It’s 1983 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and I didn’t go to class much. I took Theater 101 as an elective because I thought it would be easy (it wasn’t). One Tuesday in October, the professor ditched the day’s syllabus and spent the next 75 minutes dissecting the Talking Heads concert held in the campus basketball arena the previous weekend, the same tour that spawned Stop Making Sense, still the greatest concert film ever made.
He broke it all down: the gradual construction of the stage, the methodical addition of musicians after each song, the lamp as a metaphor for home, and of course, The Big Suit.
Four decades later, David Byrne’s current tour rolled into Richmond’s Altria Theater after two sold-out nights at Radio City Music Hall, carrying that same inventive, theatrical spirit. A 180-degree curved screen stretched across the back of the stage, rising from floor to rafters, transforming the performance into a seamless blend of concert, art installation, and performance piece.
The visuals ranged from cityscapes and suburban cul-de-sacs to farmland and outer space. Known for hopping on his bike in every city he visits, Byrne shared two of his own photos from his ride around Richmond earlier that day: the Belle Isle Dry Rocks and the remnants of the Old Dominion Iron & Nail Works.
The show felt less like a rock concert, there wasn’t a single mic stand or amp in sight, and more like a choreographed, Broadway-style production. Byrne was surrounded by twelve mobile multi-instrumentalists, all dressed in matching royal blue suits, their movements as coordinated as the music itself.
The setlist balanced new material from his latest album Who Is the Sky? with plenty of Talking Heads classics. The newer songs showcased Byrne’s continuing curiosity and warmth, but the old favorites “Psycho Killer,” “Life During Wartime,” “Once in a Lifetime” lit the crowd up, even if it meant ignoring his preshow request not to dance in the aisles.
Before “What Is the Reason for It?” Byrne reminded the crowd that “love and kindness are a form of resistance,” a sentiment that landed softly but sincerely. Later, standing in front of a panoramic image of his minimalist New York apartment, he sang “My Apartment Is My Friend,” a meditation on solitude that felt both whimsical and true.
The highlight came during “Life During Wartime.” Projected behind the band, contemporary footage of social unrest and political tension reframed the 1979 song’s anxious energy for our own unsettled moment. “This ain’t no fooling around,” Byrne sang, and the line hit harder than ever.
I don’t remember many lectures from college, but I still remember that one. And I can’t help but wonder what my old professor would make of Byrne’s latest multimedia experiment. I’m sure he’d have a 75-minute lecture ready for some lucky class. If you ever get the chance, don’t skip that one.
Photo and words by Rich Tarbell
Setlist
Main Set:
Heaven / Everybody Laughs / And She Was / Strange Overtones / Houses In Motion / T-Shirt / Nothing But Flowers / This Must Be The Place / What Is The Reason For It? / Like Humans Do / Don’t Be Like That / Independence Day / Slippery People / Moisturizing Thing / My Apartment Is My Friend / Hard Times / Psycho Killer / Life During Wartime / Once In A Lifetime
Encore:
Everybody’s Coming To My House / Burning Down The House
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