***Download the free 5 track EP Brass Tactics by David Byrne and St Vincent
David Byrne and St Vincent
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
Monday 14 January 2013
Image courtesy of Beat Magazine
In 2012 the former Talking Heads front-man David Byrne collaborated with 30 year old New Yorker Annie Clark (who plays under the St Vincent moniker) to release an album as unusual as we would expect from these two very different but similarly unconventional artists.
They made the trek to Australia to headline both Sydney Festival and MONAFOMA festival in Tasmania and threw in a couple of Melbourne shows for good measure. The tour saw them perform the bulk of the Love this Giant album as well as a spattering of tracks from their respective back catalogues, backed by an eight piece brass band, drums and keys.
In the lead up to the concert, every time I heard lead single “Who” (one of my favourite tracks of 2012), I worried that the song wouldn’t live up to the recording when played live, and in particular, that the drums (a crucial part of the song) wouldn’t be loud enough. They opened the night with “Who” and it sounded bigger than the recording! This, the strongest and most pop-laden song on Love this Giant set the tone for what was a dynamic and inspired show.
With the brass players all wirelessly miked, they had total freedom to be part of the choreographed movement for each song (created by choreographer Annie-B Parson). This included starting facing the back of the stage, clustering in small groups, lying on the floor of the stage, or lifting their arms or instruments in time with unusually timed musical moments.
Many of the brass players played more than one instrument and across the night we heard tuba, sousaphone, trombone, trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor and baritone saxophones. Byrne played both acoustic and electric guitars intermittently, while Clark played electric guitar for the bulk of the songs plus some sort of electronic drum gadget, and at one point a theremin appeared played by both Byrne and Clark together. The changing instrumentation for each song coupled with stunning lighting in rich, bold colours and Byrne and Clarke’s own naturally unusual movement provided plenty to take in on top of the music itself.
David Byrne’s white blazer on top of his all black outfit was surely a nod to the days of the oversized suit in Stop Making Sense era 1980s Talking Heads, and there were clearly some Talking Heads fans in the audience. “This Must be the Place” made an early arrival (and sparked rapturous applause from the audience) with “Road to Nowhere” and “Burning Down the House” appearing during the encores. Figuring my chances of ever seeing Talking Heads play live have long past, I was pretty excited to be witnessing David Byrne perform the latter (complete with the brass players snaking around the stage in a line). Other tracks performed from outside the Love this Giant collaboration included Byrne’s 2004 track “Lazy” and St Vincent’s “Marrow” and “Save Me From What I Want”.
60 year old Byrne’s quirky and often awkward banter was perfectly offset by Annie’s warmth. This was certainly not a case of a younger performer feeling out of her depth alongside one of art-rock’s elder statesmen. She in fact looked far more at ease on stage than Byrne.
On the night one thing struck me as odd. The brass players seemed very serious (smiles were rare) and didn’t exhibit any real connection to each other. Despite this they played seamlessly, and in hindsight, their seriousness just seemed like another well thought out facet of what felt more like an experience than merely a show. The night finished with a standing ovation, and I left the theatre feeling I’d witnessed something truly different. Indeed, I was on a high for several days afterwards, and can’t help but think that no matter what other live acts I see this year, by the time December rolls around, David Byrne and St Vincent are likely to top my list of best gigs of 2013.
Lex Cran
They made the trek to Australia to headline both Sydney Festival and MONAFOMA festival in Tasmania and threw in a couple of Melbourne shows for good measure. The tour saw them perform the bulk of the Love this Giant album as well as a spattering of tracks from their respective back catalogues, backed by an eight piece brass band, drums and keys.
In the lead up to the concert, every time I heard lead single “Who” (one of my favourite tracks of 2012), I worried that the song wouldn’t live up to the recording when played live, and in particular, that the drums (a crucial part of the song) wouldn’t be loud enough. They opened the night with “Who” and it sounded bigger than the recording! This, the strongest and most pop-laden song on Love this Giant set the tone for what was a dynamic and inspired show.
With the brass players all wirelessly miked, they had total freedom to be part of the choreographed movement for each song (created by choreographer Annie-B Parson). This included starting facing the back of the stage, clustering in small groups, lying on the floor of the stage, or lifting their arms or instruments in time with unusually timed musical moments.
Many of the brass players played more than one instrument and across the night we heard tuba, sousaphone, trombone, trumpet, flugelhorn, French horn, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor and baritone saxophones. Byrne played both acoustic and electric guitars intermittently, while Clark played electric guitar for the bulk of the songs plus some sort of electronic drum gadget, and at one point a theremin appeared played by both Byrne and Clark together. The changing instrumentation for each song coupled with stunning lighting in rich, bold colours and Byrne and Clarke’s own naturally unusual movement provided plenty to take in on top of the music itself.
David Byrne’s white blazer on top of his all black outfit was surely a nod to the days of the oversized suit in Stop Making Sense era 1980s Talking Heads, and there were clearly some Talking Heads fans in the audience. “This Must be the Place” made an early arrival (and sparked rapturous applause from the audience) with “Road to Nowhere” and “Burning Down the House” appearing during the encores. Figuring my chances of ever seeing Talking Heads play live have long past, I was pretty excited to be witnessing David Byrne perform the latter (complete with the brass players snaking around the stage in a line). Other tracks performed from outside the Love this Giant collaboration included Byrne’s 2004 track “Lazy” and St Vincent’s “Marrow” and “Save Me From What I Want”.
60 year old Byrne’s quirky and often awkward banter was perfectly offset by Annie’s warmth. This was certainly not a case of a younger performer feeling out of her depth alongside one of art-rock’s elder statesmen. She in fact looked far more at ease on stage than Byrne.
On the night one thing struck me as odd. The brass players seemed very serious (smiles were rare) and didn’t exhibit any real connection to each other. Despite this they played seamlessly, and in hindsight, their seriousness just seemed like another well thought out facet of what felt more like an experience than merely a show. The night finished with a standing ovation, and I left the theatre feeling I’d witnessed something truly different. Indeed, I was on a high for several days afterwards, and can’t help but think that no matter what other live acts I see this year, by the time December rolls around, David Byrne and St Vincent are likely to top my list of best gigs of 2013.
Lex Cran
