Concert Reports

David Byrne and St Vincent took the Arlington stage in support of their new collaborative effort “Love This Giant” Thursday evening. Part concert, part theater and part parade the unique blend was unlike I have ever experienced. The set opened with players assembling around their instruments strategically place on the stage floor. Throughout the show the drill team like choreography added the visual element of movement and interpretation to the music.

While most of the material covered nearly the entire new album, fans were treated to the artist’s solo material as well. St Vincent’s “Cheerleader”, “Marrow” and “Cruel” were counter balanced with Byrne’s “Strange Overtones” and “Like Humans Do” along with the classics from the Talking Heads days “Burning Down The House” and the finale “Road To Nowhere”. The pairing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and the independent spirit made for a great album and a terrifically original show. Time will tell if lighting will strike twice

Photos/Review:Amber Paresa

Very Special Thanks: Anthony D’Amato

Please Visit: www.LoveThisGiant.com

Love This Giant  

Love This Giant developed like many a New York City-bred friendship. Both parties are kind of hazy about how it began, but after a couple of semi-chance encounters, David Byrne and Annie Clark, who records and performs as St. Vincent, embarked upon a creative dialogue that has flourished over the last three years.  

Biography

David Byrne & St. Vincent have confirmed the September 11 release of their album, 'Love This Giant,' to be released worldwide by 4AD under exclusive license from Byrne’s label Todo Mundo.* Recorded over two years largely at Water Music in Hoboken, NJ, the album is a collaboration in the truest sense of the word, with Byrne and St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) co-writing ten of the album’s twelve tra cks, and each artist penning one song individually. The album centers around an explosive brass band and is propelled by John Congleton’s drum programming.

Byrne and Clark launched a 24-date fall tour on September 15 in Minneapolis. “We'll be doing these songs and a bunch of songs that we suspect people will know, with a group that includes eight brass players, a keyboardist and a drummer," says Byrne of the tour.

"There was no delineating what the roles were," explains Clark of the recording. "It's a collaboration I'm truly proud of." The duo also split lyrical and vocal duties on the record, which favors idiosyncratic horn arrangements over traditional guitar/drum/bass lineup while maintaining a hook-laden rock sound.

Byrne and Clark met in 2009 at the ‘Dark Was the Night’ benefit at Radio City Music Hall and were approached shortly after by the Housing Works Bookstore to collaborate on a night of music. They began composing remotely, trading song ideas and structures online while Clark toured and it quickly became apparent that they had more than just one night of music in them. Byrne performed with Clark at her ‘American Songbook’ show at Lincoln Center in 2010, and Clark contributed vocals to Byrne's 'Here Lies Love' album, released the same year.

Photos/Review:Amber Paresa

Very Special Thanks: Anthony D’Amato

Please Visit: www.LoveThisGiant.com

« Back to Concert Reports