Watch this terrific footage of the Talking Heads performing (previously at BB) on March 13, 1976, at The Kitchen in New York City. It was posted on YouTube by Oh No Compassion with this description:
Talking Heads performing live at The Kitchen in NYC, March 13th 1976. David Byrne on guitar and vocals, Chris Frantz on drums, Tina Weymouth on bass. This was before Jerry Harrison joined the band (and before they had any official releases). This is one of the earliest video recordings of Talking Heads performing (possibly the earliest in such good quality and colour). There are a couple of clips already on YouTube but this didn't seem to be on the site yet in full.
The Kitchen archives provide more information about the performance, along with some images:
This live performance at The Kitchen's former SoHo space was one of Talking Heads's early performances. The group was formed in 1975, and this show preceded the release of the band's first record the following year and subsequent international acclaim until they disbanded in 1991. Comprised of David Byrne on guitar and vocals, Chris Frantz on drums, and Tina Weymouth on bass, Talking Heads at the time was associated with the New York punk scene and described themselves as "a group of performing artists whose medium is rock and roll." For this performance they played a selection of songs that demonstrated the range of styles they were developing, including the future hit "Psycho Killer."
Here's a great digital archive of events that have been held at The Kitchen since 1971. The website describes the project:
The Archive Project is an ongoing initiative to preserve and modernize The Kitchen's extensive archival collection of historic audio and videotapes, dating back to 1972. It contains early and/or seminal work by some of today's most influential artists including John Cage, Laurie Anderson, Lucinda Childs, Bill T. Jones, Philip Glass, Christian Marclay, Robert Longo, Pauline Oliveros, Meredith Monk, David Byrne and The Talking Heads, among many others.
In the short term, The Kitchen's goal is to catalogue the collection and restore tapes that are most at risk of deterioration, as well as those of performances that will clearly be of interest to the field. The long-term aim is to create a working archive for experimental art – to keep history alive; promote performance as a field with a history and clear pattern of development; and provide interesting, integrated ways in which artists and audiences can learn about the work of their peers and predecessors.
As The Kitchen integrates archival material into its current programming and works toward making archival materials accessible on the internet, it is creating a greater context for experimental and collaborative performance vis-à-vis traditional work and other performing art disciplines. This is important to the development of both contemporary artists and audiences, and will position the archive as a useful tool and vital programming model for other presenters and performance companies.
To learn more about The Kitchen archives, click here.
