Steve at Telluride #9b: Byrnin’ Down the House
Even if there wasn’t a single other act out here this weekend—if the whole incredible four-day lineup of artists had canceled—this alone would have been worth the trip to Telluride: To see David Byrne and his classic-art-rock dance show playing all the hottest Talking Heads songs under the stars up in the mountains. This was a party! This was a disco! This ain’t no foolin’ around! Last night, we saw an honest-to-god icon, an official Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Rock’s Renaissance Man. Once in a Lifetime!
David Byrne
“Good evening. I’m happy to be here. It’s not as cold as I thought it would be.” And with that, Byrne, dressed in all white, as was his entire ensemble, launched into “Strange Overtones,” from his excellent collaboration with Brian Eno, 2008’s Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. About half of the material was taken from that record, the other half nuggets from the Talking Heads catalog. The show was a highly-choreographed affair, complete with a trio of dancers, who performed bizarre and intricate expressionistic routines around Byrne all evening. These dancers worked so impossibly hard in this altitude that much of the audience was worried about them. David himself would occasionally join in the set pieces, as on “Life is Long,” during which David and his dancers sat in swiveling office chairs that they revolved in sync.
Byrne is a much better singer than I ever gave him credit for. His voice last night was clear, soaring, controlled, and tasteful. And, amazingly, he was the only guitarist on stage, an impressive feat given the percolating syncopation of the guitar parts–he handled all of it himself while singing, dancing, hopping on one foot, etc. The band’s sound was extremely full–he also had three backup singers–and when they hit those Remain in Light numbers (“The Great Curve,” “Crosseyed and Painless,” etc.) and especially during the hit singles (“Take Me to the River,” “Once in a Lifetime,” “Burning Down the House”), this place was a disco inferno, everyone losing their minds and expressing themselves as if it was their last chance on this earth. The campground afterwards was buzzing with high-fives and a universal assessment: “That was awesome.”
Setlist
1. Strange Overtones
2. I Zimbra
3. One Fine Day
4. Help Me Somebody
5. Houses in Motion
6. My Big Nurse
7. My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks)
8. Heaven
9. Never Thought
10. Poor Boy
11. Crosseyed & Painless
12. Life is Long
13. Once in a Lifetime
14. Life During Wartime
15. I Feel My Stuff
16. Take Me to the River
17. The Great Curve
18. Burning Down the House
19. Everything That Happens