I'm not exaggerating! Last night's David Byrne concert was the best concert I've ever been to. David Byrne was the lead singer of the Talking Heads in case you didn't know. I've been to a lot of concerts, but last night was absolutely amazing. And we almost missed it! Here's what happened:
A couple of Friday's ago our friend Andy was listening to NPR (National Public Radio), and they were holding their fall drive (asking people to donate). For a $200 donation you could get 2 tickets to the "sold out" David Byrne concert. Andy called Cam immediately and asked if he knew Byrne was coming in concert. Cam had no idea. So Cam came home that day exhausted from the week of work, and a little upset about something. I asked him what was going on and he told me that David Byrne was coming in concert and it was already sold out, unless we donate $200 to NPR.
Cam has been a fan of the Talking Heads since the early 80's, and is still a huge fan. I've always liked them, but since being with Cam I have learned to love them almost as much as he does. We mostly listen to music at night while we are cooking and stuff, and 2 or 3 times a week we put in one of their CD's or watch the DVD Stop Making Sense. We even have a lot of David Byrne's solo stuff that we listen to. So, in my mind if David Byrne was going to be in Utah, my husband was going no matter what it took. Cam has been working so hard this past month or so, his last 2 paychecks each had over 20 hours of overtime, and his next one will too. He was going to that concert!
So I immediately went into action. If we have to donate $200 to NPR, fine! I donate $35 a year anyway to be a member, so what's a little more? Before I did that, I went onto Craig's list to the tickets section to see if anyone was selling them. No one was. Then I decided to find out where he was going to be and just see if, by some miracle, there were some tickets left. I googled it, saw it was at the Eccles theatre in Park City, and went onto their website. On their list of events it said "limited tickets available" next to David Byrnes name. I cliked on buy tickets, told them I wanted 2 and guess what? They came up for sale for $18 each! Eighteen dollars each!!!! I yelled to Cam, who was sulking in the kitchen, to bring me my purse. He came in the office and said "can we still donate the $200 to get the tickets?", I laughed and showed him the screen. He couldn't believe it. He told me Andy and Brenna are going to want to go. I told him I'm not letting go of these 2 tickets, I'll buy these and if they want to go, I'll see if I can get 2 more. So I bought them, Andy said to grab 2 more, so I did. I think we pretty much got the last 4 tickets. Out of curiosity I tried to buy 2 more and it wouldn't let me. It kept telling me there weren't 2 seats together. We decided NPR wasn't lying when they said it was sold out. We think they were giving away the sold out floor seats, our tickets were in the very last row of the balcony. Can I just say, the rest of the evening Cam was giddy as a school girl. He kept making me show him the printout of our ticket purchase. When it very first hit him that he was going to see David Byrne, his eyes actually got watery. I'm not kidding.
Last night was the concert. The Eccles theatre in Park City only holds 1,300 people. So even though we were in the back row of the balcony, it didn't matter! Any seat in that theatre is a good seat. And, get this! The Eccles theatre is attached to Park City High School, it is their auditorium. Park City High has an Eccles theatre as their auditorium! What the bip?
On the drive up we were talking about and anticipating how good the show was going to be. Is David Byrne still energetic and kind of eccentric? Or as he's gotten older has he toned it down a bit? Is he going to play any Talking Heads? We all agreed he probably wouldn't. There seems to be some bad blood with the ex-members of the band, and we weren't sure if he has just completely moved on and just does his solo stuff or what.
So the lights go down on the theatre, and the entire band walks on stage. David Byrne, 2 drummers, a keyboard player, a bass player, and 3 backup singers. All dressed from head to toe in white. I knew it was going to be good. I will just highlight a couple of points, or this will go on forever.
David Byrne has not changed at all. His voice is one of my favorite things about his music, and he sounds as good as ever. He can still belt out those lyrics when he wants to. And the way he moves! I've watched Stop Making Sense probably 100 times, and one thing I love is watching David Byrne move. There are ways he moves his hips and legs that pretty much define him. It was so cool to see him 25 years after SMS came out and see those familiar moves. After the first couple of songs, 3 dancers came out. 2 girls and a guy, all in white. They were great! Their dancing looked like it was not choreographed, but you knew it was! It wasn't that stupid Britney Spears robot dancing. All 3 of them would be doing something different, but then their arms would suddenly do the same thing, or they would all suddenly turn the other way. It's hard to explain.
