TALK: Lord Of The Flies & Birds & Bees Tour 2024 – Irving Plaza NYC 3/8/24

Written by on March 14, 2024

The family-oriented talent dominates the stage in his return to the States for his North American headline tour.

Review and Photos by Emily ‘Emol’ McCormack –

Canadian singer-songwriter TALK rose to fame for his 2021 single “Run Away To Mars,” which topped rock-alternative charts over the years – landing a spot on Sirius XM’s Alt-36 of 2023. 

He returns to the States for his first-ever headlining tour for his debut album, The Lord Of The Flies & Birds & Bees, after his 2023 tour supporting rock icons Young The Giant and Milky Chance. 

Talk has a unique, raspy voice that I feel makes him stand out amongst some of the other solo artists I hear on the radio – and I was happy to find a large crowd of people who feel the same way fill in New York City’s Irving Plaza on Friday night. 

Before Talk took the stage, the opener for this tour was Philadelphia-based solo artist Zinadelphia. Oh boy, how I fell in love with her from the first note.

Beginning her set with “Cosmos,” she showcases a beautiful blend of jazz, funk, and soul – all genres that are outside of my typical alt-rock playlists, but after this night that is all about to change… She has such a stunning, unique voice, and gives off this incredible stage presence of owning that stage while also being very down-to-earth.

The only downside – her set was only six songs. My favorite from the setlist is “Love Language,” the closing song, from her 2023 debut EP Lucky. I hope to catch another show of hers as soon as possible!

Knowing how to get a crowd in the right mood, the legendary rock song “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen played in the venue and got everyone in the room singing along. It’s one of those songs where it doesn’t matter what age group or background you come from – everyone in that room could unite over this one song. 

Talk first appeared on stage wearing a wool coat, a deer horn-like crown, and holding a wooden, glowing scepter as seen in the cover art for Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees. With a combination of the costume and the stage covered in vines and flowers, it felt like he was welcoming us into the universe of his album. 

The set began with the first track on the album, “Fall For You,” a playfully upbeat love song that set the tone for the rest of the night: a fun, energetic, feel-good set. 

Soon after, he performed “Wasteland,” currently at the top of iHeartRadio’s Canadian Rock-Alternative chart. I could tell that this was a fan-favorite as everyone around was chanting the lyrics beside Talk.

Talk has shown himself to be a very family-oriented person – he explained on stage that his single “Afraid of the Dark” is a song he dedicates to his grandmother. It’s about growing up by her side and all of her support throughout his life and career. One of the standout lyrics on this song is “You were the night light on a dark night like the stars,” which had me choking up in the crowd.

Additionally, his grandmother made bracelets for his tour, available for purchase at the merchandise table. This adds an element of authenticity and shows that he is not afraid to show off the support he gets from his family.

In the latter half of the performance, he also spoke about how the staff displayed on stage was created by his brother who stood in the audience. As someone who really values family, and someone who had the majority of her relatives in the audience that night, his appreciation for his family brought a tear to my eye.

A common trend in concerts nowadays is having songs in the setlist that are determined day of, or sometimes even while the artist is on stage. Some bands call them “8-ball” songs, as they are picked at random by a generator or by a fan. Talk has a section of his set dedicated to this spur-of-the-moment song, and asked members of the audience to suggest classic rock songs for him and his band to attempt on stage. 

While most fans suggested Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” the band ultimately decided to sing parts of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.” It was very impressive that he and the band could play songs at the drop of a hat! 

Some other covers of the night included Foo Fighters’ “Everlong,” and an acoustic rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep” (My friend even said Talk somehow made a song about a stalker sound beautiful).

While covers may sometimes be frowned upon, I think they are a fun and exciting way to engage with the audience. It’s a reminder that the musicians we look to for inspiration are inspired by other artists themselves. Asking the audience for song suggestions also invites the fans to talk to those on stage – reminding us at the end of the day, we are all people who love music (Talk himself asked for the house lights to go on several times to make sure he could properly engage with the crowd!).

I attended the concert with my mom and my younger brother. I was curious to see what age group the crowd would average, and I would say I, at 22 years old, was among the younger of the average audience members. Because of his fun vibe and generally family-friendly tone, I would have guessed there would have been more younger fans, at least those in their teens. 

While TALK certainly won’t hold back from making curse-heavy comments on the stage, I would say his shows are generally friendly for a family that doesn’t mind that kind of stuff (much like my own). He has (generally) clean language in his music and sings about topics of love, family, and mental health. While he has said himself that he has quite the potty mouth, if you’re welcoming to just a little bit of foul language, then this is the concert for you! 

As for the name of the album, Talk said he liked it, so he used it. And that’s enough for me!

Just like I said for Zinadelphia – the only disappointing part of this show was that it had to end. I caught myself listening to Talk’s album on repeat while writing this review asking my family “When can we see Talk again?” (Hopefully sometime soon!)

Though this leg of the tour may be over, Talk is continuing his North American Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees Tour through May 6, 2024, making many stops throughout his homeland of Canada. You can stay up to date with his tour and upcoming music on social media via @iamtalk, or on his website, iamtalkmusic.com!

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