Byrne Down The House

Went to see David Byrne at Milwaukee’s beautiful Pabst Theater last night, one of my new fave venues, where I saw Spoon throw down a killer set a year ago. A real gem-- lovingly restored old vaudeville hall with great acoustics and sight lines.

Dave was in fine form. For a 56 year old dude, he was lithe and lively, the shock of white hair the only giveaway of his years. As usual, he was surrounded by a large onstage contingent with four musicians, three singers (one of whom is Jenni Muldaur, Maria's daughter) and three dancers all dressed in white. In fact, nearly everyone danced, especially DB. It wasn’t Madonna-type choreography, but rather some amalgam of hip-hop and modern dance all woven through the performance.

Musically, it was great. Dave’s voice is excellent, the guitar playing crisp and funky. The theme was music he’s done with Eno. He played about 5 songs from the new record, a few rarities and a lotta Heads, including fiery renderings of Houses in Motion, which received a nearly 5 minute, show-stopping ovation, and Crosseyed and Painless. He also did a lovely version of One Fine Day from the new one, after which he said he hoped that November 4th would be that day. Other than that, he said little, but he was having a blast.

He’s in The Cleve next week. If you have the chance, do not miss this show! Check out some tour pics here for a taste.

Oh, and there was also this debate thingy last night, too. Did I miss anything?