User:Krelnik/Utopia

American Utopia Tour is a 2018 concert tour by David Byrne supporting his album American Utopia

Background and development
Byrne's album American Utopia was his first solo studio album since 2004, and he had not toured solo since 2009.

George Varga on the significance of Stop Making Sense in SD-UT: "The result was 1984’s stunning “Stop Making Sense,” which set a new conceptual, musical and visual standard. It still stands as one of the definitive rock concert films — and an enduring demonstration of how a live performance, even one carefully edited together from three concerts, can be visceral and theatrical, playful and provocative, robust and refined."

Details on development & rehearsal

“(It) completely rethinks what you can do, what a band, what a show can be,”

“We’ll be doing some new songs, and many others that will, I assume, be familiar,”

"“I’m excited. This is the most ambitious show I’ve done since the shows that were filmed for Stop Making Sense, so fingers crossed.”"

- David Byrne

other stuff on tech



Concert synopsis
matching grey Kenzo suits

Reception
Reviews of the tour were overwhelmingly positive. The Los Angeles Times called it "a joy to behold", NME said it was possibly the "most ambitious and impressive live show of all time", and Metro Weekly called it "2018’s most thrilling concert experience". Kitty Empire, writing in The Guardian, called the "highly unorthodox tour" an "unprecedented, exquisite live show". The Atlantic said the show was "captivatingly bizarre" and a "reinvention of the rock concert."

Set list
Songs are from Byrne's American Utopia album unless otherwise noted. The set list has remained relatively constant over the tour, with minor variations.

Main set

 * "Here"
 * (some dates) "Lazy" - the X-Press 2 single
 * "I Zimbra" - from Fear of Music
 * "Slippery People" - from Speaking in Tongues
 * "I Should Watch TV" - from Love This Giant
 * "Dog's Mind"
 * "Everybody's Coming to my House"
 * "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" - from Speaking in Tongues
 * "Once in a Lifetime" - from Remain in Light
 * "Doing the Right Thing"
 * "Toe Jam" - from I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
 * (some dates) "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" - from Remain in Light
 * "I Dance Like This"
 * "Bullet"
 * (some dates) "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets"
 * (some dates) "Every Day Is a Miracle"
 * "Like Humans Do" - from Look into the Eyeball
 * "Blind" - from Naked
 * "Burning Down the House" - from Speaking in Tongues

First encore (2 songs)

 * (some dates) "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" - from Remain in Light
 * (some dates) "Dancing Together" - from Here Lies Love
 * (some dates) "Road to Nowhere" - from Little Creatures
 * "The Great Curve" - from Remain in Light

Second encore

 * "Hell You Talmbout" (Janelle Monáe)

Performers

 * Karl Mansfield - keyboard, musical director
 * Bobby Wooten - bass
 * Angela Johnson-Swan - guitar
 * Chris Giarmo - backing vocals and dance captain
 * Tendayi Kuumba - backing vocals


 * Mauro Refosco - percussion, musical director
 * Tim Keiper - percussion
 * Aaron Johnston - percussion
 * Gustavo Di Dalva - percussion
 * Davi Vieira - percussion
 * Daniel Freedman - percussion



Others

 * Annie-B Parson - choreographer
 * Rob Sinclair - lighting designer
 * Douglas Green - lighting director


 * Pete Keppler - front of house engineer
 * John Chadwick - monitor engineer
 * Keith Anderson - tour manager

Supporting acts

 * Lisandro Aristimuño (Buenos Aires - Teatro Gran Rex)
 * Juana Molina (Montevideo)
 * Karina Zeviani (4 dates in Brazil)
 * Mexican Institute of Sound (Mexico City)


 * Perfume Genius (many U.S. dates)
 * Laura Mvula (some European dates)
 * Benjamin Clementine (some U.S. & Canada dates)
 * Ibeyi (second North America leg)
 * Tune-Yards (final leg of tour)