Rock legend treks to off-Strip museum in Las Vegas visit

You may find yourself in another part of the world.

This happens to David Byrne. When it does, he takes pictures.

Byrne shared a few vacation photos during his transcendent “Who Is the Sky?” tour performance at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Monday night.

Early in the show the 73-year-old visionary told the crowd he’d ventured to the Neon Museum, “The Neon Boneyard, they call it,” and photographed some of the famous hotel and casino signs.

“I like this one,” he said, gesturing to the resurrected, red Stardust sign shown behind him. He noted the signs were randomly piled up in this walking tour of Las Vegas history.

Aladdin’s bulb-laden lamp, the green-and-gold coins from Fitzgerald’s and the Flamingo’s orange-and-pink, centerpiece pylon sign were in this concert photo gallery.

Neon Museum Executive Director Aaron Berger was not at the show but got a text from a friend during the performance: “He said, ‘You just got a big shoutout from David Byrne.”

By Tuesday morning, Berger said, “My phone was just blowing up.”

He said he didn’t know of Byrne’s daytime visit until the text. None of the museum staff took note of the co-founder of the Talking Heads and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer moseying around the property.

“It was an organic moment, where he wanted to visit an iconic destination in Las Vegas,” Berger said. “We had nothing to do with it. That’s what makes this so special.”

Byrne’s visit recalled another unannounced pop-in by Mick Jagger in the early morning hours of Jan. 5, 2021, before a Rolling Stones show at Allegiant Stadium.

“Mick stopped by and had photos shot of himself in front of the Neon Museum sign,” Berger recalled. “Then later when he incorporated it into his promotion and the Stones concert, security called me and asked if that was him.”

Yes. Jagger trekked to the museum to snap some selfies, which he later posted. “I had a security guard contact me at 4:30, alerting me there was someone outside the museum,” Berger said. “I said, ‘It’s fine, let him take pictures.’ We didn’t know until later it was Mick Jagger.”

Rock on, Boneyard.

And he was

Byrne’s band dressed in matching royal blue suits, playing instruments while standing throughout, choreographed with interlocking dance moves with a minimalist backdrop. “Heaven,” “And She Was,” “Slippery People,” “Life During Wartime” and “Burning Down the House” from the Talking Heads were effective crowd-pleasers. “Like Humans Do” from “Look Into the Eyeball” and “When We Are Singing” from “Who Is the Sky?” were solo standouts.

Impressively, the show was a sellout on a Monday night. Clearly, Byrne would be a candidate for an extended engagement/residency in a Vegas theater. He ran “American Utopia” in two stints on Broadway from 2019 to 2022.

Byrne also performed at The Smith Center’s Reynolds Hall in 2018, eight years almost to the day of Monday’s show. Those who saw either show would put it in their top five ever in the city. But any residency talk would wait until after Byrne’s tour closes in September.

What a T’s

During “T-Shirt,” last year’s collaboration with Brian Eno off the “Who Is the Sky?” album, Byrne ran through several real tourist T-shirt slogans. “I (Heart) Las Vegas” was one. The crowd (hearted) that move.

Around this scene

Teller of the Penn & Teller magiccollaboration was spotted in the second-level concourse. He was looking for merchandise before the show, wanting to beat the post-show crowd. We caught P&T on Sunday night. Penn Jillette seems close to fully operational after fracturing his left ankle in a household mishap in mid-January.

The guys’ Entropy routine, a theatrical, philosophical magic piece, remains one of the weirdest things they’ve ever done. It’s also one of the most inspired. They premiered it on the 11th season of “Fool Us,” whose future remains unannounced.

Cool Hang Alert

“The Voice” alum and Las Vegas vocalist Serina Rae is up from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday at “Lounge Sessions Live” at One Steakhouse at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. No cover. The performances are on select Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Johnny “JOD” O’Donnell mans the bar. He is easy to find, chatting of golf or his latest trip to Ireland or threatening to sing a pub tune. Go to virginhotelslv.com for intel.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.