In Concert, Byrne Lives a Double Life

David Byrne isn’t about to compromise. At the El Rey Theatre on Friday, he gave equal time to both Talking Heads songs and material from his solo career, demanding or assuming that fans see things the same way. The result was a broad range of passionate sounds, demonstrating his continued role as an innovator.

Byrne’s hair was gray and spiky, as if he has embraced the role of pop elder statesman, rather than the twitchy Talking Heads frontman of more than a decade ago.

He was also less of a theatrical performer on Friday, without a single choreographed move, satisfied now to simply play urgently, as he did during the closing guitar chords of the Heads’ standard “Once in a Lifetime.”

The show was tightly paced, never losing momentum, whether focused on minimalist rock or music with a tropical flair, culled from his newest album, “Look Into the Eyeball.”

He was already drenched in sweat by the time he brought out a six-piece string section, joining Byrne’s core quartet for a frequently emotional, fast-paced set that was smart and always danceable.

The mood created by support act Joe Henry was darker and smokier, though the singer-songwriter joked early on, “You should stick around and see David’s set, because he’s pretty talented in his own right.”

As on his new album, “Scar,” Henry and a three-piece band crafted a haunted blend of folk, jazz and rock for songs of romance and weary desperation. Completing the noir feel was a black-and-white TV flickering at stage right.