Stop Making Sense

1984 concert video

Rating: 17/20

Plot: Jonathan Demme films The Talking Heads. David Byrne winds up in a big suit.

David Byrne's stage presence reminded me of Andy Kaufman at times, especially during "Psychokiller," the track that begins the show. After stepping onto a stage sans fixin's, decorated only with backstage clutter, he presses play on a boombox to start a drum-machine-manufactured stuttering beat, plays his acoustic guitar, sings his little song, and does this Kaufman-esque leg kick thing that instantly made me glad I was watching this. He finishes with a flourish of inept dance moves. The second song starts, and you figure out where this is heading. Stop Making Sense is half about an energetic and enthusiastic performance of a popular band at the peak of their powers and half about the evolution of a performance. With each song, another band member is dragged out to accompany Byrne until all the Heads are present. Then, the special effects are gradually added--backdrops, lights, props. Finally, you've got a ton of instruments, a huge sound, and David Byrne jerking around in that ridiculous big suit of his. The show ends, and you imagine just how difficult it's going to be for somebody to clean all that sweat off the stage. David Byrne is an insanely creative (and possibly insane) individual, and it's a lot of fun watching his vision come alive here. It's also a lot of fun watching how much energy Byrne and company have. I felt physically exhausted after watching the singer dance, hop around, woo a lamp, and sprint around the stage for an hour and a half. And those dance moves! They spoke to the groin, dear readers. They spoke to the groin. There's directing going on here with more than its share of gimmicks, but the band is having way too much fun to not be at the center of things. I'm not completely sure a non-Talking Heads fan would love this (I'm only a marginal fan), but I think it would be impossible not to appreciate what is going on in this terrific concert film.