David Byrne Reviews

Andy Morgan from Glasgow , Scotland

DAVID BYRNE RETURNS HOME

David Byrne in Glasgow , Scotland last night. Seen him 6 times and once with the Talking Heads in 1977 and this was the best show Ive ever encountered , never mind just his previous shows. Bowie in 1978 , i thought would never be topped, but ate my words last night. Exceptional Mr Byrne and good to see you home for at least just one night. What a concert - what a guy. Clever- witty and just god damn clever.

from Dallas, Texas

TRANSCENDENT

Magically delicious! 11 member band roamed and danced all over the gray curtained stage barefoot in silver-gray suits. David Byrne’s distinctive singing was perfect and powerful throughout the show. His quirky but graceful dancing and movements were hypnotic. He looks 30 but for the white mop of hair. Many newer songs, which sounded excellent, plus a few classics like Burning Down the House, which was a real rager on the stage lit red for that number. I never saw Talking Heads unfortunately but I don’t know that they could have been any better. Sound at Verizon Theatre was perfect. Opener Topaz Jones was fun, engaging guy with some really nice funk-hip songs.

AJ and Leona from Santa Barbara, California

ECSTASY

This 70 year old took his 21 year old daughter to the Santa Barbara Bowl expecting to see and hear something that would blow us away. Having seen David 4 other times including Stop Making Sense I was hoping this wouldn’t just be another “hit parade” just rolling out old tunes while filtering in new material. It wasn’t. In my 50 years of music concerts this was probably the most artistic concert I have ever attended. Like a runaway train this show never stopped. Several times my daughter and I would just shake our heads at the creative energy we were watching, and dancing too. The next morning we felt the same and found ourselves singing “Home” over and over. It is still ringing in my head. Both of us thought this wasn’t just a concert, but theatre like and we often felt we were watching a musical, INDEED ONE OF THE MOST CREATIVE AND ENJOYABLE SHOWS THIS OLD HIPPY HAS EVER SEEN AND WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. I’m still smiling by the way.

Duane Smythe AKA Cornbread Red from San Francisco, California

KICK ASS

70 year old hippie, this is one of the best concerts I can remember. The percussionist were like seeing a very hip college matching band. It was a visual journey that kept you wondering what is next. Two encores! The crowd was electrified by David and very professional group of musicians. Stayed at Phoenix, walking distance to the fantastic Bill Graham Auditorium. Eat at Brendas, best good in the City.

Kristin from Cincinnati, Ohio

WOW!

Thank you Universe for bringing David Byrne and Co. to Cincinnati!!!! Whao! Totally new level of experience. David has always been ultra talented. Coreographed musicians, vocalists, all performers. All live instruments. I love the way that David uses his voice. His talent totally resonates with me. He is a deep thinker with levity in his expressions. Wonderful. How is 66 so young? Amazing! Wonderful! Thank you! Totally want the video of this tour. Wish I could follow you like a groupie to see Ibeyi in CA!!! Would love to have names of fallen victims of fear mongering racism on the monitors to each side of the stage. Many names we know. Some we don't. I don't want your powerful message lost on the crowd. Thanks for an amazing experience! And next time you come to Cincy, please come and get acupuncture :)

Mary H from Grand Rapids, Michigan

DAVID BYRNE

Simply fantastic!!

Tomasz Wlodarczyk from Toronto, Ontario

FANTASTIC ME BYRNE

Fourth time seeing Mr Byrne. Great performance. Super band. Great venue. Full of positivity creativity and simple joy.

Dee from Grand Rapids, Michigan

PURE GENIUS

Welcome back. We have missed you David! Don't make us wait another 9 years to see you. One of the best concerts of the year! You don;t want to miss this concert.

Shannon from Vancouver, British Columbia

A MUST SEE!

I couldn’t have been more entertained by David Byrne & his amazing & energetic band. This is a must see!! The Talking Heads stuff was excellent, as I thought it would be, but the material I didn’t know was great too! Loved it & then!!

Laura Jarnagin from Dallas, Texas

DAVID BYRNE - DALLAS

What an amazing evening! It was fascinating, stimulating & pure Byrne magic! He is still the innovator, the mastermind, the conductor of all things on stage. Staging was performance art! Absolutely awesome! See it if you can!

Latch Delgado from Dallas, Texas

DAVID BYRNE AT THE WINSPEAR OPERA HOUSE 4/24/18

WOW !!!! What an incredible show. Hands down one of the best concerts I've been to in many moons. Perfect venue, perfect sound, perfect voice, perfect band, perfect all the way around. I'm glad he's coming back with this show in October. They played tons of Talking Heads songs. This is not to be missed. I repeat: NOT TO BE MISSED !!!

John McKay from Las Vegas, Nevada

LIKE FINE WINE . . .

David Byrne, and his band/co-performers, did not disappoint. There was an exuberance in their performance that encouraged those in attendance to join in the fun, though I doubt they needed much encouragement. It was apparent that the crowd was there to enjoy David's well known quirky and entertaining music and lively showmanship that always feels like he is sharing what is going on in his mind and transferred through his body motions on stage. His artistic presentation never appeared to be forced, but instead was another way to show that while he has surely grown as an artist, everything was truly "same as it ever was"! If you get a chance to see the show, do so. I am sure you will not regret sharing your time with Mr. Byrne.

from San Diego, California

WONDERFUL

David and his band are having fun. Talented group of musicians and dancers having a ball and the energy is contagious. Visual effects were stimulating but I have to say I liked the dancing and the energy of the group. The live T-Heads songs were amazing with live perfomance worthy of Belew and Worrell. I recently saw Nick Cave here and I love the venue. Great sound quality and very professional staff. This venue and the tour is something to be cheerful for.

