Talking Heads Perform "Burning Down the House" at the 2002 Inductions

Talking Heads perform "Burning Down the House" at the 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Looking for more Induction Ceremony memories from Talking Heads? Visit the band's official Hall of Fame online bio: rockhall.com/inductees/talking...
Dive into the full 2002 Induction Ceremony video collection at rockhall.com/inductees/classes/2002 and watch all videos, read from the official Hall of Fame program bios and view image galleries from the big night and archival materials.

[@joshuapaladini1507]

I'll always love how Bernie Worrell started playing with them and just became and Talking Head for life. RIP

[@luannabbate2624]

One of the most original bands ever!

[@Burhanontheranch]

Jeez, audience just sitting with hands folded at what could've been the last time they played this absolute banger together.

[@j7dharma]

Saw them when they were nobody in Binghamton New York.. loved every minute Played Talking heads 77 and took a break and did it again .. autographs at the old Oakdale Mall.

[@zigisamblak]

OMFG, whoever did the sound engineering for this event should be ashamed. Watch Stop Making Sense and forget about this.

[@Carl-im9gh]

+Zigi Samblak I like it. Its nice to hear them with unpolished sound. Its cool.

[@salescow4946]

+Zigi Samblak This is what bands actually sound like before the live sound engineer is done with it :-). Read comment above for more info.

[@vdoengineer]

The camera guys sucked as well.

[@nathanr5814]

lol yeah I just heard about this performance and was really excited for about 10 seconds

[@oceantank4424]

Zigi Samblak it's cause they burned down the house . Metaphor for the band. ☺

[@uselessjoe]

Tina still bringing it.

[@beingsshepherd]

Gosh, you lot actually listen. I'm delighted to see fans who don't unconditionally praise performances.

[@salescow4946]

RE: The sound; For those who are not aware, there are several ways to record off of a console at a live event. This particular recording sounds like it's a multi-track tap just after the pre-amps at the FOH console. You don't hear all the sound engineering because it's recorded RAW - nothing the sound engineer has done after the pre-amp is captured. Missing, are things like EQ, compressors, gates, channel faders, panning, inserts, all FX, group sends, outboard gear, etc... This sound is by design - not by error or a 'crappy' sound engineer that 'should be ashamed'. For a RAW recording, this is just fine. These are usually done so that they can be processed afterwards to give it a studio sound and then laid back on top of the video. For some reason, whoever posted this video just left the audio the way it came instead of doing production on it first...

[@ChrisR_68]

Thanks for that great post 🙂👍👍

[@burtgordon4796]

Yes. There is another video that sounds much better. Thanks for explaining the technicalities.

[@lucasc5622]

shame about the prophet 5 being out of tune though lmao

[@floormaster1]

Make sense thank you

[@timholtzclaw8930]

Tina is absolutely killing it!!!🤘

[@01TA]

Outstanding live performance

[@davidiverson2541]

I really enjoyed this video. Always have liked the Talking Heads. Nice to see them perform again.

[@rosemichaels9570]

One of my favorite bands! Love all of it. If you don't why are you here?

[@dabronxbudar]

I love it!! after so many years.. same sound!! great

[@jackempson3044]

Fantastic! What an exciting song!

[@deweywise5573]

love this band!

[@funnybusiness6491]

They sound great!

[@thomaskeenan2208]

Ditto, was good to see them reunited. Hope they can appreciate how good they got together even though briefly.

[@unloved5600]

musical genius at work!

[@jameswells5344]

On the chronology DVD commentary Chris says that they actually rehearsed for 3 days before hand and they all enjoyed it. He also said what was wrong with the keyboards was right before they went on someone tripped on the power cords and they went out of tune

[@jameswells5344]

+Chris Drake I believe synthesizers can?

[@freelance_commie]

+Chris Drake Synths have tuning on them. Listen to them. They had a tuning programmed and they obviously got shut down and reset. Bernie is a master and he's just trying to make it work. I can't imagine having to play an instrument like a 3/4 step out of tune and then using a pitch wheel to get in key. That's what it sounds like to me.

