I'd go to galleries and not be too concerned.
Well I would have a cup of coffee
And I'd find my surroundings quite amusing and
People would ask me which were my favorite paintings."
---Crash Test Dummies "When I Go Out With Artists"
Sometimes I think concertgoers are divided into two lopsided groups: those who want to hear the hits (the overwhelming majority) and the true fans (and collectors) who are looking for a singular, ephemeral live experience (the minority). It's difficult to feel sorry for David Byrne, but I did feel a little pang of something when people listened in dutiful silence to his first four newer, unknown singles, then came awake and sang along to "Burning Down the House." Don't get me wrong, "Burning Down the House" is a fine song (and the Tom Jones/Cardigans version approaches spectacular), but surely this must have eaten at him? Did he feel like it was over, that he was a has-been? A relic? I almost wanted the crowd to sit down and not enjoy themselves so much--so that their obvious sense of boredom while listening to the non-hits would be diminished, or at least disguised. I began to understand Eric Robert's hateful reaction when I told him I was a big fan of "Runaway Train." "I've done lots of other good movies too, you know," he snarled.
But then Byrne is a pro and he probably doesn't care one whit. He stood up there in his light pink suit and his clever shoes and white hair and bopped around and sang his songs. Byrne has been a role model for many many years. Byrne is middlebrow; he is clever without being pretentious; he is vulgar and lyrical, ebullient and melancholy. He makes records, he makes films, he writes, he makes art (Powerpoint art even), and best of all, he exudes a goofy, nerdy sexiness, even in his fifties. Arcade Fire blew him off the stage but Byrne is still the one in my heart. I hate to think that he won't live forever.
This is a picture of the Hollywood Bowl, where the people onstage look like ants:
7 comments:
Totally agree. Actually, when you see almost any artist with a substantial repertoire in concert, you'll have some version of this experience. I hate the reverse version of it--when the artist, in a cynical gesture at the fact that you really do want to hear the hit(s)--does a stupid, fuck-you, throwaway version of the song. I generally speak no ill of Prince, but when I saw him a few years ago, he did a speedy medley of Purple Rain songs. I wasn't there only to hear the hits, but I hated this particular gesture.
People I have seen at the Hollywood Bowl at age 18 or younger: Procol Harum ("Whiter Shade of Pale"), Beverly Sills, the L.A. Philharmonic playing Vivaldi. (I saw more people at the L.A. Forum--does it still exist?)
The Forum still exists--I drove by it for the first time about a month ago when working in Inglehood--but I'm not sure what goes on there. Maybe it is condemned. I like how all the streets around there have names like Kareem Abdul Jabbar Drive and Magic Johnson Boulevard.
An inverted version of the Prince gesture was Pixies doing 2 (two!) different versions of "Wave of Mutilation" on their very last tour. WTF? Don't they have enough material to not repeat stuff?
David Byrne is god. Do not say he is mortal. I will hear none of it. I like to think that he is the one celebrity who might be able to make me faint (I've never actually fainted before, for any reason). My favorite concert moment was when I saw the Violent Femmes at Bumbershoot. All the ex-wavos from the 80s were dancing around to the new songs without listening to the lyrics: the new songs sounded like the old songs, except they were about finding god. No one seemed to notice but me. It was surreal. The most fantastic/transcendent moment was seeing Patti Smith (at a different Bumbershoot)at some small stage where no one knew it was going to be her (but there were rumors) and I was about two feet from stage and she sang "Dancing Barefoot" while dancing barefoot. She hardly had any band either. Maybe Patti Smith is god. Maybe Patti Smith and David Byrne are god. That sounds right.
Patti Smith is definitely god, and I'm so envious that you've seen her. I will have to content myself with listening to Horses.
Hmmph, Sleep. There are two versions Wave of Mutilation, and are on different albums. It appears the see them as different songs altogether. Anyway, the "here's my compilation set" is about the suckiest thing a musician can do. The Pixies when I saw them, played many of their songs (without a break) but nary a one bled into the other in that "compilation" style.
Now as for David Byrne, well, what else can be said? I still want to know where my big automobile and beautiful wife are.
Yeah, I've heard the other version before (on their B-sides?), the Surfer Version, I think. I still think it's obnoxious, like Depeche Mode playing all eight remixes of "Strangelove."
Good point.
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