W.S. Walcott Medicine Show

Jerry Harrison & Adrian Belew’s Remain In Light – Live at Webster Hall (2025-07-31)

I’ve been a fan of Talking Heads ever since I first heard the opening strum of “Psycho Killer” back in 1977. I certainly wasn’t sure what to make of these nerdy art students with their quirky lyrics and very different song structures. While they were being lumped in with the current rage of the day, punk, they were nothing like The Ramones, Sex Pistols or The Clash. None the less, it was quite clear that this quartet had something.

I then fell head over heals in love with the band upon the release of their second LP, More Songs About Buildings and Food. With its subtle hints of the Afrocentric poly-rythmic chord stuctures which would come full bore later on, David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Jerry Harrison and Chris Franz had captured 100% of my imagination. The aforementioned poly-rythms would move front and center with their next LP, 1979’s Fear Of Music.

Oddly enough, I would not get to see the band live until the seminal Stop Making Sense tour. Granted I was upstate in Ithaca, NY during the late 70’s, so there is that excuse. However, The Heads did play Ithaca (At The Night Court, Ithaca’s answer to a dance club in the late 70’s) in the Spring of 1977 and for some inexplicable reason, which to this day I can’t explain, I missed it. By the time I got to see them at Staten Island’s Paramount Theatre in August of 1982, the band had morphed into a full blown Afro-Caribbean funk behemoth. With the addition of Adrian Belew, Bernie Worrell, and Busta “Cherry” Jones in addition to percussion, backing vocals and additional guitars, gone were the days of the minimalist Talking Heads that burst upon the CBGB’s scene only a few years prior.

This new, expanded, and explosive version of the Taking Heads is well preserved by one of the best concert films of all time, Stop Making Sense. And it is this iteration of the Heads which Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew have been emulating for a couple of years now. Thursday night at Webster Hall, The Remain In Light tour (only 5 nights, all in the north east) came to a resounding finish as the ensemble had the crowd moving and grooving, & shaking and baking to quote Walt “Clyde” Frazier.

Opening the set up with the song which started it all, “Psycho Killer” Belew, Harrison, et al. offered up a set which was (obviously) heavy on the Remain In Light album but also included a healthy dose of like minded tunes from the Head’s earlier albums as well. We would also get “Rev It Up”, a Harrison solo number in addition to King Crimson’s “Thela Hun Ginjeet”.

From the get go, song after song, the show was a wonderful reminder (as if we needed reminding) of what an incredible band that early 80’s version of the Talking Heads was. It made me remember making mix dance tapes for Wildside Parties and how virtually any Talking Heads tune would be a sure fire way to get the dance floor rockin’. Hell, if I wanted to be lazy, all I had to do was queue up that Stop Making Sense live album and no one would sit down for an hour.

I don’t mean for this write up to be an homage to the Talking Heads but come on, isn’t that exactly what this Remain In Light band is? Jerry and Adrien obviously have a deep love for this era of Jerry’s former band. And Adrien, himself was an integral part of this era as well. All in all, the two of them along with the rest of the band did a fantastic job recreating the feel and the vibe of those years while avoiding (for the most part) the set coming off like a cover band tribute set. And while the cover band feel most certainly did pop its head into the set at certain times, it by no means detracted from the incredible musicianship being displayed on stage.

All in all, if Harrison and Belew elect to keep this thing going and they pass through your parts and if you’re a fan of the Talking Heads, you should most definitely check the show out. But make no mistake, you’re not going to be going to a Talking Heads show and you’re not necessarily going to see a Talking Heads tribute band. What you are going to get is a stage full of seasoned veteran musicians playing their take on some of the best music created during the late 70’s and early 80’s.

Remain In Light Slideshow:

Setlist-

Psycho Killer