[@d_walsh]

Twelve Foot Grave rethink that, because synyhs and programmed keyboards can

[@Blank_Frank]

Sequential Circuits's Prophet 5 are a real pain in the ass when it comes to tune it right... they kept going out of tune because of electrial problems, and mostly, old age (those synths were manufactured between 1978 and 1983). This is why Bernie is struggling to keep the synth into the right tuning.

[@StarCityAudits]

@@mylifesjuly great observation!

[@mattycfox]

Not as bad as some of the comments have stated, David Byrne was the mind in Talking Heads. He's just moved on to different projects. Saying that I would bite my own arm off to see these guys reform and perform again.

[@Zontar82]

"He's just moved on to different projects". no ,he just said "fuck you all", included the fans

[@mariazimmerman8948]

How sad! Huge ego got in his way.. stupid.

[@gregfrates4678]

I’m a huge Talking Heads fan and have followed Byrne in his solo career. I’ve seen Byrne perform 5 or 6 times since the Talking Heads, every concert has been fantastic. Differences in the direction of the band caused its demise. Byrne on his own is prolific, his accomplishments are extraordinary and his performances create pure joy. His latest performance, “American Utopia” was so well received that it is now on Broadway and you can dance to it! If your a Talking Heads fan you will love it, if your not a fan, you will be after it. Many of their songs are incorporated along with his solo songs which are substantial and fit together seamlessly. If you get the chance to see it or him perform live you will not be disappointed.

[@eaqua56]

It sounds like a glitch in the sound engineering.

[@markshepperson3603]

@@mariazimmerman8948 he’s autistic and kind of a hard guy to be around. The downside of genius I guess.

[@freddymombasa1459]

Die Band die mein Leben verändert hat... und niemals live gesehen:(

[@twelveytwelve]

They're not kids any more, fachrissake! This is a pretty good performance, all considered.

[@mariuszwrona4546]

Wspaniały zespół muzyczny. Jedyny i nie powtarzalny.

[@fuji4202]

Classic 80s fond memories

[@yvonnevince9952]

Damn! I love the Talking Heads!

[@uninoculated]

They should have brought Adrian Belew back to the band for this!

[@ronj9448]

Bad blood - they kept ripping him off

[@mick2spic]

Adrian is still waiting to get paid by Tina. Any day now Tina..

[@Meme_Lor]

Nah Alex Weir all the way

[@captnsquid8151]

all in all they were not to bad. For what the venue is all about. Glad to see them inducted.. So enjoyed there stay back in the 80's

[@bobe3250]

Thank you~!!!

[@craigcrosby1656]

For those who don't know the keyboardist, Bernie Worrell... Buckethead, "Spike Viking (To Bernie Worrell, the greatest music maker of all)

[@barehands007]

Calm down, babies. Just love the song in all its iterations.

[@zedstar9464]

Great band!

[@Wesley_C]

it's reunited, looking good band, this song's awesome

[@izzyo5353]

I love them so much very good band

[@vistalite]

It’s nice to see Diamond David Lee Byrne tolerate others for 3+ minutes.

[@johnthelesserofthethirdoft863]

Was there a problem? Haven't heard ... 🤪

[@stonesinmyblood27]

@@johnthelesserofthethirdoft863 I can’t either. I avoid people whenever possible

[@creakyboards8517]

dude’s autistic and all the other members treated him like garbage for it. originally i thought he was the bad guy, but after seeing all this shit (as an autistic person myself), I can’t help but feel for him

[@WizardGlik]

@@creakyboards8517 Tina ESPECIALLY has treated David like shit for like 40 years, all the while portraying David as some sort of monster with no human feelings.

[@josephsharp5678]

@@creakyboards8517 Talking Heads is nothing without David Byrne.

[@freelance_commie]

This performance is cursed because of Bernie's synths being reset and losing the tuning. It sounds like they are way off and he uses the pitch wheel to get in key but its super rough. Bernie is a master though. Also, the mix is fucking unbelievable for being at an event like this. Fucking terrible! Didn't they soundcheck them? Anyway, not Talking Heads fault at all. They did alright.

