The best thing about David Byrne's solo showcase Wednesday night at The Guvernment --other than 45 minutes of transcendent world-pop music -- was his announcement that he will return to Toronto on May 8 to launch his tour.

That's also the day his latest solo album, Look Into The Eyeball, will be released.

"I don't know what the venue is -- I've shot off a couple of e-mails asking what it was," Byrne, 48, said yesterday in an interview with The Sun. "Massey Hall's great. I thought it might be too big for me, depending upon how the record is received. It might be a little early to go there, although it's such a great place. Some folks say the Phoenix might be good. We'll have to see."

While Byrne's performance wasn't offically part of Canadian Music Week, which launched Wednesday night, it drew dozens of accredited journalists along with several other hundred industry types and hangers-on.

"It was an industry crowd," Byrne said. "They were sitting on their hands a little bit, but it was all right."

The former Talking Heads leader, playing an acoustic guitar, didn't shy away from playing his old band's material (Nothing But Flowers, And She Was, Once In A Lifetime) even though he had taken the remaining members of the group to court for their decision to tour, without him, as The Heads.

He also ventured into great new solo territory with The Revolution, The Great Intoxication and U.B. Jesus with the help of a string sextet and a kick-ass three-man rhythm section.

The grey-haired but youthful-looking Byrne, dressed in head-to-toe khaki with black dress shoes, tackled the unconventional for his encore. Would you believe a cover of Whitney Houston's 1987 hit, I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)?

"One can enjoy, sometimes, a formula pop song," Byrne said. "The challenge for me is to take a song like that and simultaneously have it be light and fun, but also do it sincerely --then I've given it a completely different life."

START MAKING SENSE: David Byrne wasted no time getting over to the Rivoli after his own showcase to catch the Toronto debut of Brazilian singer-songwriter Moreno Veloso.

With that endorsement in place, the packed room of well-heeled admirers homed in on his quiet, offbeat musical charm, while Veloso delivered a jaw-dropper of a set. Even though it wasn't technically part of CMW, it instantly raised the bar on those shows still to come.

Framed perfectly by a live-wire beat-box handler and stoic bassist, the shy singer-guitarist glided through a bubbling procession of acoustic bossa nova melodies and electro beats from his excellent debut album Music Typewriter.

Some fans may have been listening out of respect for Veloso's dad, Caetano, who co-founded the adventurous Brazilian Tropicalia movement of the '60s. The hushed vibe and absence of cocktail party-type banter were a relief.

Seen hanging in the Rivoli crowd with Byrne was Joe Boyd, Hannibal Records boss, British folk mover and producer behind the late, legendary Nick Drake.

MEA CULPA: You might have heard the German word "schadenfreude" before. Literally, it means "shameful joy" -- grim satisfaction in the misfortunes of others.

Case in point: Universal Music Canada president Randy Lennox, whose CMW opening speech yesterday on the painful issue of Napster and home CD-burning included an aside about the proliferation of broadband Internet.

"In the next two years, 60% of households will have broadband access. So look out, film industry. It's gonna be your turn next."

Noting that 596 million songs were downloaded by Canadians last year, Lennox allowed that the record labels may be to blame for the enthusiasm consumers have shown for downloading. He said consumers have undertaken "a revolt against our status quo. They've sent us a clear message about hearing songs without limitations. We have to ask music lovers what they want and deliver it (on their terms).

"We've lived off the fat of the land and sustained our comfort level. And now we can't afford to make mistakes." (More on: David Byrne).