Ride, Rise, Roar

Documentary Feature, 24 Beats Per Second
D: David Hillman Curtis; with David Byrne

From his days of writing songs about food and buildings to his more recent forays into visual art, the former Talking Heads frontman rarely bores anyone watching. That would bode well for Ride, Rise, Roar, a document of Byrne’s latest tour. What doesn’t bode well is the fact that its predecessor is Jonathan Demme’s concert classic Stop Making Sense, and that’s a big suit to fill. RRR doesn’t have the buildup and catharsis of SMS, but Byrne’s love of music and giddy pleasure in the live setting is still apparent, if slightly matured. The dozen or so songs – culled largely from Talking Heads-era and recent collaborations with Brian Eno – are some of his best. The interstitial interviews and rehearsals don’t offer much in the way of insight, but they break up Byrne’s contagious energy into palatable chunks.

Thursday, March 18, noon, Paramount; Saturday, March 20, 5pm, G-Tech

This article appears in March 19 • 2010.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

James graduated from Columbia University in 2000 and moved to Austin a year later. Ever since, he has followed the arts and video game scene in ATX, editing and writing stories for the Chronicle along the way. Over his more than 20 years with the paper he has climbed the "corporate" ladder from lowly intern to managing editor.