[@KingInky13]

Synths don't go out of tune instantaneously like that, especially analogue synths... the oscillators can drift over time, but it wouldn't jump a whole key down like that in the blink of an eye. I think he just messed up and then tried to correct it with the pitch wheel (you can see him messing with his in-ear monitor right before the off-key playing, so he probably just landed his hand down a step. As a keyboardist myself, I can vouch that it happens sometimes). I think it was more that they only rehearsed 3 times before this after nearly 15 years of not playing together at all. Agreed that they did a fine job and the sound techs need to be fired, especially for working at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cheers!

[@METATRONmusic]

My left ear really enjoyed this.

[@ChrisR_68]

Awesome !!!!

[@fede5132]

Tantos Años pasados y yo Todavia Escucho esta cancion :D

[@jpmcgrath9591]

Definitely lacks the energy they had in their glory days, but it's still nice to see them all together.

[@atbrooks2923]

It's definitely a disservice to this band who I rocked out to in high school.

[@montiliviomonty411]

It was a Debbie downer performance !

[@gracetheessentialworker..5215]

Great song for 🔥 prevention week..

[@bradleycoopersmith5699]

so many ppl killing on David. I wonder, how is a 60 year old guy who never wanted to reunite with his old band, probably hates the idea of a RR Hall Of Fame, and had to perform for an audience of suits and wanna-bes look and sound?? consider all those factors, and this is a very capable, decent performance

[@zeppelin67637]

Wow, was this recorded on a Mr Microphone?

[@JohnDoe-xu2vx]

Gotta love David's saddle shoes

[@DAVIDCWILDER]

David and the Heads were so bad ass. They put together three masterful albums.....

[@christiankellerman9206]

What three are you referring to? They have so many good records.

[@matthewbond7034]

Talking Heads made six great studio albums and two great live albums. @@christiankellerman9206

[@honeegrrl]

Still sound great!

[@samlibutti]

Bro it sounds like they hooked a squire guitar through a digitech pedal into computer speakers instead of into an amp. What in the ever living fuck is that sound

[@Sunshine33333]

What the hell was I thinking to watch this and taint my memory of such an awesome song?

[@paulweston8408]

As someone who was a teenager when this was VERY POPULAR, I can say know as a 56 year old I didn't get it back then. Now I do and it's amazing. They were their own thing and few others sounded like them. I know this might not make total sense but they were the flip side of the B 52's imho. Very different and you either got them or you didn't, and back then I didn't. Silly unnecessary fact: the B52's are the only music act I ever turned the TV off during their performance on Fridays. (A short lived SNL ripoff. It was the first time I remember seeing Michael Richards)

[@Shamrock3939]

DB does look disinterested. And he has been clear about not wanting to reunite at all. But I gotta think part of his disillusionment here is playing before this type of crowd and instead of actual Talking Head fans. I can't imagine what they are thinking looking out at that crowd....actually never mind, I can imagine.

[@evankeal]

I didnt notice it, Burning was a mess, that didnt help.

[@bernlin2000]

They were mostly seated...you might be right

[@mick2spic]

Yes, how into the performance can you get playing for these folks in the audience who are not giving off any energy and are as far from their fans as can be. I don’t blame them for their subdue performance.

[@marknorris3769]

too cool !

[@jurom7]

sounds like a funky version. I like it

[@colinsanders2848]

studio version entered Billboard July 30, 1983 ..reached #9

[@chuknorth]

yeah, i'm gonna sit here sipping my drink while this song is playing... no urge to dance whatsoever.

[@TylerWaldman]

Even if you didn't know why the band broke up, it is so abundantly clear through the whole performance that David Byrne *really* does not want to be there.

[@msoileau83]

Phoning it in like a boss...

[@roadracingrelics]

He's always looked like that.

[@1988JoeMiller]

It must’ve been distracting for the drummer when the percussionist was building a shed.

