The other concerts of David Byrne in the Archa Theatre
Byrne's Music Danced with Colour
Singer and musician David Byrne, whose concert was in Prague's Archa Theatre the day before yesterday, is in a similar position as perhaps David Bowie: he absorbs the surrounding musical stimulation and during his concerts, he gives them his own interpretation. The Latin-American music, robotic movement, precise rhythm and dance sound experiments are the greatest passion of ex-singer from New York's Talking Heads. Everything was fused to the lively music, savoured by Byrne's sense of irony.
The singer ran out onto the Archa stage in fluorescent "fun-fur" suit to the music of the song Sock It To Be. He intentionally played out the role of a star, a show-business puppet, and at the same time, he had a lot of fun with it. He also wore a Scottish kilt and tailored overalls painted with the anatomic pictures of muscles.
The dancing Byrne tore the audience to movement, especially during the classic songs of Talking Heads, such as Road To Nowhere, Psycho Killer and I. Zimba. His music, "stiffened" with a passion of soft rhythm, mixed with reggae, salsa, and other styles. The key-boardist and incidental guitarist freed the music of pre-recorded brass, which thanks to them, transformed the group into a Mexican orchestra. They also played in the spirit of country music, while Byrne engaged pathos and the steel guitar cried in a classic tear-jerker; Jamaican bass-guitarist Desmond Foster, whose elastic style pursued and heated up the music, just smiled under his beard. The group, thanks to the help of great vocalist Christina Wheeler whose strong style of singing softened the duets, rocked even to the songs taken from Byrne's solo album, Feelings.
Everything was natural, organic and logical, the hand rattle starts and the layers of dance "rhythmical-positions" ends. Byrne's many-colored music has an irresistible attraction.
Vladimír Vlasák, MF Dnes, 7. 3. 1998