In December of 1983, in promotion of their new album “Speaking in Tongues,” the band ‘Talking Heads’ put on a concert at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. The concert was put on for three nights and it was filmed by director Jonathan Demme. It was then spliced together to create the greatest concert film of all time.

The concert kicks off with a unique rendition of their hit song “Psycho Killer.” The lead singer, David Byrne, walks out on the stage alone with nothing but a tape player and a guitar. He shows off some wacky moves on the empty stage. As the songs go on, a new band member walks out onto the stage one at a time. Slowly the band grows, each member bringing something different to the table. 

The energy in this concert is palpable. The music has this incredible sound to it that when mixed with the onstage shenanigans makes for a wild ride. During the song “Life During Wartime,” (which I think has the best live performance) the lead singer, David Byrne, runs laps around the stage and jogs in place throughout the entire song. Everyone is dancing or moving for the duration of the concert. You’ll find yourself tapping your foot along to the music. It’s so addictive. I watched it for the first time in August of last year. Three days later I watched it two times in one day. Then again the next day. I have seen it eight times total since my first viewing.

The lineup of songs is absolutely incredible. The live concert is better than all of their other albums. Each song they sing in the movie sounds better than the original studio recording. 

My personal favorite song from the movie is “Crosseyed and Painless.” It is the final song from the film, and in my opinion, the most energetic. The opening of the song starts with a beautiful catchy guitar with a synthesizer in the background and suddenly switches to a funky fast paced jam. During the song “Girlfriend is Better” David Byrne walks on stage sporting a giant, oversized gray suit that he wears for the rest of the concert. Each song is so catchy and unique. The song “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)”, is performed in the latter half of the concert after some high energy songs. This song is a soft, sweet love song. The lyrics are so beautiful and the synth rhythm flowing throughout the song makes it perfect. It’s not as high energy as the others, but it is easily one of the best. With strange imagery projected on the back of the stage and a lamp in the center that David Byrne dances with, it’s a both strange and beautiful, tender ballad. Other notable performances include some of their most popular songs “Burning Down The House.”, which really gets the show going with this crazy energy and sets the stage for the rest of the show. “Once In a Lifetime.” is full of crazy moves from David Byrne, and at one point he ends up on the floor.

 “Stop Making Sense” is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and I was recently going to see it in theaters on March 20 at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, but the showing was canceled. I later found out this happened because A24 had acquired the rights. Saddened and disheartened, I reluctantly refunded me and my girlfriend’s tickets. A few days later I came across a new post from Talking Heads instagram page. They had posted a promo for “Stop Making Sense” with the exciting news that they will be re-releasing it in theaters sometime this year. Along with the theatrical re-release they also announced a vinyl release of the complete concert for the first time ever. There could also potentially be a physical release of the movie, which I am hoping for.