lovethisgiant2

On the Road with David Byrne & St. Vincent (part 1)

by Kelly Pratt with photos by Bryan Murray

Kelly Pratt is no stranger to the pages of BrooklynVegan. From being a member of Beirut to playing in Arcade Fire to performing at LCD Soundsystem’s final show to his own projects Team B and now Bright Moments, we’ve written about stuff Kelly Pratt does a lot. Now we’re going to let him write a bit. This time about his latest project, which as previously mentioned, is being co-musical director and a band member on the St. Vincent and David Byrne tour that begins this week in support of the pair’s new album “Love the Giant” which is out now via 4AD and streaming on Spotify and at NPR. Look for a new post by Kelly right here on BrooklynVegan each week, starting now…

David Byrne/St. Vincent North America tour Fall 2012 – rehearsal
David Byrne rehearsal
David Byrne rehearsal

The Band:
David Byrne – vocals/guitar
Annie Clark – vocals/guitar
Daniel Mintseris – keyboards/co-musical director
Brian Wolfe – drums
Kelly Pratt – trumpet/flugelhorn/French horn/flute/co-musical director
Carter Yasutake – trumpet/flugelhorn
Rachel Drehman – French horn
Jason Disu – trombone
Dave Nelson – trombone
John Altieri – tuba
Bryan Murray – saxophones/clarinet
Jon Natchez – saxophones/flute/clarinet/flugelhorn

New York, September 11

We’ve been in rehearsal for the last three weeks on an extremely intensive schedule: 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. The first week is primarily focused on drum programming and rhythm section coordination. With week 2 all the rest of us join in. As one can imagine, putting together a full set of music for twelve people can be a bit of a daunting task! Fortunately we have an experienced, talented, and motivated group of people involved.

By the beginning of the third week we are running the set with a pretty high degree of success. Then the choreography starts. I have six years of marching band experience (strictly “don’t ask, don’t tell” information), but most of the rest of the horns have never moved and played at the same time. Learning to play a brass instrument while walking around a stage is a bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach. But way harder. Finally Sunday we manage to run the set with choreography. It’s going to be pretty impressive.

Monday we play Jimmy Fallon, definitely the most welcoming and my personal favorite of the late night programs. It’s our first public performance, and goes pretty well. Right before we play we all get a moment to warm up our horns. Carter starts playing Chuck Mangione’s “Feels So Good” as he tends to do 70% of the time he puts the horn to his face. Jimmy Fallon comes over and beamingly declares “I love that song!”

The next two days we head out to New Jersey for full production rehearsals at the Wellmont Theatre. After that we hit the road, first stop Minneapolis!

‘Til then,
Kelly Pratt


Watch the Fallon videos HERE. All tour dates, more pictures from rehearsal, and the official video for “Who”. below


David Byrne rehearsal
David Byrne rehearsal
David Byrne rehearsal

David Byrne & St. Vincent – ‘Who’

David Byrne / St. Vincent 2012 Tour Dates
09/15 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theater
09/16 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater
09/18 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theatre
09/20 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
09/21 – Montreal, QC – POP Montreal
09/23 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre
09/25 – New York, NY – Beacon Theater
09/26 – New York, NY – Beacon Theater
09/27 – Philadelphia, PA – Tower Theater
09/29 – Brooklyn, NY – Williamsburg Park
09/30 – N. Bethesda MD – The Music Center at Strathmore
10/02 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
10/03 – Atlanta, GA – Cobb Energy Center
10/05 – Austin, TX – Bass Concert Hall
10/06 – Houston, TX – Hobby Center
10/07 – Dallas, TX – McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
10/10 – San Diego, CA – Humphrey’s
10/11 – Santa Barbara, CA – Arlington Theatre
10/12 – Costa Mesa, CA – Segerstrom Theater for the Arts
10/13 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theater
10/15 – San Francisco, CA – Orpheum Theatre
10/17 – Seattle, WA – 5th Ave Theatre
10/18 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Auditorium
10/20 – Vancouver, BC – Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts