David Byrne

Considering that Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense is regarded as one of the finest concert movies ever made, any other live concert David Byrne is involved with is going to be compared to it. And that means Ride, Rise, Roar has to be something pretty special to live up to that standard. Ride, Rise, Roar was filmed during the Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno tour back in 2008/'09, and focuses on the show from creation to execution. Director Hillman Curtis punctuates the onstage performances with behind-the-scenes vignettes that illustrate how Byrne put together the concert, from recruiting the dancers to creating the choreography, which works so well with the songs. Byrne is very aware that a concert often needs to be more than just a band performing, so that side of things is quite fascinating. The songs are a mixture of Talking Heads favourites, which still sound remarkably fresh, and a handful of songs from Byrne and Eno's 2008 album, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, making for a total of 14 tracks. It's clear that Byrne still enjoys playing the Talking Heads songs and the newer numbers, while not as familiar to most, fit in well, although the crowd respond more positively to the older material. Visually and musically, the film is always entertaining, but it isn't all smooth sailing. By trying to be two very different things, Ride, Rise, Roar disappoints somewhat in both areas. While it could never be described as a complete failure, the documentary sections don't offer enough depth to be satisfying and serve to break up the live performances in a way that creates a disjointed concert experience. If the two elements were offered separately it would have worked better, but it's clear to see what the filmmaker was trying to do, even if he isn't completely successful. Unfortunately there are no extras included despite the fact that the footage was shot at multiple concerts and there must have been a bunch of interviews left on the cutting room floor.