David Byrne: Once in a Lifetime

David Byrne; Photo: Alex Sukhoy

Thursday afternoon I got an unexpected call from some friends whom I haven’t seen in a while. What made the surprise even nicer is that they invited me to Thursday night’s David Byrne show at the Allen Theater.

I briefly debated going as times have been hectic and deliverables frequent, but realized in the equation of Work, Rest and Play, Play needed some attention, even if it came at the expense of Rest. So I agreed to meet my friends at the theater lobby. It was wonderful to catch up on all the changes in our lives, even though we did it in the midst of a packed crowd, all anticipating a great musical act. To further elevate the experience, as the ushers guided us to our seats, I learned the tickets were 8th row center! Looking around the historic hall, I thought that the Allen was the smallest and is definitely the most beautiful of the theaters on Euclid.

Then the lights went down. There was no opening act and David Byrne started right on time, with a cast of about a dozen, including musicians, back up vocalists and dancers, with everyone dressed in white.

David played all kinds of super great stuff from his new album, one he did with Brian Eno, called “Everything that Happens Will Happen Today.” The 3rd song he performed got a standing ovation. I forget the title, but it could have easily mixed with “Slippery People,” with its call and response chorus.

And then the Byrne Master went into “Once in a Lifetime” and everyone went nuts and started dancing all over the theater. It was very sweet to see many couples, some young, some young at heart, all getting into the music, shaking their thing and even having make out sessions, inspired by all the energy. Between the white attire of the performers, the philosophical, yet uplifting music, and the joy in the audience, a sense of innocence cradled the evening.

The irony wasn’t lost on anyone when David sang “Life During Wartime,” specifically with lyrics like “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around.No time for dancing, or lovey dovey, I ain’t got time for that now.” The reference to “This ain’t no mud club or CBGB” made me think of the poster at the Rock Hall in the New York (vs. London) 70’s punk era, with CBGB hosting Talking Heads, Blondie and The Ramones, all on one bill. Ah, to be the fly on that dirty wall…but I digress.

David went back and forth between new stuff, Talking Heads stuff, older solo stuff and just kept going. He did 3! encores and most of the theater was on its feet during the last hour of the show. By the time he performed “Burning Down the House” at the near end of the concert, people were just going crazy, in the best possible way. It’s as though David gave everyone permission to reconnect with our inner 8 or 13 or even 19 year old, depending on what age we all were when we heard our first Talking Heads song.