If you are considering the list of American artists who have continually poked at the outer edges of the creative envelope for decades, the short list would certainly include David Byrne near the top. His show last night at the Hollywood Bowl was jaw dropping in terms of creativity and musicianship.
His long-standing fascination with marching bands and choreography remains front and center. He even had the USC Marching Band do a brief introduction, which in itself contained a surprising and poignant tribute to Dolly Parton with a robust version of “9 to 5.” Byrne was almost unseen watching from the edge of the stage, undoubtedly pleased.
When Byrne took the stage, it was much like the last several times I’ve seen him: nothing touching the ground but for the musicians’ feet, although this time they were not barefoot. Each musician carried their own instruments, with several seamlessly switching instruments between songs backstage. The stage design was spartan, with only video displays on four surfaces (three walls and the floor); Byrne’s physical pallet was clean. Well chosen visuals amplified, sometimes distractingly, the underlying message of each song.
The last time I saw Byrne at the Hollywood Bowl was in 2005 with Arcade Fire and The Extra Action Marching Band from San Francisco. Then, the production was far less choreographed, providing spontaneity (especially from the latter ensemble), which elicited uncharacteristic smiles from Byrne.
More recently, after delivering a couple songs (including the opener “Heaven”) Byrne slowed the pace and delivered a monologue about how the band had taken the train up from San Diego that morning and he rode his bike from LA’s Union Station downtown to his hotel in West Hollywood, which was likely the Sunset Marquis. Given the uncharacteristically hot and humid weather, that was no small feat even for the nimble 74 year old. I once saw Byrne give a lecture in San Francisco with several city council members, the main topic of which was about bicycling and improving the bike lanes in San Francisco. Byrne took the opportunity at that lecture to do a slideshow of various interesting things he saw from his bike seat on concert tours around the globe. At the Bowl, he similarly shared a few choice photos, like a bar called Jumbo’s Clown Room.
Having warmed up the Hollywood Bowl crowd with some local color, Byrne delivered a thoroughly impressive set including tracks from his recent solo album Who Is The Sky (produced by Kid Harpoon was also worked most famously with Harry Styles). The crowd welcomed the new music (especially “I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party”) almost enthusiastically as his earlier solo work.
The excellent lighting and use of color was almost unnoticed, which is a testament to its effectiveness as it blended seamlessly with the music and precision choreography of the band.
Not surprisingly, the crowd roared with every rendition of a Talking Heads song.
Many in the crowd, including me, were deliriously happy with stunning versions of “(Nothing but) Flowers,” “Slippery People” and “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody).” The crowd was whipped into a frenzy with the last three songs “Psycho Killer,” “Life During Wartime” and “Once in a Lifetime.”
Returning for an encore Byrne and his intrepid band closed with the perfect doubleheader of his perkiest solo track “Everybody’s Coming to My House” and a thundering version of the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House.”
It is doubtful anyone left disappointed.
XXX
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