But I go for bike rides with friends or band members. I live alone, so it does get lonely sometimes. I assume you’ve been staying secluded.ĭB: I have. TS: Maybe this is a good juncture to ask how the last eight months have been for you, pandemic-wise. I haven’t been travelling as much these days, but yes… TS: Are you still a voracious consumer of music from around the world?ĭB: Yeah, I am. I thought if we can capture some of that energy and excitement, and bring it in front of an audience, that would be really thrilling. Those were examples that I had in my head. They’re playing percussion and brass and things on the streets. Same thing with Second Line groups in New Orleans where they follow the funeral procession, and get people to come out of their houses and dance. They might have been via Brazil, where all the percussionists in the Samba schools dance around and play the drums, sometimes on a stage, but sometimes on the street, as well. My inspirations might have been a little more second hand. Did that idea come from African music, where there’s no real distinction between dancers and musicians? African music was such a big inspiration for Remain In Light and a lot of your work since then, do you see this as a continuation of that?ĭB: In a sense. TS: Every musician onstage in American Utopia is performing wirelessly. I had to relate directly to the audience, in a way. TS: Do you think that sense of vulnerability helped with your performances?ĭB: It did mine! It made me feel very much like just a humble human being up there. You can kind of offset that by having something that’s very vulnerable like bare feet. Suits look a little bit like armour, you know? Not just because they’re grey, but because of what they are. It also has a little bit of a feeling of nakedness and vulnerability. It makes you feel that you’re more intimately in contact with the ground - although it’s not the ground, it’s a stage. Did it also help when you’re so active onstage - making things a little bit more tactile underfoot?ĭB: I felt it did. TS: You’ve said the lack of footwear came from wearing the suits, and not wanting to put your performers in dress shoes. You’d see a face peeking just above the stage. He’d kind of be lurking, or hiding behind speakers. But Spike would be there and we’d spot him in the aisles. He would come to shows in advance of the filming, and videotape the show, so he could study it and get to know it. Jonathan did too, but I wasn’t as aware of him. Tony Stamp: What was the biggest difference between working with the late Jonathan Demme on Stop Making Sense, and Spike Lee on American Utopia?ĭavid Byrne: Spike might have been in the audience more often than Jonathan. Tony Stamp spoke to David Byrne via Zoom. Lee captures all this with his signature flair. It’s surprisingly politically charged, and features some weighty moments, but is always buoyed by Byrne and his band’s incredible onstage energy, not to mention their virtuoso playing - often delivered while performing choreographed moves. Click here for details.Īmerican Utopia started as a concert, became a Broadway show, and is now a movie directed by Spike Lee. Byrne and his players all wear grey suits, and none wear shoes. The new film weaves songs from his entire career through a narrative structure that features spoken word interludes, choreography, and an eleven-piece band who are wireless and free to roam the whole stage. Thirty six years later, former bandleader David Byrne has released a follow up that's as significant in its own way. Stop Making Sense, the 1984 movie that captured Talking Heads performing live at the height of their powers, is still widely regarded as the best concert film of all time.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |