Article Contributed by Gabriel David Barkin
Published on November 18, 2025
David Byrne | San Francisco, CA | November 17th, 2025 | photos by Gabriel David Barkin
Who Is the Sky?
David Byrne may or may not have answered that question during Monday night’s performance of his “Who Is the Sky?” tour. But on this night, the second of three sold-out shows in San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, he left no doubt among those who may have wondered (and you may ask yourself!): Who is this guy!?
He’s David Byrne. Musician. Songwriter. Visual artist.
Legend.
(And also quite a wit. I can’t find proof of my theory, but I am willing to bet that the title of his new album and tour, Who Is the Sky?, is a pun. Who is this guy, indeed! But then again, I grew up thinking that Jimi Hendrix was singing “’Scuze me while I kiss this guy.” So maybe it’s just me. But I digress.)
The once-upon-a-time Talking Heads frontman is currently in the midst of a six-month tour that began in September and will run at least through March. In keeping with the format of 2018’s “American Utopia” tour, the entire performance is staged as a choreographed piece with striking visuals. There are no set-up instruments or amplifiers on stage. Instead, Byrne and all the musicians are in continuous flux and flow.
The unusual and striking approach combines elements of marching band steps and modern dance. Like the song title “Houses in Motion,” there is near-constant movement on stage. Byrne, his seven musicians, and five dancers are choreographed for the entirety of the 105-minute show. Steven Hoggett deserves ample credit for his efforts.
Behind the ensemble, a curved set of video screens projected images including photographs, animation, and a 360° rotating panorama of the apartment he lived in during the Covid pandemic. Byrne himself provided many of the photographic images, and his co-creators JT Rooney and Simon Roberts crafted additional visuals.
If there’s a theme to the show, it’s all about “house and home.” For the opening song, the Talking Heads’ “Heaven,” Byrne and three of the musicians stood before a lunar landscape as if they were standing on the moon. The earth rose on the screen behind them – our shared abode, as Byrne noted after the song. “And She Was” featured projections of suburban houses. For “Strange Overtones” (from Byrne and Brian Eno’s 2008 collaboration Everything That Happens Will Happen Today), the ensemble danced as if on an urban apartment rooftop.
Byrne’s own residence was the backdrop for “My Apartment is My Friend,” a track from the new record. He introduced the song by recounting his time spent alone during the pandemic. “I did a lot of drawings and learned to cook some Indian dishes and Mexican dishes. Some of them were good. And the rest we won’t talk about.” Then he waxed philosophically about one’s relationship with their domicile. The colorful projection of Byrne’s bookcases and dining table then faded to black and white for a cover of Paramore’s “Hard Times.”
In keeping with the house-and-home theme, Byrne closed the show with two hits touching on the nature of the places we live. First was a spirited version of “Life During Wartime” (with the lyric “I might not ever get home”) and then an equally lively “Once in a Lifetime” (“Where is my beautiful house?”). For the encore, there was “Everybody’s Coming to My House” followed by “Burning Down the House.” Forgive me if I’m connecting dots Byrne didn’t intend, but I think I’m on to something. It’s all about the house.
“Home is where I want to be.” And yes, earlier he indeed had played “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody),” which begins with that phrase. See, I am not making this up out of thin air.
The setlist was satisfying for Talking Heads fans, with ten of the twenty-one songs bringing the crowd to their feet. (Before the show, audio of Byrne told everyone it was okay to dance.) The post-Heads material may not have been as familiar, but it was as vibrant and fun as any Byrne fan could expect. Four songs were from 2025’s Who Is the Sky?
The “cast members” – it seems appropriate to use that term for what was really a theatrical performance – were all dressed in matching orange tops and bottoms that evoked pajamas, prison clothes, and Devo outfits. (On other nights, the “costumes” were blue.) Everyone looked like they were having fun. Except for the moment Byrne scolded an audience member for holding up his phone for a picture. “Sir, you wanna lose that phone? I took one from somebody the other day and erased everything on it!”
Because after all – “This ain’t no party! This ain’t no disco!”
Well, yes it is. But even so, this ain’t no fooling around.
And that’s who this guy is. David Byrne. Legend.
