Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew revisit the classic Talking Heads album “Remain in Light” on the 31st Street Stage at the Oceanfront. Photo courtesy of Remain in Light
By Jim Roberts
The Talking Heads aren’t reuniting, but Virginia Beach is one of only seven cities in the U.S. that will experience the next best thing this summer: band member Jerry Harrison recreating a performance from the 1980 “Remain in Light” tour.
He’ll be joined by Adrian Belew, who recorded and toured with the Talking Heads, and Cool Cool Cool, a seven-piece band that replicates the Afrobeat sound of the ground-breaking “Remain in Light” album.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Harrison told Forbes magazine in June. “I felt that nothing had really quite captured the fun of those tours. … We’re doing it for the joy of the music—not as a get-rich-quick scheme.”
Past shows have opened with “Psycho Killer,” the band’s first “hit,” followed by 10 songs from their next three albums. In other words: Expect to hear “Life During Wartime,” “Take Me to the River,” “Once in a Lifetime” and a variety of deep cuts.
Who sings lead?
“We share it,” Belew said on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast. “We don’t really want to appear to be, ‘Oh, I’m trying to be David Byrne.’ So Jerry will do some. I’ll do some. … Out of 15 or 16 songs. I think I sing five.”
Belew reminisced on the podcast about meeting the Talking Heads—after playing with Frank Zappa and David Bowie—and recording the “Remain in Light” album.
“When I went there, there was nothing but the bass and drums and a few of the guitar tracks,” he said. “So Brian Eno and David and Jerry were there in the control room, and they say, ‘OK, here’s what we want you to do: Put your headphones on. Listen to this song. It’s not going to change keys. There’s no vocals—nothing. Kind of imagine where a solo would be, and then play a guitar solo.’
“So that’s what I did,” he said. “I went out, and I stood around tapping my foot. ‘Well, what a nice, groovy track. This is wonderful.’ Then I launched into a guitar solo, and that was the guitar solo for ‘The Great Curve.’ … They were all jumping up and down behind the glass. I could see them just going crazy. So I thought, ‘Well, that went pretty well.’”
“The Great Curve” ended up being the encore song for the 1980 tour—another detail replicated for the new “Remain in Light” show.
The show does feature two anachronisms: “Rev It Up,” a song from Harrison’s Casual Gods era, and “Thela Hun Ginjeet,” from Belew’s oeuvre with King Crimson.
“I wanted to use the horn sections and the percussion and stuff,” Belew said. “It really fits that song. We do a real cool version of it. It’s almost Talking Heads-meets-King Crimson version—really, truly.”
Hampton Roads resident Joyce Egan is looking forward to seeing the show for a third time.
“I’m old enough to have been around for the Talking Heads in the ’80s, but I was drawn to the show by the younger members of the band,” she said, referencing Cool, Cool, Cool—and Turquaz, the band that preceded them when the show debuted in 2022.
“The music reminds me of college in the ’80s,” she added. “The shows are fun and danceable, and every time the next song starts, there’s an, ‘Oh, it’s this song!’ moment.”
Harrison’s Forbes interview ended with a similar sentiment. “That’s why it’s so danceable,” he said, reflecting on the African influences on “Remain in Light.” “And it sort of touches your heart, I think.”
The “Remain In Light” show will take place at 7 p.m. July 23 at the 31st Street Stage as part of Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront Concert Series. Gates will open at 6:30, and the Chong Band will open. Admission is free. For more information, visit: beacheventsvb.com.