(PHOTO BY TBR/MJB)

I am smitten with all that David Byrne does. (See post from 2008 and 2013). If you haven’t roamed around his website, have a gander.


Even if I don’t like the music he is creating at that particular time (there has been some un-listenable projects fur sure), his approach to sharing music is so unique and leading edge. He is a pioneer. HoF status.


In the case of this past Monday night at Carnegie Hall, twenty of his songs were played by other musicians in a charity tribute show that generated money for children’s music programs in need. Sure cool cause…repairing used instruments so kids can make noise with them.

(PHOTO BY TBR/MJB)

See my play-by-play notes below.


Here is link to the Rolling Stone article by Christopher Weingarten on the show.


Having the show’s program in hand was extremely helpful in knowing some about the acts I wasn’t familiar with. And as I hoped, I discovered some fun, new musicians to add to my rolodex.


After nineteen songs and a few hours…a real high school marching band (that reminded me of the famous scene in the 70s movies “Carwash”) came barreling down each of the aisles from the rear of the theatre making their way aggressively to the stage. Amidst the band dressed in white was Mr. David Byrne himself.  


How cool.  

(Bobby Bank/Wireimage)

He ended up singing with the high school band to close out the show in a style that he has come to own.  Real, creative and accessible.


If you want to get inside the man’s head, check out his last book. It is quite the treat for people like us.


Sitting atop my first level balcony box directly across from the stage, I was able to kick back (literally) and take in the show uninterrupted  My balcony mates were mixed company and emblematic of the rest of the audience… a married couple in their 50s from NJ wearing leather, a young couple from Brooklyn wearing Doc Martins and a groupie from OAR that donned neon spandex and transvestite like makeup. I fit right in with my notebook and wide open eyes.

As I said, the charity event was to raise money for inner city music programs…hence, the final scene with the high school band was so appropriate and fun.  Always love hearing a tuba in a rock show.


Also got a huge kick seeing Sean Lennon’s Instagram photo (below) a few minutes after mine of the picture above.

The official TBR play-by-play notes…

BTW… Rita Houston (a Nyack resident!) did a nice job from behind the scenes MC-ing the night. (Thanks Rita for being such a pro!)


1. Cibo Matto and Wilco ax-man Nels Cline kicked off things (for most) donned in white suits and a killer choreographed Bryne-like dance.


2. The 14 piece house band for the night, Antibalas, then took the stage also dressed in white suits.  Their lead singer wore cool (squeaky new) red patten leather shoes that almost made him take one of his splits a little too far.  His recovery was stellar.

3. Esperanza Spaulding (above) was the first new act for me to catch my ears and ears.  Her version of “Road to Nowhere” was super funky as she strutted with punk style in her beautiful royal blue dress.  The trombone player from Antibalas really stepped up on this tune and brought the whole show to a new level.


4.Jade of Edward Sharpe did a song from Byrne’s Fatboy Slim project, but it was a snooze for me… but so wuz the original Byrne release, so nothing against Jade. 


Dressed in a canary yellow dress she reminded me of Crystal Gayle.


5. Public school teacher turned rocker Alexis Krauss (who was so appropriate to appear given the charity) was powerful.  Her high energy performance of “Life During Wartime” was strong. Her heavily tattooed body and Joan Jett like swagger entertained all (and me most of all, at least in my Carnie Hall box).


6. Although I’m sure Brazil’s Forro in the Dark is a great band, their performance of Byrne’s “Girls on My Mind” was flat.  The California surf sounded didn’t work.

7. British folkster Pete Molinari (above) was very Dylan-esque in his cowboy shirt playing the pretty Byrne song “Heaven”…. which is a regular cover by my favorite Widespread Panic.

Courtesy of WSJ

8. Steve Earle (above) did a very solid job with Byrne’s “A Million Miles Away”.  I could have done without the Billy Gibbons solo, it felt forced and out of place.  Earle’s guitar was plenty. His pace was superbly placed between two more common timing schemes… hence the art of Earle.


9. Thievery Corporation’s version of “The Heart’s a Lonely Hunter” was sinister and fun.  Very neuvo cowboy.  I love that line “Welcome to my spaceship”!


10. Billy Gibbons came back on stage and held his own, but he still seemed out of place for me.  I did’t like his attitude.  This was not the place for him to act like a badass.


11. Bebel Gilberto and the Brazil sound wasn’t memorable.


12. Joseph Arthur was though. His version of “This Must Be The Place” was very strong.  The use of visual “props” (a huge white board which he drew on) was very Byrne-esque and a nice tribute.


Here is a video of his performance. Please watch how he builds the song.

BTW… where was Todd Snider. He was on the bill!

13. A very pregnant Amanda Palmer (above) did a superb “One in a Lifetime” also with stage props.  She reminded me of the school teacher from The Wall as she was yelling at the audience… “Same as it Ever Was” and “After the money’s gone”.


Really F-in cool!


Again, this was not the show to be bound in a seat.  I am very anti-seat at a rock show.


14. Glen Hansard (of “Once” fame) took on “Stop Making Sense” with confidence and nailed it.  The fiddle accompaniment was extraordinary.


15.  Every time I see The Roots it looks like QuestLove is going to pound a hole through his drums with the biggest baddest sticks in the land.  They always keep the beat and get the crowd involved.


16. OAR did “And She Was” well, but didn’t make the top ten performances of the night.  The sax player though… he was epic. 


As a side note, this song made me think of my Felix Festa Junior HS music project in which I broke down the lyrics to this song and got an “A”. I remember thinking very differently about my music teacher after we talked music for an hour after class. She was an odd bird.


17. Sharon Jones brought down the house with her version of “Psycho Killer”. Here is video:

Sharon Jones had on the most glittery dress anyone women has ever worn.  Her soul and fire was perfect for this song. A++ for the horns again.


Here she is at the rehearsal (much better quality of video) the night before at City Winery.

18. Santigold’s “Burning Down the House” got a rise out of the audience, but kind of a let down for me after Ms. Jones and the trombones.

19. Dressed in all black, CeeLo Green from Gnarls Barkly (above) stole the show though when he did “Take Me To The River” using his best Al Green meets ReRun act. That man can entertain!!! He was so stoked, he was giving high-fives leaving the stage.




Then of course…song twenty is when Mr. David Byrne entered with the marching band.




F.Y.W.