Start Making Sense, the seven-piece ensemble from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that has been performing since 2009, earned an endorsement most tribute acts in their lane never get: a genuine sign-off from Bernie Worrell — the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame keyboardist who played with Talking Heads and Parliament-Funkadelic. “This band makes plenty of sense to me,” Worrell said, “and is a great representation of Talking Heads’ music.” That’s not a quote you run in the press kit and move past. The band plays Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs on Wednesday, December 30.
About the Show
Start Making Sense covers the entire Talking Heads catalog — the band’s own framing is “from the 1975 CBGB debut” forward — which means everything from the anxious, angular early records through the layered rhythmic sprawl the Heads developed by the early 1980s. The centerpiece of their live show is a faithful recreation of the Stop Making Sense concert film: the choreography, the oversized suit that defined the 1984 tour, the stage movements that made that run one of the more visually arresting in rock history. Frontman Jon Braun, who bears a striking physical resemblance to David Byrne, leads the ensemble through sets that balance well-known hits with album-cut depth. The band frames their approach as closer to performance art than replica, and the catalog they’re working from makes that framing feel earned. Across 110 Ticketmaster reviews, they hold a 4.8 out of five-star rating.
The project extends well past catalog coverage. Start Making Sense has scored their own horn arrangements of the Heads’ catalog for specialty tours with brass sections, developed a stripped-down four-piece format for early material (billed as “Start Making Sense Presents ’77–’79”), and logged multiple Australian tours in addition to their domestic circuit. The December 30 Putnam Place date falls in the middle of their year-end East Coast run — between a December 27 show at Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and a New Year’s Eve engagement at Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont.
Venue & Logistics
Putnam Place is at 63A Putnam Street in Saratoga Springs, one of the more reliable club rooms in the Capital Region for a show built around watching the stage. This is a 21+ event. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; the set runs 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Tickets
Advance tickets are $30; the day-of price is $35, available via Eventbrite. Buy tickets