sovay | These slippery people going to see us through

Current Music: Talking Heads, "Slippery People"

These slippery people going to see us through

So the general tenor of my afternoon following the bathroom door repair incident can be gauged from the two text messages I sent

spatch around four-thirty:

HOLY MOW BLAP THE BUS SENT TO REPLACE THE BUS THAT BROKE DOWN ALSO BROKE DOWN AND WE ALL HAD TO WAIT FOR A THIRD UNRELATED BUS WHICH WAS GAME BUT CONFUSED. LOVE BUT NO LOVE TO CHARLIE BAKER, MAY HE NEVER RETURN

(Seriously, with a governor named Charlie and his failures on the MBTA, I don't know why the protest songs don't write themselves. "And will he ever return? / Well, he damn well better not / And his fate will be unlearned / SORRY CHARLIE / He may ride forever / Far away from Boston / So long as he doesn't return.")

Even when I got a bagel for dinner at the Boston Public Market, it went surprisingly wrong. I got some consolatory apple crisp to go and met

rushthatspeaks at Charles/MGH. And then we met

gaudior at the former Harborlights Pavilion and then we saw David Byrne.

I had seen him in The Blank Generation (1976) and Stop Making Sense (1984) and True Stories (1986). I had never seen him live. He's white-haired now; he moves like himself, in the way that suggests that his species evolved from wading birds with a good rhythm section; he remains essentially recognizable by his eyebrows. He can still run in place for much longer during a number than you would think reasonable and sing like he's just been struck by lightning. He opened the show sitting quietly at a table, singing to a brain. I didn't know any of the musicians working with him, all dressed like him in pearl-grey suits against a black box stage lined with a rippling scrim of fringe; about half of them were percussion and several were also dancers and all of them were great. Most of the songs I didn't know came from the new album, American Utopia (2018), which I now wish to buy. One of the others was a collaboration with St. Vincent, one came from his disco musical about Imelda Marcos with Fatboy Slim, and the last encore was a blistering cover of Janelle Monáe's "Hell You Talmbout," performed by permission. The songs I knew, the rest of the audience also knew, and threw themselves into. It was especially lovely to hear "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" with Rush because they sent it to me when we first started dating; it led classically into "Once in a Lifetime," a white spotlight on a black stage whirling Byrne like a marionette through the questions of his beautiful life. I have now heard an audience scream as one—the stage flips blinding white, all other sound cuts out—"MY GOD! WHAT HAVE I DONE?" About half the people around me knew about half the lyrics to "Burning Down the House," but everyone knew where to shout. It was incredibly cathartic. There was a man in a flat cap and a tallit katan step-dancing in the nearest aisle. That is the sort of thing that makes you believe against all odds that the country is going to be all right. I was sorry not to hear "Found a Job" just because I like that one and I think it would have matched the prevailing tone, but I did not expect either "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" or "The Great Curve" and they were both perfectly timed. It was a political show. As noted by one of my cousins, it was a political show that left you feeling exhilarated, not despairing or at least furious. That is a rare experience these days. Byrne is still making new music and it still feels new and it still feels relevant. And he introduced all his collaborators by name and made sure we knew there was no playback in the show—all the noise we were hearing was noise they were making right there.

The opening act was Benjamin Clementine. I had not previously heard and really liked him.

I had to shower as soon as I got home because the air in our immediate vicinity was a wall of pot smoke by the end of the concert. I also don't understand what kind of person goes to see David Byrne and then talks through a single one of the songs, but I am not a twentysomething engaged in a craft-beer-fueled courting ritual. At least they were having a visibly good time. So was the guy on my other side, about my age in a sub-Hawaiian-print shirt. He was just sort of bouncing no matter the song. It is nice to be next to a stranger radiating that much happiness at the music they're hearing. It is nice to be one of those people.

That was a much better way to end this month.

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How wonderful! I saw Talking Heads live in 1979 and 1981; it's great to know David Byrne still puts on an exhilarating show.

