2019/11/1 David Byrne’s American Utopia @ Booth Theatre
Evolution. Politics. Music. Dance. Clean lines and motion and color and light. Darkness and shadows and, impossibly at times, light without shadows. All that aside, this was mostly a show about people, untethered, literally and figuratively, as no wires could be seen anywhere on stage, incredible considering a total of 11 musicians plus David Byrne. A story of hope and good will and personal connection, shared, almost poetically, with the most important people in my life. From a perch high above the stage, dead center first row of the balcony, we had the perfect viewpoint to take in the entirety of Byrne’s artistic intentions.
As he held up a model of a human brain, you know, the kind you’d see in science class, Byrne began the show speaking of the millions upon millions of neural connections present at birth, many of which are destroyed over the course of a lifetime, never to return. Are babies therefore smarter than fully grown humans? He seemed to suggest so, in a way, in no uncertain terms, and would later urge the crowd to “grow down” and use their “baby brains.” A thinking show as much as pure entertainment, a Broadway musical as much as a concert, American Utopia was divine, its delightful soundtrack featuring the eponymous 2018 studio album as well as drawing from both Talking Heads and Bryne’s solo catalogs.
Byrne also spoke at various points during the show about human’s desire to look at things, televisions, phones, art, buildings, but the best of them all, the most interesting eye candy in the world…people. I wholeheartedly agree. Nothing better than just taking in people as art in motion, each with their own agenda framed by their unique thoughts, perspectives, and world view. Perhaps that’s why I love New York so much, a city where everyone wears a veil of anonymity to protect them from the cultural unacceptance of people watching. Even our vocabulary for people watching is tinged with negativity: gawk, stare, gape. As a young man travelling the world, I’d always rather sit in a park or a local cafe than check out all the must see art and architectures. Today, I’m still very much that way.
By the time “Burning Down the House” arrived about halfway through the tracklist, Byrne encouraged the crowd to get up and dance, “We have the house’s permission, actually, their blessing, and the fire marshall is satisfied with that so long as we keep the aisles clear.” Say no more, I’m pretty sure I was the first one out of my seat. And with that, I was pretty sure that I was the only human alive to have seen this most famous Talking Heads song twice in a calendar day, a mere sixteen hours apart, the last time being a cover version played by Pigeons Playing Ping Pong in the wee hours of the morning at PlayStation Theatre. Hot damn, dancing feels so good, especially at unsuspecting times. This was one of those…yaaaaasssss!
https://marckomito.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/img_1460.movUpon first noticing light without shadows towards the end of the show, I looked above the stage and counted thirty overhead spotlights illuminating the rectangular grid. There was literally so much light, that shadows were reduced to mere inches by the actor’s feet. While it may not seem noteworthy or a big deal, try to find light without shadow…trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds, and, quite frankly, the effect was breathtaking.
On the way out, literally bumped into distinguished photographer Jay Blakesberg and his family and, as we shared several moments of conversation, I realized that here was a second human being with a double daily dose of “Burning Down the House,” as he shot PPPP early that same morning, or late last night, depending on how you look at it. Okay, the chances of seeing seeing this song live twice in a day are still infinitesimally small, so I guess Jay and I shared the Powerball. Or something like that.
Having just experienced Byrne’s Utopian vision of our world, it didn’t take long for me to re-tether and post to social media. Oh well, off to look at more people. And dance with them. Woohoo.
Enjoy the soundtrack…