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Taking photos and recording videos at concerts is something that divides opinion. Music purists could not be more against it – how on earth can we be distracted from the music being performed right in front of us? –, whilst the more cynical question whether we will ever actually watch these videos again. There are differing arguments. Some simply want to record the concert for future memory or to share on their social media – it’s not that deep –, whilst others, like Bad Bunny, build an entire tour around this very concept. Should we then take more photos, as Benito says?
Before David Byrne's concert began, on 14 July, at Ageas Cooljazz, a pre-recorded message from the man himself could be heard (sounding rather like the announcements recommended for the cinema) saying that we could record, but that we might as well just enjoy and live in the moment. We could have followed this advice blindly – after all, we are in the presence of one of the wisest and most influential artists, who has inspired groups ranging from LCD Soundsystem to Radiohead, Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire. However, when we see so many mobile phones in the air filming the performance of “Psycho Killer”, the first and most popular hit by Talking Heads, the band formed by Byrne, we are forced to give in. It is not every day that we hear a living legend playing such a legendary song right in front of us. And how many legendary songs we had the chance to hear...
After David Byrne’s initial warning echoed through the Hipódromo Manuel Possolo (the venue and festival where he had last performed in Portugal, back in 2018), the band took to the stage in a coordinated fashion, with one colour standing out: blue shirts and jeans. To the great delight of this journalist, the kick-off came with "Heaven" – a track that could have been part of the Twin Peaks soundtrack and which has not been performed in recent concerts –, in an acoustic and minimalist version, stripped of any gimmicks, and with a violin guiding the melody. With only three musicians on stage (for now), David Byrne opened hostilities and, looking up, shared a thought with us: "There is our heaven. The only one we have."
The calm quickly gave way to the liveliness of "Everybody Laughs", a track from his acclaimed latest album, Who Is the Sky?, as more and more musicians flooded the stage. In the end, we counted (with some difficulty – not in terms of mathematics, but rather eyesight) that a dozen artists would end up on stage, between musicians and dancers. At 74 years old, Byrne proved with this work and this tour that he still carries an absolutely infectious energy and vitality that would leave many young people, who already complain of lower back pain, feeling envious.
After sharing what it was like to ride a bicycle in Lisbon (which would not be the last time he spoke of this mode of transport during the evening), "And She Was" followed. With a video showing a natural backdrop that simulated the pedalling of a bicycle, the musicians drew up a dynamic choreography that made us instantly understand where bands like Arcade Fire drew so much of their scenic and festive inspiration.
Next came the beautiful "Strange Overtones", a track born from a partnership with Brian Eno, which prepared the audience for a breathtaking performance of "Houses in Motion". Taken from the seminal album Remain in Light (1980) – which was also born out of a collaboration with Eno, as producer –, the song was bathed in intense red lights and supported by beautiful choreography. We began to hear whispers next to us that we were not watching a concert, but a musical. We are forced to agree, with the same confidence that the basslines dictated the rhythm of this song, or the confidence that the keyboardist stamped on his solo whilst the band opened up a circle in the centre of the stage so that he could shine.
The party continued to the sound of the infectious afrobeat rhythms of "(Nothing But) Flowers" – a highly tropical sound where it is easy to recognise the genesis of the sound of groups like Vampire Weekend, which transformed the Hipódromo into a collective dance floor.
Citing the director John Cameron Mitchell, responsible for the cult classic Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Byrne shared with the audience that "love and kindness are the punkest things you can do." “For a long time I didn't understand this connection,” he confessed, before saying that one day he realised that these feelings are also a form of resistance. This piece of wisdom was shared before we heard "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)". This song, and indeed the whole concert, is about a sense of belonging. And how wonderful it was to realise that, over the decades, David Byrne found his community and helped so many others to discover theirs. "I'm just an animal looking for a home, and / Share the same space for a minute or two", he sings at one point and, at least on this night, we can say that Cascais was a home for the artist.
The setlist was also made up of new songs, such as "What is the Reason for It?", a collaborative track with Hayley Williams (vocalist of Paramore), classics like the danceable "Slippery People", and deep cuts like “Independence Day”, but above all, it was made up of a lot of dancing and happiness. In the initial warnings, Byrne cautioned that strangers might approach to dance with us. Everyone was welcome to show off their dance moves.
The end of the concert came with a relentless sequence and a genuine discharge of energy, with (as Succession's Kendall Roy would say) "banger after banger". “Psycho Killer”, “Life During Wartime”, “Once in a Lifetime”, “Everybody's Coming to My House” (the only track in this final stretch that is not part of the Talking Heads discography, belonging instead to American Utopia, Byrne’s penultimate solo album) and “Burning Down the House” took us to the skies and turned the Hipódromo into a proper dance floor.
Before “Everybody's Coming to My House”, Byrne shared another thought: "During the pandemic, I remember riding my bike around the time the restaurants were opening and hearing a familiar noise. And I realised! It was people talking to each other. Despite our differences, people like to be together." This one-hour-and-thirty-minute show was very much about this (never have an hour and thirty minutes flown by so quickly). Celebrating in happiness and communion how beautiful life can be despite so many hardships.
At the end, whilst the credits featuring the name of each artist involved rolled on the screen, there remained the certainty that David Byrne continues to be an essential musician and one of the best live acts on the planet. As far as we were concerned, the concert could have continued long into the night, as we would have had choreography ready for songs like “Road to Nowhere”, “Take Me To The River” or “I Zimbra”. May the next reunion be very soon.
The first part of the concert was performed by the Portuguese acts Bardino and Bia Maria.
Ageas Cooljazz continues this Wednesday, 15 July, with Loyle Carner.
See also: Gilberto Gil at AGEAS Cooljazz: how many colours are there in samba?
Also: The best things to do in Cascais in July
More news: keep up with the latest news from Cascais