On Friday night, David Byrne took the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. No one really knew what to expect when waiting for the former Talking Heads singer and guitarist to perform.

One thing we did know was that Byrne was playing songs that he collaborated on with songwriter and producer, Brian Eno. Unfortunately, Brian Eno hasn’t been present on the entire tour, thus leaving it up to Byrne and his hand picked band to carry on with the music.

Byrne and his band walked onto the stage around 8:15 pm, all adorned in white; even Byrne’s electric guitar was white. The stage was set against a black backdrop curtain. Byrne was welcomed with much enthusiasm from a sold out crowd. Byrne greeted everyone and told the crowd that times have changed.

Byrne also encouraged audience members to take as many pictures as they’d want, just so long as they were discrete. In a biting remark, he also apologized for fans that had to purchase tickets from Ticketsnow.com.

The performance opened up with a track from the new album, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, called “Strange Overtones.” Immediately after he backtracked an old Talking Heads called “I Zimbra.” Byrne immediately showed the crowd his ability to pick from various influences and put together music. Pulling from electronic music, soul, rock, funk and most importantly African rhythms, Byrne showed the crowd both his virtuosity and his eclecticism.

Each song had choreographed dance moves from separate dancers, who performed aside from the band throughout most of the evening. Byrne got in on the action by allowing dancers to jump over him, or slide through his legs. He even played the guitar while doing figure-eights around microphone stands backwards!

By creating a dance routine and light show for each song; Byrne put together a very conceptual show. It almost seemed that each song was it’s own individual act of a greater performance. It showed continuity, conceptualism and displayed all that is great in performance art.

The show pushed on with Byrne performing more new tracks from Everything that Happens will Happen Today as well as additional Talking Heads related material. The crowd, which was a mix of young and old, hippies, hipsters, and sophisticated music listeners, welcomed all that Byrne performed. The crowd lost control when “Crosseyed and Painless” was performed. This kicked off the second half the show and it became mostly a Talking Heads tribute concert. The crowd got rowdy, most people were finally standing and dancing. The balconies were literally shaking from the constant rhythmic movements of the crowd. 

Byrne performed three encores, which proved to still not be enough for the crowd that was indulging in every moment. Byrne’s voice and the band’s sound were only amplified by a fantastic venue built for fantastic performances. Seeing David Byrne perform these songs with these dancers in such a conceptual manner was worth every penny spent!

Set List
Strange Overtones
I Zimbra
One Fine Day
Help Me Somebody
Houses In Motion
My Big Nurse
My Big Hands (Fall Through The Cracks)
Heaven
Poor Boy
Life Is Long
The River
Crosseyed and Painless
Born Under Punches
Once In A Lifetime
Life During Wartime
I Feel My Stuff
Enc. 1
Take Me To The River
The Great Curve
Enc. 2
Air
Burning Down The House
Enc. 3
Everything That Happens

Our Take: David Byrne performing the songs of Byrne and Eno is a concert that should not be missed. If you are a Talking Heads fan or fan of Byrne’s solo work this concert is a real treat. The venue was spectacular and a perfect fit for such performance art. The dance moves were meticulously choreographed and executed well. The light show offered a different backdrop for each song. Then there was the band. The band was unstoppable, performing fantastic renditions of all songs. Byrne’s voice was on point and so was his leadership abilities, taking the band and the audience through a great musical journey. 

My favorite parts were all Talking Heads related songs, especially “Life During Wartime” and “Once in a Lifetime.” Songs from the new album that stuck out were “Strange Overtones” and “Help Me Somebody.” I really did fear for the structural integrity of the mezzanine seats as they literally shook during “Crosseyed and Painless,” “Life During Wartime” and “Take me to the River.”