[@j7dharma]

I still have autographed lp of Talking Heads 77

[@JS-vm5kh]

Saw the first performance "Psycho Killer" and they weren't meshing at all. Started that way with "Burning Down The House" but you can tell they finally hit their groove @ 2:05. Now it looked like they were having fun.

[@herfree1]

Good, Very good. :)

[@JudeG6695]

Sounds accurate... real shame too. Them together are phenomenal!!

[@chuckhlin]

Best keyboard solo ever

[@SerenityAutumn]

That one guy in the front at 2:30 jammin in his seat... I know it's a fancy ceremony but SOMEbody should be dancing!

[@mondoenterprises6710]

Check out Talking Heads Dortmunder live show on here, it is encroyable!

[@waremblem3405]

SUPERB.

[@v.dargain1678]

Yup. The talking had is still nuts after all these years .

[@Pr3ct]

Playing in front of a crowd sitting on their asses. What a shame.

[@dorengarcia5097]

"To listen is an effort, and just to hear is no merit. A duck hears also." Igor Stravinsky

[@kliphy10]

MAN , I am old . ;)

[@lowbeam627]

Need more synth!!

[@jeanconstantino6507]

They should have brought Adrian Belew back to the band for this! Wow, was this recorded on a Mr Microphone? Talking Heads playing for an entire Wax Museum ! woah

[@adamkushner6793]

If Byrne looks like he's lacking enthusiasm here, it's probably because he was still at odds with Tina and Chris at the time which he was. But this past year, he toured with the 30 year old St. Vincent and he became just as young as she is onstage. He hasn't lost it at all.

[@matthewbond7034]

His voice, even here, isn't what it used to be.

[@StarCityAudits]

Frantz looks like he's the only one legit having a good time.

[@d_walsh]

chris is having fun, Tina wanna smacks Byrne with the bass and Jerry just wants to clobber David with a left hook CONGRATS y'all, 1977 was a great year. as was seeing y'all in 78, 79, 80, 83

[@tms6279]

Chris is always having fun. If my wife played bass and looked like that in her 50s, I'd be grinning too.

[@rorshakks]

Jerry's strat sounds horrible.

[@christianmiller8545]

it's sounds wayyyy thin

[@TheNavarro6767]

Sounds like a toy. That was sad to watch and listen to, especially because it could have been so good.

[@buckrogez87]

The second he hit a cord I was like FUCK......

[@andrewharris2717]

TBH I think so was Jerry especially when he missed the vocal. It sounds like it's on clean, probably to make sure he doesn't drown out David's acoustic. With the 80'sness of the track, it's a bit hard to duplicate live, especially with acoustic guitars.

[@lmnopotay7433]

It would have sounded a lot better without tha percussion player, he was off. Tha other guitar player was late on tha hits at tha start of tha song. But Y'all have to remember they haven't been working together.

[@celestes928]

Great Great Great

[@melaniay4793]

💓

[@niketasdelgato4027]

BYRNE'N DOWN THE HOUSE!

[@blueshorecreative3146]

Great band, great song. But what was with Jerry's guitar sound? Sounds like a Target strat thru a Target amp.

[@priscillawagner5156]

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

[@angelus656]

They're still better than lots of things around considered "great".

[@kevinhannan4893]

Man, watching this right after watching the same song on stop making sense is just depressing

[@williampollock4535]

I thought they did a pretty good job for having probably zero time for rehearsal. I expected much less.

[@aresef]

They reportedly rehearsed for days.

[@ClearYourMindTravel]

They needed to rehearse? They've probably done this song a zillion times. They know this backwards.

[@KM-zw9qb]

@@ClearYourMindTravel after not playing together for years? yes, they'd need to rehearse dummy

[@HooverCat11]

Jerry Harrison is so sharp.

[@mrdave777]

For all the negative comments here. Just watch Life During Wartime from the same set.

[@steveeyre6975]

Oh wow Tina still looking great

[@deweywise5573]

bad sound tech

[@twintriode]

Also Bernie Worrell was a HUGE part of their sound. He is not there so all of the really cool synth layers are missing. I think its more that then the sound, but the mix does suck.

