In 1984 David Byrne and Talking Heads
forever set the gold standard for concert films with their iconic
Stop Making Sense, directed
by Jonathan Demme. There is still a pretty wide consensus among both
film and music critics that Stop Making Sense
is the greatest concert film ever made; an unparalleled live
performance captured with unique cinematic vision by Demme. However,
Byrne may have topped the power of Stop Making Sense
with his critically-acclaimed, almost-two-years-running American
Utopia tour, supporting the
album of the same name. NME said the tour “may just be the best
live show of all time,” and it is certainly one of the most unique.
The tour features an entirely mobile band of a dozen people –
including a large percussion section, all carrying their drums
marching-band style – going through elaborate choreography as they
perform a wide cross-section of music from Byrne's entire career.
That includes a whole lot of Talking Heads music, as well as most of
the material from American Utopia itself,
and plenty from in-between.
The
time is certainly right for a film of American Utopia:
the album was written in large part in response to Trump's election
and the division and animosity rife in our country, and it has a very
political as well as philosophical tone in looking at our modern
world. There is even a song on the album about an unnamed president
facing a blatantly un-rigorous farce of an impeachment trial, as
vacuous press coverage amplifies the circus-like quality of it all
with a minimum of self-awareness. Other songs are more optimistic, in
keeping with Byrne's own Reasons to be Cheerful project which seeks
to highlight positive examples of activism and social justice, but the whole
thing asks us the question, “what do we want to be as a society,
and how do we get there?” Not to mention that it will capture an
iconic musician at the height of his current resurgence, and at the top of his game in general.
In his announcement about the film,
Byrne said, "Pinch me. This couldn't have worked out better for
this project. Spike Lee directing and Participant producing — two
socially engaged teams, well, three if you count us in the band,
coming together in what I feel will be something moving, important,
and unlike anything anyone has seen before."
Participant CEO David Linde said,
"American Utopia is a true celebration from a great artist and a
beautiful reminder to our nation that we are all born barefoot and
wearing the same suit. We are incredibly excited to work with Mr.
Byrne and the incomparable Spike Lee, along with RadicalMedia, River
Road and Warner Music Group in bringing this one-of-a-kind event out
of the theater to audiences around the world."
The film will be released later this
year.
For a sample of what we might be able
to expect, below is David Byrne and his American Utopia
band performing one of the album's singles, “Everybody's Coming To
My House” on Stephen Colbert, in the show's kinetic, untethered
style.
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Christopher S. Jordan
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