Review: STOP MAKING SENSE'S JERRY HARRISON at Southern Theatre

Jerry Harrison doesn’t have too many regrets in his musical career. The Talking Heads’ keyboardist, who was in town to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band’s landmark film STOP MAKING SENSE May 4 at the Southern Theatre (21 E. Main Street in downtown Columbus), is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his bandmates in 2002 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2021. He was nominated for a Grammy for album design for the Talking Heads’ “Fear of Music” in 1980.

As a record producer, he turned the knobs on Live’s “Throwing Copper” album (1994), which sold over eight million copies. Among the 40-plus albums he produced are The Crash Test Dummies, “And God Shuffled His Feet,” The Verve Pipe’s “Villains,” the Violent Femmes’ “The Blind and the Naked” and four of Kenny Wayne Sheppard’s 13 albums.

Yet Harrison told the throng at the Southern Theatre one of his greatest missed opportunities was not playing with this large STOP MAKING SENSE band at the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert. After the release of STOP MAKING SENSE, Harrison, David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz decided to focus on their final three studio albums, “Little Creatures” (1985), “True Stories”(1986), and “Naked” (1988) and forego touring.

“It was David’s passion to make this movie,” Harrison said during a question and answer period after the film. “(After the concert film came out), I think there was a reticence to go on tour because we knew we’d never be better than this.

“I was very disappointed we didn't play Live Aid with this big band. That goes back to where we began this conversation today: the joy this big band brought to people. We wanted to remind the people of the world that we’re all connected. Men and women, blacks and whites. We’re all human and we have connections and responsibilities to each other.”

For all its noble intentions, Live Aid is often maligned for not having more black acts involved. Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder turned down invitations to perform while Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, and Kool and the Gang weren’t invited. It could have been a hugely iconic moment if the full STOP MAKING SENSE ensemble of the four core members of the Talking Heads (who were all white) and the ensemble of backing vocalists Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt, percussionist Steve Scales, guitarist Alex Weir, and keyboardist Bernie Worrell (who are all black) recaptured the magic of STOP MAKING SENSE at either the Philadelphia or London venue.

Perhaps one reason why this concert film is still so celebrated 40 years after its release is that director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) was able to capture the rapture of those nine people coming together. One fan remarked about the joy the band had while performing such dystopian songs like “Psycho Killer,” “Life During War Time,” and “Burning Down the House.”

“It was always a party whenever we went out,” Harrison said. “We made sure (the extended family members of the Talking Heads) were happy. We got along and we respected each other. I think everyone felt appreciated.”

This 40th anniversary tour came about by the discovery of the original master tapes of the movie in an MGM studio. It was then restored in 4K to give the film a sharper feel than when it was first released.

Demme’s film is big on images and concepts, from Byrne’s larger than life suit to a pulled out shot where the audience sees the band being back lit so they are casting these large shadows across the back of the stages at Pantages Theater in Hollywood.

The first song of the movie is Byrne stepping on the stage with just a guitar and a boom box and saying in a near whisper, “Hey, I’ve got a tape I want to play” before launching into a haunting acoustic performance of “Psycho Killer.” One fan recalled seeing Byrne doing the song on a night when the tape recorder malfunctioned. Byrne adlibbed, “I’ve got a tape I want to play … in a couple of minutes.”

Harrison winced at the memory, adding “Yeah we had quite a few things go wrong on (the STOP MAKING SENSE tour) but I think that was the only time that happened.”

One thing that makes the concert film unique is how it increased the number of band members on the stage. After Byrne finished “Psycho Killer,” Weymouth joined him on stage for a duet on “Heaven.” Frantz and Harrison are gradually added on to the stage.

 “The idea behind that was we’re not the same. We’re growing,” Harrison said.

And interest in the band is growing. Probably a third of the fans asking Harrison questions May 4 identified themselves, at times sheepishly, as members of Gen Z who were born well after the Talking Heads split up.

Harrison said the birth of the playlist has given the band more name recognition among young listeners.

“One of the things I’ve discovered is when people have playlists, they don’t have dates on the songs,” he mused. “The Talking Heads can be on a playlist of contemporary songs that came out last year. If you like it, you might go, ‘Where can I find more of that?’

“Fifteen or 20 years ago, our music might be more represented in clubs or the best of the 80s. We were sort of pigeonholed. One of the reasons why we may have grown a little bit is there’s a new wave of people who have a way to make older bands seem contemporary again.”

Harrison said he is not surprised by the fascination with STOP MAKING SENSE, even though it was released over 40 years ago.

“One of the reasons why the film has aged well is it doesn’t scream the 1980s,” Harrison said, pausing and then adding with a wry smile. “Well, our clothes might …

“STOP MAKING SENSE brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. Let’s face it. We live in a world where we could use a little bit of joy right now.”

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Best Sound Design - Live Standings

Peter Hylenski - Maybe Happy Ending - 14% Adam Fisher - Sunset Boulevard - 13% Mike Walker - Operation Mincemeat - 12%

Vote Now! 00 Days 00 Hours 00 Minutes 00 Seconds