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 | David Byrne + Fear Of Flying Norwood Concert Hall, Sat 12 Feb Adelaide, what is up with you? There was David Byrne, the illustrious frontman of Talking Heads, playing at one of our fair town's cosiest, best sounding venues and the place isn't full? For those who did attend I'm sure that they are still yet to come back down from one of the most energetic, oddly diverse and jam-packed live experiences of their lifetime. Locals Fear Of Flying, minus lead guitarist Paul Banytis (away with other touring commitments) opened proceedings and easily won over a few new fans. Showcasing plenty of fresh songs as well as favourites from their exceptional 2001 debut 'Park For May' (including Japanese Soldiers, Bomb and one of my personal picks for one of the best songs ever, Here To Stay), they affirmed that their forthcoming second album is one of my most anticipated releases this year. Seated four rows back and near centre stage, I found myself placed in the lap of the gods when David Byrne stepped out to perform looking more like a washing machine repairman dressed in a creaseless grey short sleeved work shirt and pants to match, joined by his magnificent nine piece band (bass, drums, full on percussion and two violins, two violas and a couple of cellos). And perform they did, Byrne handing over one of the best sets one could wish for. Kicking off with Glass, Concrete & Stone from his recent 'Grown Backwards', Byrne announced that next up would be an old Talking Heads song: I, Zimbra (sung in Swahili, no less), immediately followed by Georges Bizet's Au Fond du Temple Saint, in French. And this set the pattern for the night, the poly-lingual Byrne gracefully blending an Italian aria (Verdi's Un Di Felice) and the Spanish sung Desconocido Soy, with a slew of Talking Heads classics (including Once In A Lifetime, Road To Nowhere, Psycho Killer, And She Was, Blind, and Life During Wartime) with tracks from his solo releases added to the mix: Finite =Alright, The Great Intoxication, Like Humans Do, What a Day That Was and Lazy, together with Cole Porter's Don't Fence Me In and Jimi Hendrix's One Rainy Wish. While all that may seem incongruous on paper, everything fell into place beautifully. Let's now hope that he'll be back again; otherwise, we'll only have ourselves to blame.  | |
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