Resuming making sense

Earlier this week, accompanied by Stoic and Suave, I saw the restored version of Stop Making Sense, the Talking Heads concert film from 1984, at the Amherst Cinema. I have long loved the album of selected songs from it, so I was primed to enjoy it, and it did not disappoint. It was a well-structured, imaginative concert, and Jonathan Demme filmed and edited it well. I'm not sure how much of the staging of the performance depended upon the act of filming, but it clearly worked well as a live show as well as movie.

I particularly liked how much fun everyone was having on stage, and how much attention the movie paid to the back up singers and musicians, and the respect the Talking Heads showed them as they played–David Byrne introduced everyone by name, and moved over to them on stage, standing with them as he did it. It felt genuinely inclusive, in a manner I haven't seen from any other band.

Also, I wasn't expecting a brief Tom Tom Club interlude, but it was a delightful bonus.