Despite what my Uncle Dave says in his Music People Project interview about David Byrne and Talking Heads being nerds… I have always connected with David Byrne’s art. He is the definition of a transformational multimedia musician. A modern renaissance man for sure.

On Saturday I saw the Talking Heads frontman’s  acclaimed Broadway show, American Utopia at The Saint James Theatre on West 44th Street. The music was awesome! A+.

I loved the mix of old and new songs, as well as the visual display that provided a unique and entrancing background for the performance.  The way Byrne’s team used shadows and lights to project large images of his band dancing and grooving was genius, and much appreciated. The man oozes art.

Unfortunately, I have a beef with Dave. He should have pulled rank and stayed true to his message on the power of connectivity, instead of caving to NYC’s political overreach.

A little history of the love, before the criticism…

March 2015… I wrote about Byrne’s super cool Carnegie Hall benefit show (click here for that story) to raise money for NYC kids to own instruments.

July 2013... I wrote about his wonderfully interesting “How Music Works” book for music nerds like me (us) (click here for that story) that provided exquisite discourse on the power and connectivity of seeing live music with other people.

January 2010… I wrote about his genre-bending collaboration with DJ Fatboy Slim (click here for that story) on a disco musical opera about Imelda Marcos. Certainly weird and off the reservation.

December 2008… I penned a review of his show at the landmark Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ (click here for that) comparing it to the first time I saw Byrne in 2004 at another legendary venue, the Majestic Theatre in Ventura, CA.

The point is, I am fan and have always championed his works.

It is a damn shame that he allowed the mask police to shine KGB-style lights in the face of anyone that pulled their mask down during the show. I understand the obligation to verify vaccine cards and such at the door, but during the show… give me a break.  At the expense of being either thrown out or arrested for shoving the 10 inch flashlight down the eye socket of the St. James Theatre hall monitor… I left it on.  It wasn’t necessary and was a boot on the neck of Byrne’s message.

In direct comparison, the next night, Sunday, we saw John Mayer at Madison Square Garden where a sold out show of 20,000 had no masks on. The music wasn’t nearly as good (sorry John), but the connectivity with an audience was alive and well.

Live music and the spiritual side of being involved is important to people like me, like us.  Thank god for venues like Maureen’s Jazz Cellar in Nyack… where last week the energy from the Dead Meat show was something money can’t buy and why we all circle around the sun.

As Levon Helm says, “Go on out and catch the show. There’ll be saints and sinners, you’ll see losers and winners, all kinds of people you’ll want to know. Once you get it, you can’t forget it… (click here for that The Band song!)