David Byrne @ Royal Concert Hall 31/3/09

‘Does anybody like Dumbarton?’ I heard shouted at Connect a couple of years ago, why anybody would do such a thing? The answer is simple: David Byrne. Tonight I got to see exactly why this man could bring somebody to like a place such as Dumbarton without even visiting the place.

The Royal Concert Hall has a bizarre feel to it as a gig venue. Entering through a bewilderingly large foyer into what appears to be an airport check-in, expensive bar and gift shops with complete with ‘no food of drink past this point’ signs. The hall itself feels more like a conference room than a venue for a pop concert. This is all forgotten when the lights go out and the homecoming hero enters the stage.

Byrne and his band appear dressed in all white as if there is something all round clean and innocent about them, and there is as Byrne just appears a nice old man. Byrne addresses the crowd with his intent for tonight’s show, announcing the set will consist majorly of songs produced with Brian Eno. Crowd interaction is clearly not Byrne’s forte but that is not what he is here to do, and when he bursts into the set you instantly get why he is so highly regarded. His singing voice is as unique and wonderful as it ever was, and for man pushing 60 he gets about the stage.

Still by two or three songs in you feel there is something missing, the famous Talking Heads dance moves or the orchestra that has been with him through recent solo touring schedules, maybe. However it is just as you start to think this that the surprise is unleashed, as Byrne and co. hit into their next track three dancers emerge. The dancers go on to produce a mesmerisngly energetic, superbly choreographed routine throughout the set. It is not just the energy and routine that is engages about the dancers, they seem to be genuinely having the time of their lives and their engagements with the backing vocalists makes for quite an eye-catchingly chaotic show. This coupled with the use of wheelie chairs and the involvement of Byrne himself all add up to create as superb a visual experience as it is musically.

The set itself draws from Byrne’s expansive yet brilliant catalogue of material; the tracks produced with Eno are arguably the best of his work. Only one song from a non-Eno era is squeezed into the set in Talking Heads single ‘Burning Down the House’. Byrne himself is endearing while remaining constantly entertaining as he cuts through old and new, points out his family members, and keeps coming back with three encores.

The highlights of the set for the majority of the crowd are Talking Heads tracks, which are not played sparingly. Arguably the stand out moment of the set is when Talking Heads’ classic tracks are played back to back in Remain in Light’s ‘Once in a Lifetime’ and Fear of Music’s ‘Life During Wartime’. Creating enough of a spark in the room to draw the majority of the crowd to their feet, simultaneously tearing a new energy level on the stage.

It may be for reminisant purposes that the majority come and see David Byrne, but unlike so many older acts who have returned to the stage he does not let down. It is not exactly the same of course this is not Stop Making Sense but it is a man who equally and clearly knows what he is doing as much as he loves it.