And he shows a seasoned singer’s respect for intonation-dig how accurately and brilliantly his high B-flat rings out on “Bullet.” Listeners can hear him holding certain notes for a longer duration (especially at the ends of phrases), utilizing the voice in a more musical manner. It’s a voice that has aged well since Byrne’s days as an angry, quirky young tenor fronting Talking Heads. The music, which, like much of Byrne’s work, reflects the influence of producer/programmer Brian Eno, combines highly ambient sounds and textures with Byrne’s trademark vocals. The 10 songs here, all original Byrne compositions bearing an air of optimism, are an attempt to depict the world in which we live and ask, “Is there another way?” American Utopia refers not to a specific utopia, but the longing, frustration, aspirations, fears, desires and hopes of those of us who hold onto the American Dream and refuse to succumb to despair or cynicism during these times of cultural upheaval. There is no irony in the title of David Byrne’s new solo album, his first since 2004’s Grown Backwards (Nonesuch). She’s more interested in how her movement interplays with those other elements, I guess, instead of it being, I don’t know, a distraction or a support or something.David Byrne American Utopia (Todomundo/Nonesuch) The choreography is just as important as the lighting, which is just as important as the costume, which is just as important as the music, which is just as important as David’s words. Annie’s always been interested in, as she calls it, the virtuosity of form versus the virtuosity of a performer. Annie-B has a company called Big Dance Theater, and I’ve performed with them since 2005. Can you talk about how Annie works and how the choreography for this show was born? For people who are used to either traditional Broadway choreography or traditional backup dancer choreography in a live music show, the dancing in American Utopia will feel really different. Your connection to Annie-B Parson is how you first got involved in this show. I did “Burning Down the House,” because I’m an old color guard, marching band person, so they were like, “You got this.” I’ve assisted Annie-B on a lot of choreography gigs, and I did choreograph one number in this show. It’s really just a very basic act of me stepping into my queerness and owning it. This is not necessarily about me putting on another face. I was the kid with the purple hair in the second row.” And then I was like, Oh, OK. And he was like, “Hey, I just wanted to let you know how important it was for me to see a queer person onstage with one of my music idols. But then after a show in Brazil, a fan messaged me on Instagram. But with American Utopia, from the beginning, I was wearing makeup and I knew it wasn’t drag. No, she’s the kind of incredible trashy Jersey woman that I grew up with my whole life, that I worship. I wasn’t painting my true deep self on my face when I was doing Kimberly Clark. For Kim, the act of putting on makeup was always just a tool-just a way for me to get from Chris to Kim. What did your drag experience bring to the work you did in the show? You have a YouTube channel for Kimberly and you’ve been performing in that persona for a long time. Kimberly is my drag persona, and this is her home base. Dan Kois: Whoa, what is this beautiful room you’re in?Ĭhris Giarmo: It’s Kimberly Clark’s beauty room.
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