“People don’t need therapy, they need to see David Byrne,” my phriend says to me three songs into David Byrne’s third and final night at The Met Philadelphia, amidst Talking Heads classic “And She Was,” already the second Talking Heads song of the evening. October 16th, 17th, and 18th had the venue hosting the musical legend’s Who Is the Sky? Tour — an audio-visual experience featuring 13 musicians, singers, and dancers (including members of the American Utopia band) – for arguably the most impressive spectacle the historic opera house has seen since reopening in 2018. The 105-minute, 21-song performance had Byrne and his crew playing, singing, and dancing their way through some of the best of Talking Heads, Byrne’s solo catalogue, and Who Is the Sky?, his recent album with members of New York chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. Highlights included recently revived Talk Heads track “Houses in Motion” (whose ineffably charming dance can be seen on the Rough Trade mini-concert recently shot for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon); solo numbers “Like Humans Do” (done for the first time with performers donning animal heads), “Independence Day” (possibly Byrne’s greatest song), and “My Apartment Is My Friend” (a Who Is the Sky? track that was accompanied by a moving pictures backdrop of Byrne’s own apartment on the floor-to-ceiling, wraparound video screen); along with David’s take on “Hard Times,” by his buddy Hayley Williams. “The crowd are confused because they’re old,” my phriend jokes of the reception to the Paramore classic. Check out photos of Night Two from house photographer Steven Garfinkel below, listen for Byrne on the November/Thanksgiving episode of Philthy Radio (November 21st from 9-11pm ET on Y-Not Radio), and reserve your copy of Spike Lee’s David Byrne’s American Utopia, whose Criterion Collection release drops on December 16th.
