David Byrne’s Who is the Sky? tour opens by transporting its Glasgow Armadillo audience to the barren lunar landscape, as the iconic Apollo 8 Earthrise image, slowly ascends above the horizon. The name of the accompanying bar…sorry, song, is of course, ‘Heaven’. A promise of things to come? Could be!

This is not a typical rock concert, there is slick choreography and agile dancers. All of the talented musicians are simultaneously part of this heady terpsichorean mix. The innovative format will not come as a surprise to anyone who witnessed Byrne’s massively successful American Utopia tour (and subsequent Broadway show). However, this time the backdrop frequently consists of dynamic and colourful projected visuals, rather than the monochromatic backing of the previous tour.

There’s always been an incredibly warm rapport between Byrne and Scottish audiences. Someone cries out, “We love you, David.” While he emigrated from these shores at a tender age, Scottish fans always give him a warm welcome, like an incredibly cool returning expat uncle. One of our own.

Naturally, the setlist features several tracks from the new album, most notably: ‘Everybody Laughs’; ‘What is the Reason For it?’; and the quirky ‘Moisturising Thing’. There are also deep dives into his solo material: ‘Independence Day’ from Rei Momo, and ‘Like Humans Do’ from Look into the Eyeball.

Many musicians who have previously been members of a famous group can be rather circumspect about mining that historical motherlode. Byrne lovingly embraces his Talking Heads back catalogue, as well he might. Shakespeare would hardly ignore Hamlet. There is a wildly enthusiastic response to classics such as: ‘And She Was’, ‘Slippery People’, ‘This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)’ and ‘Psycho Killer’. Byrne relates a tale of a past encounter at a music festival, with someone who confidently asserted: “I know who you are, Norman Bates!”, O titter ye do.

When ‘Life During Wartime’ commences, the audience turns the volume up to eleven, roaring their euphoric approval with considerable gusto. The visual backdrop at this point consists of contemporary news footage of thuggish ICE officers and protests against them. A song for our times, as always.

An amazing show concludes with ‘Once in a Lifetime’. Communal singalong ensues. An encore? You better believe it. After all, this house needs to be burned down, n’est-ce pas?

At its very best, live music is a joyous, transcendent experience. Church without religion. Tonight is one of those special nights. This ain’t no party? Three thousand Scots respectfully (and very vocally) beg to differ. Haste ye back, David. We’ll put the kettle on.