I saw Talking Heads live in 1979 and 1981; it's great to know David Byrne still puts on an exhilarating show.

Very definitely!

Is the tour coming anywhere near you?

He'll be in LA towards the end of August. Definitely something to consider, if I start to feel a little better.

My daughter went to Reed College. She says it is a Reed College Tradition to listen to More Songs About Buildings and Food during finals week. Ancient tradition, as in, dating back to when I was in college.

She says it is a Reed College Tradition to listen to More Songs About Buildings and Food during finals week.

I think that's wonderful.

Ancient tradition, as in, dating back to when I was in college.

(Did you originate the tradition?)

Edited 2018-08-01 05:22 (UTC)

No no no, I did not go to Reed. I just meant that I was in college when that album came out. But Phoebe said the Tradition was especially comforting for her, because Talking Heads reminded her of home.

No no no, I did not go to Reed. I just meant that I was in college when that album came out.

I wasn't sure! I co-founded a club at my college whose purpose was to maintain a library of speculative fiction that is, semi-bewilderingly to me, still extant. I found out from visiting a used book store in the Waltham area and meeting a more recent alumnus who had also belonged. It was a bit mythological. I think my position has since been renamed, but the club's treasurer is still the King of Pentacles regardless of gender and the webmaster is still the Arachne.

But Phoebe said the Tradition was especially comforting for her, because Talking Heads reminded her of home.

Nice.

What was your position named originally?

What was your position named originally?

The Archmage. In charge of the fantasy side of the library. (My science fiction counterpart was the Locutus. I was not responsible for all of these names.)

[edit] OH MY GOD WE DID BECOME MYTHOLOGY.

(I didn't turn that many people into newts.)

Edited (only be sure always to call it please "research") 2018-08-01 05:47 (UTC)

Cool!

Hurrah for becoming mythology!

Hurrah for becoming mythology!

There’s a new type of urban legend I’ve begun noticing on Tumblr, in which someone recounts how they (or an acquaintance) *accidentally* became a local cryptid/ghost/angel. Usually either by being seen at a distance while oddly dressed (cryptid/ghost); or by helping out in an emergency and then leaving the scene without having been asked their name (angel.)

Edited 2018-08-01 18:36 (UTC)

Usually either by being seen at a distance while oddly dressed (cryptid/ghost); or by helping out in an emergency and then leaving the scene without having been asked their name (angel.)

The former makes more sense to me as a real phenomenon than the latter. I've been helped by strangers with no identifying information and never entertained the prospect that they were angels as in some Hollywood film blanc. I have occasionally been the stranger who helps out. I would be very surprised if anyone thought I was actually the Man with No Name.

Do you have any idea why this pattern is so popular?

As a Tumblr story? It's possible that it's not that common, but just jumps out at me because I'm charmed by the weird/mundane collision. Then again, I think other Tumblr users also enjoy weird/mundane collisions.

Story cue!

I was a goth-y kid, though we didn't yet have the term "goth". Sometimes, I would walk around wearing a black hooded cloak my mom made me for Halloween, just because.

One day, I think around when I was 12 or 13, call it 1980, I decided to go for such a walk in the woodlet closest to my house. It was a pretty small patch of woodland, but if you walked down the central path, and didn't look to the sides, you could just ignore the houses visible through the trees, and imagine you were in a proper forest.

On my way home, walking down the main street sidewalk, a police car pulled up next to the sidewalk. I figured it couldn't have anything to do with me, so I kept walking. I hear "Hey!", but, again, figure it can't mean me. Then I hear "Hey! You in the cape!"

"Yes, officer?"

"We got a call from some terrified lady saying Darth Vader was walking through her backyard."

I explained that I was clearly not Darth Vader (I'm not close to that tall *now*, and was much shorter then), and that I hadn't been in anyone's backyard. Nonetheless, I was scolded, and told to not do it again.

