Review: Greg Phillips. Photos: Jason Rosewarne.
There’s a danger or even gamble in experiencing one of your favourite artists decades after you first became enamoured with them. The possibility hangs that the memories might be crushed by a mediocre vocal delivery, a disappointing setlist or below par performance. These were thoughts I pondered while arriving at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl to witness former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne on his Who Is The Sky? 2026 Australia tour.
Seeing Talking Heads on their 1984 Stop Making Sense tour of Australia remains one of my all-time favourite concert events. The gradual building of the stage, the escalation in show dynamics, the big suit, the sheer joy of the climax. Hard to beat. The 2002 Lazy Eyeball tour didn’t have the same impact for me, the Utopia tour was a huge leap in theatrics but looking back, all along the seeds were being sown for what we were about to bear witness to at the bowl tonight. David Byrne is an innovator, a futurist, a commentator on everyday life and all of his artistic wisdom has been collated and installed into this new show.
In a nod to Stop Making Sense, tonight’s show begins sparsely. Accompanied by two plucked electric violins and a keyboard mounted on the musician via a harness, the four performers, attired in orange boiler suits ease steadily into the classic Heaven from Talking Heads ‘Fear of Music’ album. We all know the words, we all sing along with the beautiful melody. The widescreen backing reveals a rising planet earth as Byrne, turns to it and tells us “There she is! It’s the only one we have.” It won’t be the last socio-political statement for the evening either, footage of raids by American ICE agents are met with loud boos later on too.
Accompanied now by the full 12 piece, orange-suited band, an uplifting Everybody Laughs from the latest album Who is The Sky? is enhanced by vision of New Yorkers going about life. Byrne then addresses the Melbourne crowd for the first time and tells us he hasn’t been able to do much sight seeing but did notice the beheaded King George V outside the venue, supported by a slide of the monument behind him and asks “What happened?”
Explaining the amusing origins of the next song, the band then kick into And She Was, the audience rise to dance and never stop for the remainder of the show. It’s such a delight to hear Strange Overtones next, as the audience becomes a beaming sea of movement. “My beliefs are on this T-shirt,” he sings as the panoramic screen portrays a series of quirky slogans. The biggest applause comes for the image suggesting ‘Melbourne Kicks Ass!’
Like the Utopia tour, this show is highly choreographed. The large band of dancers and musicians merge seamlessly together, dancing, running, posing. There are no cables or microphone stands to contend with, it’s all wireless. All percussion instruments are mounted on the players like a marching band, the guitarists are free of amps. The starkness of the bare stage against the extraordinary visual presentation make for quite the sensory overload. The sound too is pristine.
Talking Heads favourites Flowers and then This Must Be The Place, with its misty forest background take the energy up yet another notch (if that’s even possible). The allure of this show is that many of the songs haven’t been played live for some time. For those who missed the Stop Making Sense tour or were too young, this is as close to classic Talking Heads as you’re going to get and the performances are amazing, musically funky and vocally sensational.
Like Humans Do has such a feel-good vibe and goes down a treat on such a gorgeous Melbourne summer evening. Independence Day from Byrne’s 1989 album ‘Rei Momo’ offers a latin feel, showcasing the talented band as each of their names appear on the screen. Kely Pinheiro on her impressive Guild bass and Jordan Dobson on sax are stand outs for me.
A spirited version of Slippery People has the audience shouting back the words in unison with Byrne. This is indeed a very special gig. My Apartment is My Friend features Byrne’s actual New York apartment on screen. He relates a story of how he rode his bike to his local supermarket during covid only to witness two ladies throwing potatoes at each other and realising that not everyone was handling the pandemic as well as he was. Hard Times, a Paramore cover is a surprise inclusion. Then Psycho Killer, a song he hasn’t performed in decades before this tour smashes any inhibitions the crowd may have had until now. ‘Fa-fa-fa-fa, fa-fa-fa-fa-fa, fa, better Run, run, run, run, run, run, run away. Oh-oh-oh,” we shout back at the top of our lungs.
Life During Wartime and Once In A Lifetime, two of the most iconic Stop Making Sense songs are delivered next and I’ve never seen Melbourne party this hard. The band leaves the stage, allowing us to catch our breath.
Returning shortly after, the band gathers in a circle and performs a stunning rendition of Everybody’s Coming to My House from ‘American Utopia’. Burning Down the House unsurprisingly lifts the roof, ending one of the most joyous musical experiences we’ve ever seen in this town. Byrne himself is visibly taken aback by the level of roar and appreciation from the crowd in recognition of a stunning show from one of music’s global treasures.
Remaining Australian dates:
Sat 24 Jan – Adelaide Entertainment Centre Arena, SA
Tue 27 Jan – RAC Arena, WA
Tickets on sale via frontiertouring.com/davidbyrne
MELBOURNE SETLIST:
Heaven
Everybody Laughs
And She Was
Strange Overtones
Houses in Motion
T Shirt
(Nothing but) Flowers
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
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
