David Byrne Tribute: Watch Talking Heads Covers by Sharon Jones, O.A.R. and Glen Hansard at Carnegie Hall

The David Byrne tribute concert at Carnegie Hall last night, March 24, included some special guests performing tunes by the Talking Heads. Sharon Jones, O.A.R. and Glen Hansard were on hand to honor the singer, who also unleashed a cover of "Uptown Funk" with a marching band. The show benefited music programs for underprivileged children, Consequence of Sound noted.

Jones can do no wrong when she decides to cover a tune. The soul singer took on "Psycho Killer" and absolutely shined. Santigold's take on "Burning Down the House" was funky and the fellows from O.A.R. offered a poppy cover of "And She Was."

Hansard picked a winner with "Girlfriend Is Better," but it was the guest of honor who stole the show. He wasted no time going from "God's Love" into the Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars hit "Uptown Funk." Byrne functioned more as a backup dancer for the latter, showing off some of his signature moves.

Other performances included The Roots doing "Born Under Punches," Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells on "Life During Wartime" and Amanda Palmer singing "Once in a Lifetime."

The former Talking Heads frontman released his last album in 2012 in the form of Love This Giant. St. Vincent joined Byrne on the LP, which followed his 2008 collaboration with Brian Eno titled Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

"Working with a brass band and tandem guitars, the duo trade vocals, delivering hiccuping phoneme and wry kickers over shifty programmed beats. Yet for all the convention-dodging, the most satisfying bits -- Byrne's show-tune-y 'I Am an Ape' and Clark's New York City mash-note ballad, 'Optimist' -- are the most straightforward. Go figure," Rolling Stone wrote about Love This Giant.

Byrne last performed with the Talking Heads in 2002 when the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Any hope of a reunion was shot down a few years later when Byrne and bandmate Tina Weymouth talked to Australian publication The Age.

"We did have a lot of bad blood go down," he said. "That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart. The only reason to get back together would be to do one of those 'sound like you used to sound' kind of tours. And who wants to do that? I've already sounded like that once. I don't need the money -- I'm not rolling in cash, but I'm doing all right, thanks."

Tags

Talking Heads, David Byrne, O.A.R., Glen Hansard, Santigold