AWWWWWWW.

Although I was just never Irina's style. I hope she's gone on too good things nonetheless.
Also I am super glad I missed the era of craft-beer-fueled ANYTHING.

AWWWWWWW.

I didn't wear that much eyeshadow, either, but this is par for the course with the folk tradition.

Also I am super glad I missed the era of craft-beer-fueled ANYTHING.

It was especially counterintuitive during the opening act. We could not imagine that the craft beer was so amazing that a good half of the audience had an excuse for schmoozing and drinking over at the tent instead of listening to Benjamin Clementine, who was great. You can tell my formative exposure to singer-songwriters at pianos by the fact that I told

rushthatspeaks sincerely that some of his songs reminded me of Tori Amos.

That was a much better way to end this month.

Hear hear! What an exhilarating evening!

Nine

Hear hear! What an exhilarating evening!

I was so exhausted heading into the evening that I was worried I would not enjoy the show.

I think I would have had to be dead. And even then I might have had a good time.

That last line ought to be on a concert blurb.

That last line ought to be on a concert blurb.

The Boston Globe enjoyed the show as much as we did!

Double thumbs up.

he moves like himself, in the way that suggests that his species evolved from wading birds with a good rhythm section;

You do always have such a way with a phrase!

You do always have such a way with a phrase!

Thank you!

That sounds delightful and weirdly like my Janelle Monae experience and that's a crossover I never expected (I need to hear that cover, I wonder if it is on the internet anywhere?)

That sounds delightful and weirdly like my Janelle Monae experience and that's a crossover I never expected (I need to hear that cover, I wonder if it is on the internet anywhere?)

It doesn't look like anyone's put up video from last night's show yet, but there are definitely performances from other points on the tour.

(I really want a live album.)

Clearly I need to see Janelle Monáe in concert!

she was SO AMAZINGLY GOOD and the audience energy was ecstatic, and the political message strangely similar to what you describe here. And it was extremely, validatingly queer.

and the audience energy was ecstatic, and the political message strangely similar to what you describe here. And it was extremely, validatingly queer.

SOLD.

I'm glad that David Byrne is still good live. Stop Making Sense is still the best concert film ever made, IMHO.
Apparently, Byrne paid a visit to the ICA at some point before the show. I have a friend who works there and posted about it on FB. They have a great exhibit up on the work of radical Black Women artists, which I'd like to think informed his performance of "Hell You Talmbout".

I'm glad that David Byrne is still good live. Stop Making Sense is still the best concert film ever made, IMHO.

It's the best I've seen. And this show was very much in continuity with it, without in any way feeling like it was trying to be the concerts that produced Stop Making Sense. I loved the new arrangements of songs I've heard in that one form more times than I can count. This was very much shape-changing, true-to-yourself music.

Apparently, Byrne paid a visit to the ICA at some point before the show. I have a friend who works there and posted about it on FB. They have a great exhibit up on the work of radical Black Women artists, which I'd like to think informed his performance of "Hell You Talmbout".

Oh, that's cool. Also I should go see that.

That concert sounds **wonderful**.

it was a political show that left you feeling exhilarated, not despairing or at least furious. --we need more like this, truly truly.

And I'm going to send your quote about the double bus breakdown to my offspring who crusades for better transit. I like your protest song idea.

That concert sounds **wonderful**.

It was! And I didn't know what to expect from it and I was so tired and it made me feel better. It made me feel good. It was like I had forgotten that music could do that. Probably a sign of how bad things have gotten with me lately. So, more music.

And I'm going to send your quote about the double bus breakdown to my offspring who crusades for better transit. I like your protest song idea.

Thank you! Please feel free!

(Where does your offspring crusade for better transit?)

On Twitter, mainly, but his paid work is for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority.

More music: For REAL.

This is a grand idea, given how often the MBTA fails, and how often trapped commuters flock to Twitter to find out what is going on (and to complain).

