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Out of the Box: two sold-out nights of David Byrne!
David Byrne performed for two nights at a sold-out AFAS Live with his show An Evening With David Byrne – Who Is the Sky Tour. Together with 13 musicians, singers, and dancers, he delivered an impressive visual and musical spectacle to the venue, giving the audience two remarkable concert evenings.
Byrne continues the style he first introduced in 2018: his eight musicians have their instruments strapped at waist height, making keyboards, guitars, and congas appear to float. Everything is wireless and portable, and the performers are impressively in sync with each other. The drums are played by a quartet: one on the snare drum, another on the cymbals, among others. - NRC
David Byrne, once the angular-looking frontman of the American new wave band Talking Heads, is now in great shape. His latest solo album Who Is The Sky? is a collection of cheerful and danceable melodies. During the first show of the two-night run in Amsterdam, a sold-out AFAS Live gets to know a cheerful Byrne, who shares anecdotes, offers glimpses into his private life, plays guitar, sings, and dances—at the age of 73. - OOR
The evening closes with a telling two-part finale that perfectly captures where America stands in 2026 and the position of the Talking Heads frontman. Just before the cheerfully militant “Burning Down The House,” Byrne gathers the large group of musicians of all kinds around him, forming a circle on stage for “Everybody's Coming To My House,” in this arrangement inspired by a Baptist church choir. It sounds warm, welcoming, and hospitable—the ultimate nightmare for MAGA. After all: “love and kindness are the most punk thing you can do right now.” - 3voor12
Setlist
1. Heaven
2. Everybody Laughs
3. And She Was
4. Strange Overtones
5. Houses in Motion
6. T Shirt
7. (Nothing but) Flowers
8. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
9. What Is the Reason for It?
10. Like Humans Do
11. Don't Be Like That
12. Independence Day
13. Slippery People
14. Moisturizing Thing
15. My Apartment Is My Friend
16. Hard Times (Paramore cover)
17. Psycho Killer
18. Life During Wartime
19. Once in a Lifetime
[Encore]
20. Everybody's Coming to My House
21. Burning Down the House
Photos by Ferdy Damman