That ‘next’ turned out to be the hyper modern tour surrounding new album American Utopia, which has received critical praise the world over and stopped off at Amsterdam’s packed AFAS Live last night for yet another exercise in live music excellence. It put the band on a cultural pedestal which – 1991’s breakup aside – they still haven’t gotten off, and it’s given Byrne the ability to further his career to the point where it seems almost impossible to predict what the hell he could possibly do next. Any well-versed music geek will know that Stop Making Sense is undoubtedly the greatest live show of all time, having cemented Talking Heads’ status as an incendiary live band with a back catalogue to match. With new album American Utopia well and truly under his belt, Byrne decided to expand his creative horizons and attempt to put on – as he himself states – “ the most ambitious live show since Stop Making Sense“. In fact, it’s safe to say that there probably won’t be anything ready to rival it for quite some time. Take his current live production surrounding new album American Utopia as a prime example of this, as it’s single-handedly the best live show you’re ever going to encounter in this lifetime.Īs live shows go, there isn’t anything quite like it out there right now. He’s a multi-faceted and multi-skilled sonic magician whose back catalogue has more cultural impact than anyone who has lasted even half as long as him, and time upon time again he proves exactly why this is the case. David Byrne (of Talking Heads) is the kind of performer who ticks ever box imaginable, and he does so with utmost grace and vigour. Moments which essentially make you pinch yourself as you mouth the word, “ wow“. Moments where you ask yourself if there’s anything out there which would suffice as a means of grabbing your attention without letting go. Combining a traditional concert with the artistic visions of Byrne and Lee, American Utopia is worthy performance art, cementing itself as a fundamentally enjoyable piece.Sometimes in life, there are moments where you think you’ve really seen it all. This Spike Lee piece is carefully crafted brilliance, highlighting a strong stage performance, delivered by one of the best in the business. To compare American Utopia to the perfection of Stop Making Sense would be unfounded and unfair. It has within it such a kinetic energy, fragmented moments of perfection that set the bar for contemporary stage productions. High angles, vivid lighting, and spectacular focus from Lee’s direction make for a unique performance, and craft American Utopia into something that feels like an amalgamation of Byrne’s lyrical strengths and Lee’s abilities behind the camera. It’s a nicely pursued point, one that doesn’t stifle performance or negate the achievements of either director or star. He may be the man we look up to on the stage, but the camerawork from Lee has us looking down upon him often, as if we should feel sorry for the man with bottled up thoughts of where our world is heading. It portrays him as a comfortable, welcoming figure. Any other performer would be laughed at for this behaviour, but Byrne is lauded for it, and rightly so. He speaks a bit of endearing nonsense at us, and then bridges his way into a song that has no connection to what he’s talking about. I still find it impressive that Byrne has been able to keep hold of his vocal strengths for so many decades. American Utopia manages to find the balance between cashing in on the success of the famed new wave band, and finding itself creating a new way of performing music to an audience. There’s not an overreliance on older songs, prominent singles, or 80s material, but there’s certainly a chunk of it lingering around the setlist. Whilst his solo work is clearly weaker than his work with Talking Heads, he does well to adapt them to the fabric of this live show. We should expect nothing less from such a great songwriter. A glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark year, and an underwhelming one for cinema, this Spike Lee and David Byrne collaboration is an unsurprisingly upbeat, but beautifully choreographed piece that brings the work of Byrne to an artistic level not seen in decades.Ī slow start paves the way for some incredibly impressive direction from Lee, and engaging work from Byrne. I’ve waited two long years for this release, and my astronomically high expectations could do the film no justice. He brings his Broadway performance, American Utopia, to the screen for all to see, and it’s about time. It’s coming to the end of its lifespan, but has made for an enjoyable change of pace, a welcome one at that. David Byrne has coasted on the surprising success of his latest album for two years now.
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