David Byrne reveals reason why he licensed ICE footage for current live show
David Byrne has revealed the reason why he includes footage of ICE within his current run of live shows.
The former Talking Heads frontman was making an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on March 30th, where he performed the song ‘When We Are Singing’ from his latest album Who is the Sky?.
Byrne also stopped to have a brief chat with the host, where he discussed the effect of his current tour, which has just left the UK and is set to commence on a new North American leg over the coming weeks.
Despite the primary focus of the show being an exploration of Byrne’s mind throughout his latest record, he also makes time for some of his most classic tunes, including the Talking Heads hit ‘Life During Wartime’.
Asked how this takes on a new salience within the modern political context, the musician said: “I licensed some ICE footage to show at the very, very end of that song. If we showed it for the whole song, it would be kind of sad, depressing, but we show it at the very end.”
He added: “We start off with some footage that I saw of what looked like a delivery guy on a bike being chased by the ICE guys, and he gets away! It was in Chicago. We debuted that clip because they kept coming, they keep coming.”
Speaking of the kaleidoscopic and celebratory tone of the show as a whole, however, Byrne said, “The times we live in, we need some colour.”
It comes as far from the first political statement Byrne has made within his work, most recently appearing on the UK current affairs programme Newsnight, where he deplored the US involvement in the Iran war as “completely illegal”.
Speaking of Donald Trump’s governmental decision to start the war, the frontman added: “No-one voted for it, no-one decided it, the public did not endorse it, it’s just a small group of maniacs who decided they were going to do it, and I think Britain should be very careful following down that path.”
Byrne has just finished the most recent UK leg of his tour, with Far Out reviewing the show as “music’s greatest live show”.
He is shortly set to commence a new North American stint, starting on April 4th in Vancouver, Canada, before he returns to the UK for a string of dates this summer.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.