And true to his style, David Byrne got the entire band in on the dancing, even himself! In one song, the dancers were doing their thing, suddenly Byrne lifts up one leg, and the male dancer dove between his legs and slid across the floor. And they did it so nonchalently. There was another song where the dancers were jumping over eachother once in a while. Kind of in a leap frog way. In the middle of the song, Byrne bent over a little, and one of the dancers leapt over him! And he just kept on singing. It was so cool! In another song, the dancers took the backup singers microphones and started walking slowly backwards. The singers followed them, still singing in the microphones. The dancers lined up the microphones, single file, behind Byrne and the singers sang behind him. Then, during a guitar solo, Byrne started winding his way between them. Then when he got back to singing, the dancers grabbed the microphones, and led each singer to a different part of the stage. Then the singers laid down and the dancers held there microphone stands in the air so they could sing into the microphone, so the rest of the song, the back up singers were on the floor singing! It was awesome! Sorry, this is the longest blog ever. I could go on and on, but I won't. Every song was a new adventure. They did 3 encores, and my husband had the best time of his life.
One more side note, sorry. I went to Wendover last weekend because some friends of mine had tickets to REO Speedwagon. I didn't go to the concert, but I went to Wendover with them for a girls weekend. Cam and I paid $18 for David Byrne tickets, how much were REO SPEEDWAGON tickets? $50 each! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Suckers!
Did he do some Talking Heads songs? Yes he did! Heaven, Slippery People, Once in a Lifetime, Take Me to the River and Burning Down the House! Here's a little playlist of what we experienced last night.
34 comments:
I'm happy for you guys! That's cool you were able to get tickets for so cheap. I am also glad Cam was able to realize his dream and see his favorite group. You are going to see some major waterworks the day I get to see Radiohead live. I think next time they tour I am going to have to just buy tickets to the closet town they come to, no matter what, cause this tour was so depressing for me to miss, no amount of money is worth subjecting myself to that again.
I am also glad that you were able to enjoy it despite your fluhead. Sounds like it was a great show, I am not too familiar with The Talking Heads, but what I have heard of them through the years has always sounded cool.
Thanks Em! It really was a truly amazing show. I've never been to a concert that went by so fast. And I've seen 2 of the Beatles! Getting the tickets for that cheap still kind of freaks me out. I don't think I've spent less than $40 each on concert tickets in 15 years or more!
And you know, and this is going to sound really cheesy, but making it so Cam could see David Byrne was the best part. Just the way it all worked out was so great. He was so incredibly disappointed that the concert was sold out. He was so upset that he didn't even know Byrne was coming in the first place. The night he told me about it, I looked at him and said "you are going to that concert". When I found the tickets for $18 we threw in our CD's and sang and danced around until about 2am. He was so dang cute that night!
How cute. That's not cheesy what you said, I have people in my life that I would do anything to see them that happy.
There is nothing like a great show. Music is so powerful. I'm stoked for you guys! I would have loved to have been there myself. Talking Heads rule.
Em: I feel your pain on the Radiohead thing. Why couldn't you see them on the last tour? I still don't know if Pixies have broke up again or not... I would probably have a seizer due to excitement if I saw them in concert, but I was on my mission when they got back together and toured. I must admit,for a second I wanted to fly home and go to the show with Catherine.
I absolutely FREAK OUT sometimes just watching live shows of theirs on the computer or TV. Like my heart almost leaps out of my chest and flops around on the keyboard.
1) They didn't come to Utah.
2) This summer was not the summer of a lot of expendable income (damn economy).
It's ok, there is already talk of them going to work on a new album, and this is exciting as there was over 4 years between In Rainbows and their last, Hail To The Thief.
I am NOT missing them again, hopefully they tour again in some not so distant future.
I am the same way about just watching them on the computer! They did a live webcast of their last concert in CA about a month ago and I almost yelled and jumped out of bed several times. Even watching youtubes or music videos, I have just sometimes go, "YES!!!!" out loud. Just will do it frequently. It totally gets my adrenaline going, music is indeed very powerful. Especially when done by the best band ever (in one's eyes).
Thats hilarious. Us Wrights are all the same and I love it. Us Wrights are all-Wright. he he. lame. Man, I am listening to "Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite" and it is bringing back SOOO many memories of Ben and driving around with him in his white Buick.
