Concert Reviews
The former Talking Heads frontman brought his mobile ensemble to the Wang for a life-affirming romp.
A few minutes before David Byrne’s show at the Wang Theatre Friday night, his pre-recorded voice came over the sound system assuring the crowd that the venue permitted dancing during the show, but that the fire department would like people to keep the aisles clear, because in the case of a fire, “Dancers in the aisle have an unfair advantage.”
It was such a David Byrne-ian thing to say: Funny, unexpected, and just slightly macabre. And once the flesh-and-blood Byrne took the the stage, he more than lived up to his reputation of being wonderfully weird and almost sneakily moving, delivering a show that served simultaneously as a commentary on the state of the world, a post-pandemic balm, and a buoyant reminder to take joy where you can find it.
Byrne has kept the mobile band format he pioneered on his “American Utopia” tour that eventually ended up on Broadway, where every musician — percussionists and keyboard players included — spends the entire show with their instruments strapped to their bodies, the 13 of them (including Byrne) in constant motion across the bare stage. It’s the type of thing you don’t think you need until you see it, and then you wonder why all those other bands spend all their time shackled to drum kits and pianos.
We’re introduced to the band after a poignant version of the Talking Heads song “Heaven,” with just Byrne, two violinists and a keyboard player performing in front of an eerie moonscape as the earth slowly rises on one of the massive screens behind them — his voice maybe slightly scratchier but just as expressive as when he fronted his legendary first band. By the end of the song the earth has fully risen, and Byrne says, “There’s our heaven, the only one we have.” It would be a recurring theme for the night: We’re all stuck here together, and wouldn’t it be great if we made the most of it?
The full ensemble meandered out a few at a time for the second number, the ebullient “Everybody Laughs” off Byrne’s terrific new album, “Who Is The Sky?” Dressed identically head to toe in deep royal blue and clearly tickled to be there, they looked like the world’s hippest, happiest marching band. And the way they emerge gradually during that number has a certain element of magic about it: Just when you think there can’t be any more, out comes a guy with five drums mounted on his torso.
The concept is the opposite of the (oftimes probably scripted) spontaneity of most rock shows — each number is clearly meticulously planned and rehearsed, with the band constantly ambling around the stage in between shifting into movements and dances tightly choreographed by Steven Hoggett. This includes the indefatiguable Byrne, who at 73 may not be the frantic sprinter he was during his “Stop Making Sense” days, but who clearly still has the steps and the stamina to lead the proceedings in all its herky-jerky glory.
Besides, what the show loses in spontaneity is more than made up by Byrne’s glorious, spectacularly entertaining vision of musical togetherness — he doesn’t need to call audibles, because he knows what they’ve prepared works as intended. It’s a joyously choreographed romp, and we feel thoroughly welcome at the party.
As for the songs, it’s a testament to Byrne’s recent material that it fits in so seamlessly with his older work and with the Talking Heads classics. “Everybody Laughs” set the stage perfectly with its bouncy charms, with the urgent, Latin-tinged “What Is The Reason For It?” and the chugging “Don’t Be Like That” (with the excellent Tendayi Kuumba sharing lead vocals) proving equal standouts. Two of the quirkier songs on the album, “I Met The Buddha at a Downtown Party” and “My Apartment is My Friend,” accompanied by sharp, funny Byrne monologues, felt like they would have fit better in a Broadway show, but provided a clever respite from some of the more manic surrounding numbers — and in the latter’s case, a view into Byrne’s actual New York apartment. (I am jealous of his bookshelves.)
Of his older solo work, “Like Humans Do” from 2001’s “Look Into the Eyeball” and “Independence Day” off his first solo album, “Rei Momo,” were spectacular choices — especially the latter, which built gloriously off a vaguely ominous cumbia beat, eventually opening up into an infectious folk revel. It was perfectly suited for this happy bunch, with Byrne’s voice having warmed up by this point and sounding straight out of 1989.
Meanwhile, an unreleased song, presumably called “T-Shirt,” won the crowd over with a litany of t-shirt slogans rolling across the screens, including the well-received “Boston Kicks Ass” and even-better-received “No Kings.” (Byrne wasn’t overtly political Friday, but he did make a point of telling a story of Italians singing from their balconies during the pandemic, especially on their Liberation Day holiday — the day the country celebrated freedom from fascism. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, he didn’t need to say more.)
As varied and effective as Byrne’s solo material was, though, there’s no denying that the Talking Heads numbers were the highlight, both in terms of intensity and the crowd’s ecstatic reaction. “And She Was,” with its bouncy choreography and bird’s-eye footage of a perfect neighborhood looming in the background, was just the right first step into that band’s catalog, with “Nothing But Flowers” — the underrated ironic ode to shopping malls and parking lots from the last Heads album — overflowing with winking merriment.
(Incidentally, thanks to the spectacular visuals on Byrne’s tremendous screens, we actually get to see the discount store turn into a cornfield during that number — one of countless examples of clips, images, and special effects that added to the overall wonder of the production, from the overwhelming ocean waves behind “Slippery People” to the shadow with a mind of its own that introduces “Psycho Killer.”)
The surprise standout when it came to the Heads material was a dizzying version of “Houses in Motion” from 1980’s “Remain in Light,” the prowling ensemble bathed in red as individual members got a chance to spotlight their musical gifts. Eventually the group even came together in a wild jam (or as jam-my as such a choreographed production can get).
But it was the Talking Heads three-fer to close the main set that truly blew the roof off the venerable Wang. An explosively spooky “Psycho Killer” built to an incredible crescendo, followed by a thumping “Life During Wartime” that was so visceral it made the “Stop Making Sense” version seem downright sterile — and it also felt eerily prescient even before images of recent protests and ICE raids started flashing on the screens.
The set ended with “Once in a Lifetime,” the audience fully engaged with Byrne’s now-iconic declarations of “This is not my beautiful house! This is not my beautiful wife!” before erupting into a deserved but still stunning ovation that rattled the old theater’s walls.
It’s worth noting that before the start of the encore — a warm gospel arrangement of the “American Utopia” standout “Everybody’s Coming to My House,” followed by a thunderous “Burning Down the House” — Byrne reminded the crowd that when push comes to shove, “As people, we love being together.” That was definitely true of the crowd at the Wang on Friday, who, thanks to Byrne’s lovingly staged spectacle, may have actually left the building feeling a little better about the world, and each other.
David Byrne’s ensemble includes Mauro Refosco (music director/percussion); Ray Suen (music director/guitar & violin); dancer/vocalists Jordan Dobson, Sean Donovan, Tendayi Kuumba, Sasha Rivero, and Hannah Straney; percussionists Yuri Yamashita, Tim Keiper, and Stéphane San Juan; keyboardist Daniel Mintseris; and Kely Cristina Pinheiro on bass & cello. Byrne listed full band credits on the screen at the end of the show, which we think more artists should do.
Setlist for David Byrne at Wang Theatre, Oct. 3, 2025
- 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
- I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party
- My Apartment Is My Friend
- Hard Times (Paramore cover)
- Psycho Killer
- Life During Wartime
- Once in a Lifetime
ENCORE:
- Everybody’s Coming to My House
- Burning Down the House
David Byrne will perform his final of three shows at the Boch Center Wang Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. For more information, visit bochcenter.org.
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