bob@cornell.UUCP (Bob Harper) (09/03/83)
From: bob (Bob Harper)
To: net-music
Talking Heads at Forest Hills
August 19, 1983
The Talking Heads are currently touring in support of their recent release,
"Speaking in Tongues". Hardly the radical departure of their previous effort,
this record is a continuation and refinement of "Remain in Light" and the
solo efforts of the band members, notably the Tom-Tom Club and Byrne's
"Catherine Wheel" work. Though not a purely "commercial" (read pandering)
record, "Speaking in Tongues" certainly has the widest audience appeal of
all of the Heads' previous work, and is by far the slickest and most (over-)
produced of their records. The performance at Forest Hills was consistent
with this tendency in their recordings.
My main complaint about the show is that it was exactly that -- a show,
a precisely-timed, well-rehearsed performance which was to be observed, not
to be involved in. Their technical expertise was flawless, the performance
went without a hitch, and the sound was excellent (for an outdoor arena).
But therein lies its sterility. With precious few exceptions, they performed
every song exactly as it was recorded on the record, without variation or
improvisation. Those songs which were done differently than recorded were
clearly done exactly the same way on every date, thereby eliminating all
spontaneity and communication with the audience.
The show lasted a sadistic three and a half hours, including a one-half hour
intermission. Sadistic? For those few of us who actually knew the music
and could not resist frantic dancing, it was a grueling, but satisfying,
experience. I literally collapsed (from a muscle cramp) at the end of the
concert. For the most part, the audience was minimally familiar with their
older work and, as is the case with most audiences, were a bunch of sit-down-
and-watch vegetables. Among about 10,000 people there, I could almost count
the number of people dancing (until the very end of the show when everyone
was on their feet begging for a goddamn encore anyway).
At first I thought, "These people belong at a Grateful Dead concert. What
are they doing here?". But then I came to the awful realization that their
behavior was actually appropriate, considering the nature of the music and
the tone of the performance. The message that one gets from their record and
their performance was that you're *supposed* to be an uninvolved observer.
This feeling was compounded by their use of Laurie Anderson-style rear pro-
jections of odd combinations of words and pictures of overturned furniture
(which most of the audience seemed to think unbearably funny).
At the end of the show, the Heads played the silly encore game twice. But
for their second return, they committed the ultimate offense to their loyal
fans -- they played "Burning Down the House" for the second time, exactly
the same way as they had performed it the first time. I'll never forgive
them for it.
>From a purely emotional, non-critical, point of view, I enjoyed the show
enormously. They played songs from every record, and every song (I think)
from the current record, plus some cuts from "The Catherine Wheel" and
"Genius of Love". The show began with an empty stage, and opened with
David Byrne doing an acoustic guitar version of "Psycho Killer". As time
went on, more and more equipment and personnel appeared until finally every-
one was present. David Byrne has now completely shed his "tense and nervous"
persona and is well on his way to becoming (gasp) a rock star. His dancing,
while certainly well-rehearsed, was quite exciting to watch. They all seemed
to be enjoying themselves; the enthusiasm was contagious.
-- Bob Harper --