Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison, and the guest guitarist on that album, Adrian Belew, are on the road with a tour highlighting the Heads' awesome 1980 album, Remain In Light. It's an eleven member band, seven of whom are themselves the band Cool, Cool, Cool. The others are Harrison, Belew, longtime Belew collaborationist bassist Julie Slick, and percussionist Yahuba Garcia-Torres.
I wasn't sure what to expect - were they going to just walk out and play the whole album? Would they throw some other stuff in? What about the fact that the last three of the eight songs are very slow, atmospheric things (co-producer Brian Eno's influence is strong), and one of them is about a middle eastern terrorist blowing up westerners with his homemade bombs ? [1980 was a different time]
They solved that problem by playing only the first five songs from Remain In Light, with a bunch of Talking Heads' classics (Psycho Killer, Slippery People, Take Me To The River, etc), a Jerry Harrison solo tune (Rev It Up), and Thela Hun Ginjeet from Belew-era King Crimson, mixed-in. On the Heads' songs, Belew, Harrison, the baritone saxophone player, and the two female singers all took turns doing lead vocals.
It was nice to see Jerry Harrison. Probably the only time I'll see a Head. And the rest of the band was sizzling. But honestly, the two women singers kinda stole the show. They were so good, and those Heads songs have such great backing/counterpoint parts. If you've ever seen the Stop Making Sense movie, you probably noticed how important the two female singers are.
Good show. Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade was the headliner that night, but we weren't up for it.
They're playing in Asheville tonight, and I was tempted to drive out there to catch it, but the show is sold out. Oh well.
Wow. Probably too much to ask for them to come to the UK.
There’s a 40tb anniversary of Stop Making Sense coming up and we’ll be able to see it in a cinema. I’ll be taking my 19 year old daughter. I figure it’ll be a great introduction to Talking Heads. We went to see Bowie’s Moonage Daydream last year which was epic.
it remains the best concert film by miles.
i’ll go see it when it comes around, for sure.
I’m old, so I got to see the original Stop Making Sense tour back in whatever year that was … 1982? 1983?
It was splendid.
Yahuba is a Boston area cat, don’t know him personally and have never worked with him but he works with a lot of folks I know and sometimes play with. He’s a great conguero.
damn . my envy knows no bounds.
by the time I escaped my ratty little hometown and moved to a place where real concerts happened, they’d already broken up.