Staff Editor on August 27th, 2018

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Barefoot and clad in grey suits, David Byrne and his band provided a beautifully minimalist stage performance on Saturday night at Shrine Auditorium. A manifestation of his latest record, “American Utopia,” the show opened with Byrne in darkness at a desk holding a brain, as silver curtains rise around the bare stage, launching into the song, “Here.” The set included songs from the record, other solo material, and a nice chunk of Talking Heads favorites, all performed by a wireless 11-piece band marching in whimsical choreography by Annie-B Parson that utilized every corner, even with arms occasionally jutting out from behind the curtains holding instruments. They capped the night with two encores, including a percussive, call-and-response interpretation of Janelle Monae’s “Hell You Talmbout” and “Dancing Together,” from a musical Byrne wrote with Fatboy Slim called “Here Lies Love” about Imelda Marcos, aimed at politicians behaving as if unaware of their relationship to constituents. The very talented duo Ibeyi opened, but the chatty audience did not quite give them the attention they are worth. By the end of their set, the duo got the crowd engaged, singing along with their strong messages about gender and racial equality.

Photos by Annie Lesser