I’ll keep an eye out to signal boost, and try to stockpile some short sharp words to throw on the fire.

*thumbs up*

Oh gosh, that sounds like a fantastic concert and a fantastic experience! Maybe not the wall of pot smoke, oof, but the music and the crowd energy and all. What a marvelous end to a hard month and a sucky day.

What a marvelous end to a hard month and a sucky day.

It really was.

There are a lot of ways in which concerts are not ideal environments for me—primarily the noise, although the air quality is a significant factor; the crowd aspect is fine so long as there are seats and not just a free-for-all in front of the stage—but I think they are more than balanced by how good it is for me to have live music in my life, which mostly thanks to finances I haven't for years. I was going back through LJ/DW trying to determine the last concert I attended before this one and it may really have been the Bernie Worrell Orchestra in 2013. In which case I am now even closer than I had thought to seeing Stop Making Sense in person and just need to collect Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz.

There are a lot of ways in which concerts are not ideal environments for me—primarily the noise, although the air quality is a significant factor

Mostly I have very much enjoyed all the ones I've been to! By and large they've been more folk-y singer-songwriter gigs, though. Plus live Scottish music at dances, which is a somewhat different thing but never gets old.

I've never been to a really big concert. I'm a little wary of the prospect, mostly because of the air quality issue; I can deal with a lot in the way of noise and crowd, but the smell of pot smoke gives me a pounding headache in about 30 seconds, and that would ruin the whole thing. But one of these days, an opportunity + band + ticket price confluence will likely come around such that I'll risk it anyway.

The last one I went to was Dessa (in Harvard Square), and if you have any fondness for extremely intelligent lyrical rap, I highly recommend her work. (And her concerts, based on the one I went to and on friends' reports of others; the opening band was mediocre, but when she came on the room lit up. Her stage charisma is magnetic, and the crowd was gloriously, enthusiastically queer from wall to wall, which was also pretty great.)

Love the way you describe things!

his species evolved from wading birds with a good rhythm section

So very true.

a twentysomething engaged in a craft-beer-fueled courting ritual

*snerk* Also very true. As long as they're not being inappropriately noisy or thrusting limbs aggressively into my personal space I find these mating rituals fun to watch.

Love the way you describe things!

Thank you!

So very true.

It seems to generalize to the choreography of his shows, too, which is a great thing to see.

As long as they're not being inappropriately noisy or thrusting limbs aggressively into my personal space I find these mating rituals fun to watch.

These were doing their best, as

rushthatspeaks observed, to hotbox the entire pavilion single-handedly, but they were otherwise not getting in our space and they were really obviously enjoying themselves. The people behind us were noisier, but fortunately they were not as noisy as David Byrne and company doing "I Dance Like This." He was so good at making the audience feel they were being invited to participate, not admire.

I am only there on weekends. It's almost an even chance that they will be out of sesame bagels by lunchtime. I asked why they don't just make more, and was told something about how long they rise, and how little space they have. I have mentally added it to my list of Failures of Capitalism (mostly businesses that could sell something, if only they'd keep whatever in stock, rather than death by lack of healthcare, which of course is also a failure of Capitalism).

It's almost an even chance that they will be out of sesame bagels by lunchtime. I asked why they don't just make more, and was told something about how long they rise, and how little space they have.

Does it take longer for the sesame bagels to rise than the other kinds of bagel? If they sell out by noon, they are obviously selling. You're right that one would think it would be worth the trouble.

(I get my bagels from the Boston Smoked Fish Co., which does not usually have issues. I think yesterday was just special.)

I am READY to join a Charlie Baker On The MTA Protest Songs Singalong, SIGN ME UP.

I am READY to join a Charlie Baker On The MTA Protest Songs Singalong, SIGN ME UP.

GOOD TO KNOW.

I had a lovely dream based on your show report, so thank you!

I had a lovely dream based on your show report, so thank you!

You're welcome! I'm glad it jumped to you.

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