David Byrne - Live in Auckland
Just got home from seeing David Byrne tonight. It was superb. After great a short set from a local support band (whose name I missed sorry!) he walked on stage and said “It’s 25 years since I was last in New Zealand, some things have changed, I’m really into Polka now….”
Retracting the threat of an evening of Polka he then started with “Some really sad songs” like Glass, Concrete & Stone & The Man Who Loved Beer introduced with his unique cool awkwardness (or is it awkward coolness?).
The rest of the set (approx 2 hours) was a mix of Talking Heads, more new and old Solo work and a few pieces from other artists: Jimi Hendrix – "One Rainy Wish'' – and even Cole Porter – “Don't fence me in”. Byrne played an array of guitars along with Drummer Dan Hawthorne, percussionist Mauro Refosco, bassist Paul Frazier and the six piece Toska Strings.
Much of the solo material came from his latest CD "Grown Backwards" which is a mixture of musical styles with the only real common thread being Byrne's usual, unusual, lyrics and distinctive voice.
One of the three encores was “a live version of the remix of the live version of Lazy” & the last was a total change of pace: Au Fond du Temple Saint by Georges Bizet, from Les Pêcheurs de Perles. A great tour through many musical styles which had the old St James Theatre rocking. I hope we wont have to wait so long for the next visit.