DAVID BYRNE: AMERICAN UTOPIA Back by popular demand, the unorthodox virtuoso returned to the cottonopolis of culture 134-dates into his marathon American Utopia tour - gracing Manchester Arena with an ambitious and technologically advanced production. TPi’s Jacob Waite was on site…
Having passed through the city at the more intimate O2 Apollo in June, David Byrne returned top-to-barefooted-toe with a dapper troupe choreographed by Annie-B Parson, the driving force behind St. Vincent and David Byrne’s on-stage routine for the Love This Giant tour. Fittingly, the brainchild of the latest American Utopia show, which has since been upscaled to arena and stadium venues across the UK, opened proceedings with a handful of pink cerebral matter clutched firmly in his grasp. It was the only element of colour on an otherwise grey, virtually naked stage; illuminated by a single spotlight and boxed-off by a metallic KriskaDécor Snina Babylink scenic curtain. And you may ask yourself, “Well... how did I get here?” ONCE IN A LIFETIME Assigned with ensuring the unyielding artistic project ran reliably and efficiently, was Production Manager, Mark Edwards, whose relationship with David Byrne and his management team spans over two decades. “The initial idea of the tour was germinated back in 2016, while David was in the process of developing the American Utopia record. I was then called and asked if I’d step in and do some budgeting in October last year,” he began. “David is prone to collaborating. During the R&D process, he found a
whole new set of collaborators, which pushed the entire tour back between 8-12 months but improved the overall show, I believe.” However, the unique production came with a testing set of challenges. “The main challenge came with the percussion elements of the production, with the stage being completely wireless, we needed six percussionists; which meant we had to contact a manufacturer of American college marching bands who ultimately created a harness which could hold the instrument and simultaneously project sound. It took months to get the harness modified for each individual drum, a trying process of trial and error, which eventually worked.” The result was an impressive collection of 12 musicians in perpetual motion with percussion at the focal point: a fusion of American high school marching band come Brazilian carnival procession. The tours travelling backdrop, a KriskaDécor Snina Babylink scenic curtain, also provided a litany of challenges. “For the chain, I was given two vendors, there’s really only two people that could make it. We went through the motions of finding it and getting enough of it, because we needed miles of it! Friends at Litestructures provided one side of the chain, and the rest came from a Las Vegas-based company, Daisycake. “We set-up a rental version of the chain two months prior to the tour
