Last night was another big
Posted by: Liz | From: June 25, 2004
Last night was another big fundraiser for 826NYC, with Robert Coover, Dave Eggers, Susan Choi, Rick Moody, and David Byrne. We had this one in this giant church off seventh ave in the slope, and the turnout was pretty good. Having an event in a church lends a certain reverence to the performers' work, and it took a little while to get used to the acoustics and become absorbed in what the readers were actually reading. I'm not sure if it was the atmosphere affecting the performer, or just the inspiration for an intonation coming full circle, but Robert Coover in particular gave the impression of a preacher delivering a sermon. Albeit a sermon with witches and dark forests and kings and frogs. The real show stopper was, of course, David Byrne. There had been rumors leading up to the event that he would in fact be singing along to a karaoke machine in lieu of a back up band, but disappointingly, this turned out to be false. I really shouldn't use the word "disappointingly" in reference to this performance, though because it was unbelievable.Before the event, I'd gone to the back to use the bathroom, but got roped into David Byrne's search for a podium. He was very concerned that the readers wouldn't have anything to stand behind, so we scoured the multipurpose room for something that would work. I asked him if there was a pulpit or something up front that would work and he told me there was a very heavy one.
"How heavy?"
"Well, let's go take a look."
So that's how I ended up on a church stage with David Byrne manhandling a very heavy pulpit. He gently placed the bibles to the side and as we were trying to decide if we could move it, a door on the back of the stand popped open. He looked at me, peeked in and said, "Anything secret hiding in there?"
This playfulness comes out on stage and lasts until the minute he opens his mouth to sing. Then something else entirely comes forth and I can honestly say, he is the best performer I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. Completely pure passion with utter vocal control. He did a few acoustic songs ("Heaven," "Give Me Flowers While I'm Living") and then called up the drummer from the David Gates band to do "And She Was" and "Life During Wartime."
J, who's now done many McSweeney's related events with the man, is on friendly terms with him. On the way back home, J was feeling thoughtful and lucky. "If I could go back in time and tell my 13-year-old self that I would someday be acquaintances with David Byrne....I think I would have imploded." It's nice when the city doles you out a chunk of happiness that's the accumulation of a long battery of experiences. It then that you can forgive the dirty subways for a bit longer and love the cramped apartment a little more.
Ways to know someone wasn't raised with a Jewish mother:
Guy (looking at rugelach on dessert platter): What's that? Pigs in a blanket?
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