Update: Show at Modesto’s Gallo Center featuring iconic band’s guitarist canceled

Note: This show has been canceled since the following story was published “due to unforseen circumstances,” according to an official at the Gallo Center.

A member of the band Talking Heads will bring its iconic concert film to the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto.

Talking Heads guitarist Jerry Harrison will introduce a restored version of “Stop Making Sense” at the downtown theater. He’ll also offer post-screening comments and interact with the audience in a Q&A.

The program is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. Tickets are $35 to $75.

Restored in 4K in 2023 and rereleased by A24, “Stop Making Sense” originally debuted in 1984, directed by Jonathan Demme. As noted on the Gallo Center website, it’s considered by critics to be the greatest concert film of all time.

The film features band members David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, Harrison and touring musicians. It was filmed during live performances at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater.

“Stop Making Sense utilized digital audio decades before it was the norm, with Harrison in particular playing an integral role in restoring the film’s audio following a lengthy quest to recover negatives and multitrack recordings previously thought lost,” according to a June story on the Forbes.com website.

Harrison joined the Talking Heads in 1977, shortly after the group appeared as the opening act for the Ramones at the legendary New York club CBGB, the Forbes story said.

He spoke in the story on what audiences might expect during the program.

“Well, the first one, I actually talked for a really long time: for like an hour. What was great about it is there are certain points that you want to make about the film – a discussion of Jonathan Demme, what the show was like leading up to it, things like that,” Harrison said in the story. “And it’s great when the questions provoke that discussion. So, then it’s not like a lecture. It’s like a naturally flowing conversation.”

The Forbes story credited Demme for helping make “Stop Making Sense” unique.

“Free of the trappings that tend to define most concert films, tricks like audience reaction shots and band ruminations, Stop Making Sense thrives thanks in part to Demme’s character development, a motion picture in which band members are introduced one song at a time, giving viewers time to get fully acquainted with each,” the story said.

Talking Heads stopped touring permanently after the release of the film, according to a story on People.com, and ceased putting out new music by 1988.

Harrison spoke of the band’s demise in the People story, noting “there was a lost opportunity that would have been fun for all of us.”

For tickets to the Modesto screening with Harrison, see galloarts.org.