15/01/2026

David Byrne – Spark Arena: January 14, 2026 (13th Floor Concert Review)

David Byrne brought his Who Is The Sky? Tour to Auckland last night, a show that seemed to have everything…singing, dancing, great lighting, hit songs, personal stories and a message. The only thing missing was lengthy guitar tuning.

That’s right…Byrne and his 12-piece band played for a solid 105 minutes without once stopping down to tune…anything. And the sound was fabulous from beginning to end.

At times it sounded so good, I couldn’t help but think that maybe they were playing to backing tracks, especially considering the fact that the stage was compete void of any amps, mic stands, cables, monitors, etc, that generally clutter up a stage.

Instead Byrne and his troupe marched, danced, played and sang, using the entire stage without any fear of tripping over cables or knocking over speakers.

It was an impressive technical feat, one that I remember Byrne also using back 2018, when I last saw him at this same venue.

With no opening act, the show began just after 8pm with the sound of a gently plucked guitar note and a violin.

The now 73-year-old former Talking Head used his unique voice to croon, Heaven, a wistful tune first heard back in 1979 on Talking Heads’ Fear Of Music album.

But this was no nostalgia show.

We got plenty of songs from Byrne’s latest album, Who Is The Sky? Along with a generous sampling of older solo and band material.

Byrne was in good voice and in great shape and he kept up with his colleagues on stage who where in constant motion. Whoever choreographed those moves deserves special mention.

Byrne is not a natural public speaker, but when he did stop and talk, he always had something either revealing or moving to say.

Early on he showed us snapshots taken in New Zealand taken while holidaying before the show, quipping that, “The show is sponsored by the New Zealand Tourism Board”. But then he revealed the inspiration to And She Was…a girl he met in high school who told him about lying in the grass while tripping on LSD.

The visuals projected behind the band add to the vibe without overwhelming what was happening on stage.

And the sound was, dare I say it…perfect.

There was no feedback, no dead mics, no pauses to plug in…the vocals where always placed high enough in the mix to understand the lyrics and the harmonies were impeccable.

David’s Byrne’s message was one of “love and kindness”. In fact we were told that love and kindness was the most punk thing you can do now.

It sounds ideal…but of course we don’t live in an ideal world.

Scenes of ICE agents, demonstrators and police “force” were shown during Life During Wartime while it was clear from his intro to My Apartment Is My Friend, that the pandemic made a lasting impression on him and his feelings about his fellow New Yorkers.

By the time the last notes of Burning Down The House were fading and the stage cleared…David Byrne had done the near-impossible…entertained 12,000 fans while at the same time remaining true to himself.

He gave the people what they wanted while still doing what he wants.

Marty Duda

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