Mary from Hershey, Pennsylvania

DAVID BYRNE - CREATIVE GENIUS

A most amazing show - Byrne still has the moves and chops, and his show was mind-boggling tour de force. No drum set onstage -percussion was done marching-band style. Backup singers, guitarists, keyboards — every performer was a part of the show. Music, dance, pantomime, new songs, old songs .BackupJust amazing

Rich from New York, New York

GREATNESS

I will try to be quick. Opening night of his limited US Tour. David Byrne is a not to be missed. Top 10 show! His voice is intact and as great as ever. The staging of this show was unique and very compelling. Original movements, and other innovative and fascinating visuals. Half talking heads, half newer music. Most of the new music was great. All of it was very good. Burning down the house was vintage 1984. Slippery People and Once In A Lifetime fantastic. The band was large and untethered to the stage. Young people of every race. All amazing and enthusiastic musicians. If you live near the few venues he is playing, go see him. Setlist Speaking intro Lazy I Zimbra (Talking Heads song) Slippery People (Talking Heads song) I Should Watch TV Dog’s Mind Everybody’s Coming to My House This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads song) Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads song) Doing the Right Thing I Think We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat The Great Curve (Talking Heads song) I Dance Like This Bullet Every Day Is a Miracle Like Humans Do Blind (Talking Heads song) Burning Down the House (Talking Heads song) Encore: Dancing Together Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) (Talking Heads song) Encore 2: Hell You Talmbout Janelle Monae cover

Carolyn Finn from New York, New York

CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF DAVID BYRNE!

My husband and I have seen David Byrne in concert about 10 times and he never disappoints. Even got to meet him years ago when the ticket was only $100 including a meet and greet in NYC (during that concert David wore a kilt and looked HOT!) The concert on 3/3/18 was no exception. David's voice is still perfect and love the way he moves on stage. I believe all musicians were barefoot and the sound system was a 10 - no need for ear plugs - just perfect. David smiled a few times which is rare and seemed to be very pleased with the audience. Now looking for more tickets to catch this tour before he heads out of the US.

Gregg from Cleveland, Ohio

EXCEPTIONAL, EXCEPT FOR THE LAST ENCORE

When you saw the stage setup, you KNEW you were in for something special. The show was so unique it is hard to characterize. No amps, no drums, no keyboards on stage. All musicians were wireless, and with 2 background singers/choreography there were up to 10 people on stage at any given time. With the chain/curtain backdrop and sides, musicians appeared and disappeared depending on the song. The production and lighting in this show was fascinating. On a song like 'I should Watch TV' it was like David Byrne vs the band, and on others they were dancing with him, at times like a Marching Band. A good selection of upbeat rhythmic songs, and a mix from both American Utopia and Talking Heads. I have to agree with another reviewer, the second encore of 'Hell You Talmbout' was a disappointing end to such a great show and purely political. Some of the names called out ("say his name") seemed like an effort to make martyrs out of some people that made bad choices. Not all, but some.

Sean from Newport

FANTASTIC

What a fantastic show. I love the T Heads but never got to see them when they were touring. Last night mostly filled that void. He played I Zimbra, Naive Melody, Stop Making Sense, Slippery People, Burning Down the House and Blind. And the songs from American Utopia were also great. I Dance Like This and Everybody's Coming to My House have grown on me quickly. The show had a feel of the Stop Making Sense movie, sans the Big Suit, w/some shadow projections on the background screen and the grey suits everyone wore. It was amazing that all the musicians carried their instruments all night long. Nothing was set, it was all moving. And at least 10 of the 12 were barefoot. I agree w/a previous review that the final song, a political statement, was out of place and unnecessary. But it was fantastic and now I'm going to look at what tix are available for the 2nd show.

Graham from Seattle, Washington

AN EXCELLENT NIGHT

This was an excellent show, very creative and original. Typical David Byrne style, understated and subtle. The stage set was very unique and offered several visual high points especially when light was projected against the chains and when the musicians interacted with it. The music was excellent and David’s voice was as stunning as ever. The pace of the show was quick and the energy flowed all night. A good dose of Talking Heads songs to keep everyone satisfied. I only had two criticisms: it seemed like the revolutionary chain screens could have been utilized more via projections and light but that’s an artistic choice. The only other flat spot was the final song. It was a tedious repetition of names with no deeper statement, and some of the musicians were into it and some clearly weren’t. Peter Gabriel gets away with Biko because 1. He wrote it 2. It is a focused story with historical distance. This song didn’t live up to the rest of the night. A great show almost all night. Hooray! Replace that last song with Strange Overtones or Pulled Up and the night will end much higher.

Debbie Schmidt from Aberdeen , New Jersey

FANTASTIC

I loved this show. Saw it in Red Bank, N. J. At Count Basie Theatre. Byrne was personable, down to earth, yet delightful and quirky in his showmanship as usual. The drums were spectacular, giving an African sound even if unintentional. Byrne played favorites as well as many new songs that hat moral and political overtones. Nothing down your throat; gentle but strong and effective delivery through his music via a very talented and lively band. I loved this show - again said.

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