[@Fzuke]

That was Bernie.

[@noahreaves8235]

Growing up is realizing David isn’t really the problem. Chris and Tina are no angles. Jerry isn’t the problem either.

[@cosmonautvideos]

I didn't even know they were fighting. Totally looking forward to some new material from them soon.

[@CadenceGoldthorpe]

Are they making new stuff?

[@paddy7812]

Don't hold your breath.

[@paddy7812]

No.

[@Resistculturaldecline]

The sound engineer settled on the deadest sound possible, said "yea, we're good." ? Or is it just the video ?

[@cirenosnor5768]

Bernie ❤️

[@pasodiufwen]

is this the audio feed from the lighting control headset ???? wtf.

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

The RRHOF doesn't care how it sounds. They just want the money.

[@goverypro3010]

They don't wanted the money (if you get any), but being inducted is a honour you do not turn down.

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

"They don't wanted the money (if you get any)" The RRHOF makes money for itself. "being inducted is a honour you do not turn down" Some do, e.g. Jerry Garcia and Johnny Rotten. It's not a real honor because they don't know what they're doing.

[@pardwayne]

There's something oxymoronic about a rock band performing for millionaires and escorts sitting around banquet tables. This must be what they mean by "bourgeois art."

[@arbogash1852]

Ward Payne rock n hall of fame is worse than an oxymoron, tho that is a good description. It was clearly an attempt by a certain segment of influential people to dictate what is Quality. And it was a shame to see virtually every band show up for the award. Otoh it did have the effect of getting estranged musicians to once again share in that magic.

[@boataxe4605]

The Sex Pistols were the only ones who had the balls to tell them to fuck off.

[@Masterr59]

Aw it sounds so different :(

[@erlindalopez5364]

is this the audio feed from the lighting control headset ???? wtf. They should have brought Adrian Belew back to the band for this!

[@er1cmaurer]

He looks exactly the same, just with grey hair. Vampire?

[@thebrazilianatlantis165]

This is a good performance. They even got Bernie and Steve. What a bunch of entitled commentators on youtube -- too bad you didn't get your money's worth, sheesh.

[@1ManNamedDan]

Yeah the band was awesome any complaints should go to the house mix board

[@Pqowieuryt1492]

Yep, too much expectation by quite a few who come here as they were expecting their "old" flame to be alive. SMS was and is one of the greatest performances ever by anyone, so not up to that level, but still great as far as I am concerned, esp considering an 18 year break and a fair amount of bad blood in the middle.

[@oncomintraffik1545]

I'm sure playing in front of all those well dressed cadavers sitting upright at those cabaret tables wasn't the easiest thing to pull off. I take my hat off to them!

[@MelBee128]

Based on the fact that this was on PayPerView when it came out, it's fair to say that people who actually paid for it then, as some of us did, have every right to complain.

[@waynesteffen8459]

Mel Bee Joke’s on you for forking over for Pay per view. Wait 20 minutes and it’s all on KZbin! 😏

[@frankdiscussion2069]

The Rolling Stones (notably Mick & Keef) have hated each other for 30 years yet still rehearse and go on the road and perform professionally. It's too bad the Talking Heads couldn't do the same thing.

[@ballzswetski7289]

First three seconds....fixx the mixx. Great tune and performance...

[@antunivanovic]

At best formal and charming, regardless of all the obvious coldness between them - but the sound falling apart is sadly reflecting the mood between them. Well, the mood between the Talker and the Heads.

[@iflyuwalk]

Tina is zoned in!

[@MrMogwatch]

Because David Byrne's head grew larger, he was then doing solo stuff, the rest of the band wanted to tour, so they did, as The Heads. He then preceded to sue his 3 friend's for copyright infringement and that caused the end of the band and all the bad blood.

[@CelesteKTheNewWaveRevue]

Yeah, you can cut the tension with a butter knife.

[@lawrencefure2102]

This kind of sad. All the energy from past performances seems to had left them. Old age is hell.

[@deborahrogers1844]

Hasn't lost his voice.