UCSB Arts & Lectures Presents An Evening With David Byrne & St. Vincent At The Arlington Theatre

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents An Evening with David Byrne & St. Vincent in concert on Thurs., Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. at the Arlington Theatre,1317 State St. in support of their new album Love This Giant.

Best known as the fearlessly creative frontman of The Talking Heads, David Byrne has trailblazed post-punk musical and artistic paths for more than 40 years, reinventing himself in fascinating new iterations and inspiring the likes of Arcade Fire and Radiohead.

In their first tour together, he appears with edgy and beguiling songstress St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark), performing songs from their explosive, hook-laden new album, Love This Giant, due out Sept. 11. With lyrics written by the duo, the music features the idiosyncratic horn arrangements of an eight-piece brass band, a keyboardist and the propulsive drum programming of John Congleton (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah).

“We’ll be doing these songs (from the album) and a bunch of songs that we suspect people will know, with a group that includes eight brass players, a keyboardist and a drummer,” says Byrne of their 24-date fall tour.

“There was no delineating what the roles were,” explains Clark of the recording. “It’s a collaboration I’m truly proud of.” Before breaking out on her own as St. Vincent, Clark previously played with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens and collaborated a track on Andrew Bird’s latest album, Break It Yourself. The “playful chanteuse [and] fearsome shredder” (The New York Times) was PLUG’s 2008 Female Artist of the Year.

Byrne and Clark met in 2009 at the Dark Was the Night benefit at Radio City Music Hall and were approached shortly after by the Housing Works Bookstore to collaborate on an evening of music. They began composing remotely, trading song ideas and structures online while Clark toured, and it quickly became apparent that they had more than just one night of music in them. Byrne performed with Clark at her American Songbook show at Lincoln Center in 2010, and Clark contributed vocals to Byrne’s Here Lies Love album, released the same year.
Don’t miss “two high-wire art-pop all-stars” (Stereogum) in the collaboration of the year!

An Evening with David Byrne & St. Vincent is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. The media supporter is KTYD 99.9 FM.

Tickets are $45-$100 for the general public and $25 for UCSB students with a current student ID. (An Arlington facility fee will be added to each ticket price.)

For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu. Tickets are also available through the Arlington box office at (805) 963-4408 and Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com/venue/73731).