The power of a concert film has both stimulating visual and audio effects. Compared to hearing music, the sense of sight is often neglected or overlooked when evaluating the talent of an artist. If you want to understand an artist to the fullest extent, you must see all his or her musical realms, both onstage and offstage. These sections include not only the heard voice of the music, but also the silent voices that contribute to the theatrical live presentation of the artist, such as the dancers and choreographers. An audio CD alone cannot provide these subdued voices, so we turn our attention to the sounds exuded by concert films. There is no better way to establish our point than with the live concert film of the legendary artist, David Byrne.
Mr. Byrne is most likely not a name that is well known amongst music fans who can’t include the disco days of the 70s on their life timelines. Unfortunately, we can’t either, so let’s familiarize all the generations with the tunes of David Byrne, who has had a notable career for several decades. He is largely associated with being the founding member and principle songwriter of the band, Talking Heads, which was active in the music industry for approximately 15 years. Since those days, Byrne has released his own solo recordings, formed the record label Luaka Bop and dabbled in other entertainment fields, such as film, photography and opera. Garnering a Grammy, Golden Global, Oscar and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame membership, David Byrne embodies the characteristics of an iconic figure who was never entirely satisfied with having just one hit under his belt, to say the least.
Let’s focus on his current impact on the film and music world. His documentary film, ‘Ride Rise Roar’, dropped on May 31st via Eagle Rock Entertainment. The live concert DVD screened at the Silverdocs, SXSW and the Seattle International Film Festivals. ‘Ride Rise Roar’ details the creative process of Mr. Byrne over the course of his 2008 through 2009 “Songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno” tour. If you didn’t get to attend the show you are in luck because this DVD covers it all from the band’s audition footage to the rehearsals and to interviews with Byrne and other key players in his group. The creation of a theatrical production unfolds before your eyes. We can guarantee you this viewing of a live concert will have you appreciating much more of David Byrne and his team than if you were part of the general audience.
‘Ride Rise Roar’ opens up with David Byrne performing “Once in a Lifetime.” If you are a youngin, you may not know this song solely based on the track’s title, but the minute the chorus begins the generation gap fades away and you’ll unearth the oldie within you. Dressed in white from head to toe, Byrne and the dancers put on a performance compiled of dramatically spontaneous dance moves that coincide with the over-the-top and preach-like vocals. The radio can only provide you with vocals and beats, but seeing “Once in a Lifetime” on stage unravels empowering emotions that no disc jokey can relay on to you.
As the concert progresses, you see underlying elements among the dancers that unite the 14 tracks of the show. The dance movement is not what you would expect to hear alongside the upbeat and pop-like tunes of David Byrne. Typically, you have the singer at the forefront of the stage and the dancers in the background systematically moving with one another. Since David Byrne is an atypical artist, his concerts follow along the same path. He explains in between the performances how the auditioning process didn’t involve memorizing steps, rather embracing more carefree movement. The dancers had to integrate with each other and the band as well to create a cohesive show. Along with Mr. Byrne’s analysis of the tour’s dancing style, choreographer, Annie-B Parson further explains the ambiguity of the movement and how the dancing primarily involves following your body’s reaction to the tunes. David Byrne and the choreographers undeniably translate the techniques they wished to address onto the stage. After watching the theatrical performances, it is reassuring to hear your thoughts were right on track. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all get across what we were thinking this vividly?
We definitely enjoy the freestyle dancing of the numbers, but we also can watch David Byrne onstage by himself. “One Fine Day” let’s hear just why Mr. Byrne has had such a long lasting and successful career. His effortless vocals exude passion and soul, which heighten his musical appeal. The performance of “One Fine Day” features slight dance moves and background vocals, but Byrne causes you to become just as transfixed in the song as he is and this concentration solely encompasses Byrne. The “Songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno” tour involves the similar white attire and three dancers, but it is tracks like “One Fine Day” and “My Big Nurse” that remind us of how Byrne and his team can dexterously control the components on stage so certain elements can standout amongst the others.
The care that David Byrne has in his tour is unquestionably shown on stage, but this treatment for the performances can be heard as well by his other teammates, the dancers, the choreographers, the band and the background vocalists. The offstage clips and interviews allow you to have a peak into just how much practice is involved in the show. What is most intriguing is that just nailing down the steps, tempo or notes is not the only concern of these artists and musicians; it is more significant for them to thoroughly comprehend the individual meaning of each track in order to respect the songs for their distinct properties.
If we are going to remain honest with you Shockya readers, we should point out that we often never view a concert film from start to end due to the repetitive formats throughout the show. Truth be told the “Songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno” tour broke that pattern. Each clip and track performance relinquishes another secret of the greatness of David Byrne. The DVD is immensely captivating for all the right reasons, which mostly involve simplicity. The costumes and the stage effects do not override the music of each track, which is the way it should be.
We may not have been alive during the creation of the tracks in the film, but David Byrne and his teammates replaced these decade gaps with raw talent that was able to penetrate through our 21st Century hearts.
