David Byrne's American Utopia – The Moment of This Year
Opening with Byrne delivering his song Here as a lecture to the audience,
factually going through the parts of the brain and admiring the beauty and the
connections throughout delivers us into the David Byrne we know. I love Talking
Heads I think their entire discography is varied, unique and incredibly
entertaining. However, I always felt a loneliness to Byrne's song writing, he
has always seemed to be an outsider, someone lost, questioning and imitating
through music. Songs like Once in a Lifetime, Mind and Crosseyed and
Painless always felt like Byrne was trying to imitate and understand the
world around him, without really coming to any conclusions. Something that
rings throughout his career is this idea of Byrne as an observer, notoriously
he was difficult to work with throughout the prime of the original Talking
Heads line-up and throughout his career he has struggled socially. He has
talked in part about being on the Autistic spectrum and his music was always
louder than his private persona, he was another enigmatic Rockstar and it
played into the ideas Byrne was writing about. However, I wanted to bring this
up because there is something incredibly rewarding about seeing Byrne on the
stage as he is now, throughout American Utopia he seems more
enthusiastic, comfortable and confident with the product he has created; this
clearly means a lot the guy and it really shows throughout his
performance,
The essence and ideas that permeate American Utopia are so
complex and refreshing. It is an ensemble show about the beauty of being an
ensemble, it reads as an open invitation into connection and hope. There is no
argument that Byrne is the star of this show but the band he has created is essentially
a community with such beautiful synchronous ideas. The slow drip feeding of his
band appearing through the first half brings a spotlight and energy, each
person bringing on another instrument and another voice that is harmonious and
refreshing. This band is essentially the shows greatest strength, whilst Stop
Making Sense is an ode to an era of youth and excitement, American
Utopia is about ideals and precision. Byrne goes out of his way to showcase
their strengths, but he never sits back and directs, he responds and engages
sometimes even outdancing the professionals. One of the highlights is Byrne
slowly building up 'Born Under Punches' by properly introducing each member and
where they are from, the pure joy that emanates from each instrument being
brought on is almost overwhelming. This is because the show is about that
beautiful thought of a powerful singular voice being able to be heard in a community
of powerful voices. Each person has a unique personality and energy, yet they
are all work together perfectly, the balance is extraordinary and incredibly touching.
The defining moment of the show, and one of the defining moments of this
year is the groups cover of 'Hell You Talmbout' a protest song about the many
innocent lives lost due to racial violence in America. It is an incredibly
powerful song that Byrne describes perfectly as he calls it a 'requiem' yet
also a song about the hope of change, touchingly admitting that he still needs
to change a bit. The song is enraging, inspiring and beautifully performed,
Spike Lee choosing to cut to these pictures of the victims is a decision that
really shocked and moved me. The show has sprinklings of political ideas,
mostly because Byrne can't avoid politics with what he is talking about, he
promotes the power of democracy and the show's attention to community and
connections with others is important in realising the message behind this song.
An anthem for those that did not deserve to die, Byrne doesn't need to rally
for a specific politician but rallies for an idea and for that very important
hope of change. The way Byrne balances his big hits and his lesser-known solo
stuff is downright perfect, he places every song as a response to the last, he doesn’t
over sell his big hits and it gives the show an essence of joy and
authenticity. I've seen Stop Making Sense a ridiculous number of
times but there are songs here featured in both of the shows that
Byrne performs better 35 years later. This results in a show that clearly has
something to say, ending with Hail You Talmbout/One Fine Day/Road to Nowhere
finishes this ode to connection on a touching and beautiful note.
Spike Lee’s voice is heard loud and clear, he shoots the show as someone who
genuinely understands it. Full of personality and voice each song’s footage
matches the energy perfectly, I love the little flairs Lee puts in that are
refreshingly theatrical for a filmed performance, constantly reinventing his
craft throughout the show. This is of course a success thanks to the impeccable
choreography, there is a brilliant call and response with what Byrne is performing
and how Lee shoots it. The two are clearly on the same level and the ideas that
run throughout the show are much more impactful thanks to how Lee chooses to shoot
it. Simple ideas that distinguish each song’s visual vocabulary is a collaborative
stroke of genius and I honestly don’t think many people could pull of a better recording
of this show than Lee. Those closing moments where we see the company cycle
through the city with that beautiful rendition of Everybody’s Coming to My
House’ is an excellent touching moment for a show like this.
It feels redundant to say 2020 has not been the best year. It has been a dark and upsetting year for a myriad of reasons, seeing the damage and horror spreading throughout the planet has been truly traumatic. And it has been in many ways a very tough year personally, as I imagine it has been for a lot of people, there are days and moments that I felt myself struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But one thing that I think really changed within me was an aspiration for hope and love, if there is anything that 2020 has taught me it is to not take anything or anybody for granted. Finishing my year with American Utopia felt very poetic, one of my heroes, whose music has kept me going throughout this year reminding me that the most important thing we have is the people around us was invaluable. Byrne's last speech revolves around his amazement that those who have faced such oppression and hopelessness can somehow still aspire for hope, he states the importance of realising when something is a work of progress. Change is coming, change is inevitable, and change comes from each other, those tiny connections we have and those questions we might never answer are sparks of energy and can be sparks of joy. Thank you for sticking with me this year I'm taking a few weeks of 'AAAS' for Christmas but I should be back in the new year. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and been the connections I have needed this year. Change is coming. There is hope out there. There is joy out there and I love you all.