Anyway, when I sent you that Pixies stuff tonight about Kurt Cobain and that video, I realized something so interesting and almost a little spooky. I think part of the reason I am so obsessed with Pixies is because their style of music TOTALLY in every way matches my personality. Lyrically, the energy and emotion, and just the basic dynamics of it, how its loud and then chill, then loud again. Or another way of saying that... Bi-poler. haha. But I never even realized it till' tonight!! Isn't that weird how that can happen? Like I never really analyzed it all that much, I just knew I couldn't get enough of them but have a hard time explaining why. I need to stop or I will go on all night. Seriously.
I wrote this last night and before I could send it, our internet service decided to die- arg!
Anyway, I said:
That makes sense what you said Matt. That's how you experience life, so music that works that way would appeal to you. Angry people like angry music, lame people like lame music.
I can go on all night too! Here is a little nugget for you: The first Radiohead album I ever bought was OK Computer and I remember my first listen very clearly. It was in the living room of my Ithaca apartment and I listened and was like, these guys sound pretty cool, kind of interesting, and then Karma Police came on and it all changed. I don't know what it was exactly but my ears perked up and I was like "whoa." and I knew I had just stumbled into greatness. Have you ever heard a song (on first listen) that feels like it was already in your soul a bit, almost like it is familiar to you? It's a rare experience for me, but happens. Mostly when I hear a new RH album I think, that sung was pretty good, some songs even go totally under my radar until I've heard it 4 or 5 times and then all of a sudden, I am like "damn".
I think many of their songs are very complex and it takes a little recognition to start appreciating the complexity. I am sure there are other groups that are this way, but there are no other Radioheads.
Hello?!? This is a posting about David Byrne! Just kidding. You guys can continue your conversation about Pixies and Radiohead, I don't care.
I'm glad you were listening to Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite. That song brings back memories of me listening to it when I was young.
This is a posting about good music and how it affects/enhances your life.
You started it, and Matt and I got off on a tangent. We like to. If you look back on all of my postings (Life In A Glass House), they start off talking about the blog and then everyone starts going off. It's funny.
I've noticed and participated in it. I think it's funny too. I was just giving you guys crap! Check out the album cover I posted on Matt's myspace comments.
I saw it, it is priceless. Maybe I am too hasty in calling Radiohead the best band ever.
hahaha! You never know! Maybe there should be a battle of the bands between The Faith Tones and Radiohead! I wonder who would win?
The title of the album, Jesus Use Me, is the funniest part to me (besides the slightly retarded Jay Leno looking woman on the right).
Could my religious peeps please tell me what that title means? It just doesn't sound right at all to me.
"Lame people like lame music" -Emily Pugh
Emily and I's conversations are almost always a series of long tangents. Come to think of it, all my conversations with everyone seem to be a little like that. I guess it's just me.
Thanks Sue, for letting us use your blog space to share our soul wrenching thoughts.
Yes Em, I have had songs do that to me, and it is a very rare thing. The first time I heard Pixies was in a Skate video my Junior year in high school. I ended up wearing out that part of the VHS tape from rewinding it so many times just to hear the music. Didn't even know what band it was till I showed Catherine the video one day and she knew who they were, LOVED them, and burned me a mix that didn't leave my car till my mission.
If you really want to know Sue, being the religious peep that I am, I think they are saying they want Jesus to inspire and move them to accomplish his purposes. Mormons say the same thing by saying, "become an instrument in his hands"
But "Jesus Use Me" just cracks me up. It's also the funniest part to me!
Instead of "C.T.R." rings, I am going to start making "J.U.M." rings! I could use Jesus and make millions!!
Lame people do like lame music! A truer statement never was uttered.
As a fellow sibling, I too found the title the best part, but two of the ladies did make that a tough win.
Matt got it right in my mind, Jesus (God, whatever) doesn't walk and talk on this earth to help people that need it, He relies on us (fellow people) to help His cause. This ranges from spreading His message to helping the sick and poor, or letting someone know they aren't alone and someone cares for them, etc. Jesus Use Me is the worst and funniest way to say such a thing though, it is so funny! Matt, make me a ring while you're at it, I love it.
I had 3 different people recommend Radiohead to me in one month. That is why I decided to check them out.
"Here we are, with our running and confusion;
and I don't see no confusion anywhere"
-Thom Yorke
I kind of thought that is what they meant, but the wording is just weird to me. Matt, I want one of those rings! JUM can be the new WWJD!
I just checked out those album covers, and those are brilliant. I love that I married into a family of complete nerds, but you guys aren't defensive wierdo nerds like my family, but cute little passionate nerds who love things so much. Matt, how would you describe my music taste?
We aren't defensive about our nerdiness, because the stuff we are passionate about is actually cool. Radiohead is cool. Pixies are cool. Talking Heads are cool.
Dragons, chain mail and fantasy dreamscapes are just not cool.
We have some closet nerdiness, some more in the closet then others, but for the most part, we are socially ept nerds.
B: if it makes you feel better to call us nerds, go ahead. It only makes me pity you. ha ha. Defensive nerds are the best! I do think it is very good to be passionate about things, Even if it is uncool stuff. Life would suck if there weren't things we loved about it.
How would I describe your music taste? Seriously? Well, considering that your taste in music was almost totally non-existent for like 17 years... I'd say you are still trying to figure that out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were pretty much only exposed to country music (which you hated) your whole life. In the last couple years, you seem to be more partial to the poppy/catchy/happy stuff than anything else, but you definitely aren't limited to that. To be brutally honest, which I tend to be quite often, you seem like you are at the stage I was (musically speaking only of coarse) when I finally got out of my way too long Weird Al phase and discovered Weezer. Ha ha, ok, maybe not that bad! I'd say that you just like hearing all different kinds of music right now, you are very open, you are learning more and more to appreciate it, but bubble gum pop like Josie and the pussycats and high school musical, SOMEHOW really bring a smile to your face more than almost anything else. How would YOU explain YOUR OWN musical taste?
That is a good point you made by the way Em. Defensive nerds are defensive because they KNOW the stuff they like is so stupid. I never really put that together. They spend all their time trying to justify why they are so lame.
I was calling you nerds in a "Oh, look at the cute little nerds!" kind of way, you weren't supposed to take offense to that. I was thinking along the lines of defensive home schooled nerds that have been driving you nuts.
Not true that I was only exposed to country! I was exposed to Bluegrass and Western (yes, Country and Western are different...) and Neil Young!! And you know I have a deep love for the Rolling Stones. I like Journey, and a lot of the old Rock that I was exposed to as a child. But you're right, I am still finding myself as a musically involved person. I don't have a particular genre, probably because I don't know a lot about any particular one, just a little bit about a lot of them (a little bit about a lot of things describes me well). I like musicals and sparkly music, and old music, and classic (not classical) music, and Flogging Molly, and popular rock and Spoon and Hot Hot Heat.
The popular stuff is all I've been exposed to!!!!!! That is all that makes it to Wyoming when you don't have the internet!!!!!
The thoughts of B while caught in 4 homework vortexes
B, I don't think anyone was defensive about your comment, I know I took it in the spirit in which it was given, I can tell Matt did too, he was just making a joke.
For the record, I found a old tape of the "Newsies" soundtrack a few years ago and popped it in my car for some reason and had the time of my life. I sang every song at the top of my lungs. There is something about musicals and weird stuff like that, which Matt may just never understand. But I really think he does or would if he looks at himself hard enough.
Just so you know B, when I said the "pity you" stuff, I was pretending to be a "defensive nerd" I didn't really take offence. And just so you two know, (em and sue) I am doing a research paper on home schooling, so that is what she was reffering to about driving me nuts... not my wife and her family.
Hehe, would "socially ept nerds" be an oxy-moron? (another word I hate, but how else do you say it?). By the way, my moms bedroom is decorated in a dragons and fairies and witches motif, and my dad listened to bluegrass and Neil Young. I am the product of ultra-nerds.
Hey now... lets not forget, I loved Into The Woods, still listen to Phantom Of The Opera, CRIED during the play Les Miserables and listen to it in the car, and even really liked the new virsion of The Producers. I just have other stuff that I like a whole lot more, and you can only listen to one thing at a time.
That what "looking deep within yourself' was about. I knew you liked some of that stuff.
I want to read your paper on home schooled kids.
Cool. I will email it to you or something. It's an argument paper. I am a little brutal, and it isn't funny or anything. I have really been ejoying working on it though. English rules, I am considering minoring in it actually! Can you believe that!?
You are finally discovering English? Cool. All we need now is to get you into literature.
Perhaps with your medication, your brain is being able to start giving that stuff the credit it deserves.
Wow! I was working in the field all day and not at my computer. I came home to 27 comments! Yes, B, you married into a family of nerds. Cool nerds though! Now there is an oxymoron! Why do you hate that word? Because moron is in it? As for your musical taste B. All I can say is the first CD you bought was High School Musical and you don't like Neil Young. I'm not sure how to process that.
Matt! You're getting into English? Yay! I am an ultra english nerd. I took a class in college where we read Hamlet 7 different times and each time applied a different literary theory to it and had to write a paper each time. It was one of my favorite classes.
Oh Sue. I love that you remembered my first CD. Stay tuned for a blog post about my life before high school.
Matt can testify that that Hamlet class you took would make me cry and throw up and break things. It makes my stomach hurt just to know that there are classes like that in the world. I took a Shakespeare course where we read it and then watched both versions and I was about ready to kill something. 7 TIMES???!!!! The repetitiveness alone would kill me, but literary theory/symbolism/analysis/themes is probably what I hated the most of any class. Ever. I'm glad there are people that enjoy those things because you write wonderful things for me to enjoy, but I can't sit through things like that. Holy cow. 7 times...
Sue, I just busted out laughing in the school library after reading "I'm not sure how to process that"
This may scare you, but english was always the class I was BEST at, and liked the most in school.(aside from Art of Film) So you can just imagine how much I hated everything else, considering my spelling and lack of reading!
This may be opening up a can of worms, and this is a music blog, but I don't think my illness surfaced until my mission, my problem in school was just lazyness and unconfidence at first, and I didn't seem to think it was important. Then when they put me in the stupid kid classes, I just felt like everyone gave up on me, especially myself. When you start failing every class, even when your trying, and then your Mom and Dad start helping a lot, you just start feeling like a failure yourself. I HATED school, and even hated myself for a while. I really don't want to end on that note! I gotta go though. More later though. If your interested, sorry, you didn't ask, I just felt like It wasn't the Bi-polor that was the cause.
"My problem in school was just lazyness and unconfidence" -Matt Wright
Always interested, by the way. I knew your illness didn't really trigger until the mish, but I thought maybe your brain had some issues with it way back when. You haven't ever seemed to have much of an attention span, except for a few select things.
Should we go back to talking about David Byrne? Or perhaps the conversation will come full circle and naturally drift back to him and the best concert Sue has ever been to.
B-High School Musical being your first CD was pretty much etched into my brain! I will never forget that! When I'm like 80 and you are like 40, I will tease you about that. And Hamlet kicks ass! I loved that class! Every time we read it, it was a new adventure! A good Shakespeare professor would never make you watch the movies! They suck! (I'm guessing the Mel Gibson and Kenneth Branagh ones). And yes, I guess I am uber nerd. I love literary theory! I actually read books on it for pleasure! New Historisism is my favorite! That is when you learn everything you can about the author's life, and then apply it to their work. New Historisism aughaughaugh (that's like Homer doing like "donughts aughaughaugh").
And Matt-I'm so sorry you had such a hard time in school before. A lot of the world's most brilliant minds didn't do well in that kind of setting. John Lennon for example! And Albert Einstein! You hit it when you mentioned the whole self confidence thing. You have it now, so you will go far. (sappy)
And Em, thank you for the segue! David Byrne rocks! Allow me to give you another glimpse on how much fun his concert was. In between a couple of songs the theatre went completely dark, pitch dark. Suddenly, you hear some acoustical guitar and a couple of spotlights come on the stage. There is David Byrne playing the guitar sitting in an office chair, pretty much exactly like the one I'm sitting in. He starts singing, and one by one the dancers roll similar office chairs onto the stage next to him and sit in them. One acts like they are asleep, one is kind of moving around like they can't get comfortable, and the other just kind of moves to the music. The entire song goes like this, except for about 4 times, all of them, including Byrne, would slowly spin around in the chair. You couldn't predict when it was going to happen! It was so cool! That is what I meant by the dancing didn't seem choreographed, but it obviously was!
David Byrne aughaughaugh
Radiohead announced they are coming to Mexico City in March.
If you go to Mexico City to see them, I get to babysit Scout!
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