Gig Review David Byrne - Who is the Sky?

 The Gig: David Byrne, Who is the Sky? World Tour. 

Venue: Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne. 

One night only. 

Stars: A very biased, but utterly worth it 5

I have been a Talking Heads tragic since the early eighties. Yes. I have loved this band, who disbanded in the late eighties for the better part of 45 years. I've also kept an eye on what David Byrne, their lead singer, has been doing ever since. I'm very, very biased. 

Also, David Byrne is a superb person. Fun, creative, a little angsty, arty, collaborative, curious... I could go on with the adjectives. He went to art school. Not only is he a musician, he's a performance artist, a poet, an agitator, a humanist, a philosopher, a writer, a cyclist, a dreamer... he's many things to many people. I just love the bugger - now 74-years-young, bouncing around the stage with his band spreading joy. How can you not have a good time? 

I've seen David Byrne twice before. Once in the 90s in London. Still the very best concert I've ever been to. Then, in 2018, I went to the American Utopia concert at Rod Laver Arena. It was sublime. 

Lastly, before reviewing last night's concert, I will add that I had an event with the people I went to France with, and there I collected by concert mate, Shell. We ubered down into the city from the event. Shell is also a Talking Heads tragic. It was going to be her first time seeing our idol. She also broke her leg in two places a couple of months ago and is technically still healing. Thankfully, she's finally allowed to weight bear on the leg, and she's in a moon boot, but we had to take this into consideration. Nothing was going to stop her.  

We were also given goodie bags on leaving the party. Within said bag, there was half a baguette, some French butter, cheese and a couple of macarons. Heaven.  

We had general admission passes, so we didn't have seats. If you know about the Music Bowl, general admission means you're sitting up on the grass with next to no view of the stage. This was not a problem. Accepting of Shell's limitations and my dislike of being jostled, we found a spot up the back, on the grass, with a good view of the large screens. As much as it would have been great to see the stage uninhibited, we accepted this. Besides, we were there for the music. There to fall at the altar of a master. There to drink in being in the presence of greatness. 

For those out of the loop, Talking Heads has always been about a strange mix of rock, pop, punk, funk and techno - with a bit of world music mixed in for good measure. David Byrne's own music continues along a similar way with a bit more World Music thrown in for good measure. This performance, along the same lines as American Utopia, was a good mix of the two. 

The night was perfect for it. Around 20 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, a light breeze. Bats making their way to their tree homes. Seagulls glinting under the lights of the tennis centre where the Australian Open is underway. 

Starting out with Heaven from the Fear of Music album, the evening wended through everything from his solo music, including being provided with an anecdote about the song Everybody's Coming to My House  - written as a complaint, but taken on by a school group and made joyful without changing a word. He still sings his version but again paid respect to this group in his anecdotes. 

Hearing some of our favourite songs played was good for the soul. Slippery People, Life During Wartime (during which, scenes from Trump's America played on the big screens behind the band), This Must Be The Place, Nothing But Flowers, Once in a Lifetime - and ending up with Burning Down the House - just magic. 

I keep seeing snippets on social media from people lucky enough to have seated tickets who could take in the visual effects, the dancing, the choreography and the like. Not having a couple of hundred dollars to fork out for the spectacle, we were happy with our lot. Shell and I, with our limited view of the screens were entranced with this humble, funny, intelligent man and his quirky songs, sounding just as fresh as he did when he was on stage with Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison at CBGBs. 

Having somebody to scream with, sing with, hold hands with and share reminiscences of songs, like driving down the Stuart Highway in Darwin in my mate Andy's car with This Must Be The Place on the car radio - it was utter magic. And the baguette in the goody bag was nibbled on over the night

As with many old rockers, you don't know when their last performance is going to be. At 74, David Byrne is going strong. He's incredible. His music is as timely and relevant as it was when I was a teenager. His musicians are amazing, not only for their musical skills, but their stamina. 

We left after the encore utterly replete, buoyed from being in the presence of greatness. 

David Byrne, you rock. Thank you for the joy you bring. My voice will recover. 24 hours on and I still sound like I've sucked down two packets of Marboros and half a quart of gin - it's just from the singing and screaming. 

(See, gushing review - did you expect anything else? Seriously?)

Today's song: