of victims of police brutality to a now silent and stricken Detroit audience.
Final bows were taken as the the crowd cheered in what I could only explain as awe. Days later this performance still is resonating with me and I wish to urge anyone who has not seen a show on this tour yet to try your hardest to get your hands on a ticket. A friend and I had very high up balcony seats, as we just wanted to get our bodies inside that theatre however we could. Little did we know that we would end up having prime seats, able to follow the whole movement of the band at different sections of the stage.
It is always wonderful to witness an artist so fully committed to their art, someone who disregards standards of cool so confidently that he defines a whole new level of swagger. Most people would come off crazy trying to accomplish what David Byrne does in his live performances, but his music has found a home with music lovers who are aware that they are in the presence of a modern genius.
Watch Byrne and his band groove through Burning Down The House in Detroit below:
Great review - I want to see this show! I can see why even balcony seats would be good.