David Byrne brings ‘untethered’ band to Red Bank (WITH VIDEO AND SETLIST)

MATTHEW NOREEN

David Byrne and his “untethered” band at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank.

David Byrne kicked off his American Utopia Tour at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, last night. I requested a review ticket but was denied, being told that this was considered a warm-up show, so they didn’t want it reviewed. But I still wanted to share the setlist, as well as a video, posted to Facebook, that shows what Byrne meant when he previously described the 12-piece band on this tour as “untethered.”

In the video below, you can see a small portion of the Talking Heads song, “Once in a Lifetime.” As in the photo to the right, taken at the show, the stage is an empty space. The musicians are free to walk around freely; no one seems tied to any area of the stage. No amps, monitors, microphone stands or other pieces of equipment are, in fact, are in front of the curtain that surrounds the stage and creates a box-like effect.

I will add other videos to this post if they become available.

Byrne, who releases his American Utopia album on March 9, says the tour features “the most ambitious show I’ve done since the shows that were filmed for ‘Stop Making Sense.’ ” One other New Jersey stop is appearance is currently scheduled: July 27 at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, as part of the XPoNential Festival.

(March 14 Update: Byrne has also added a show with Tune-Yards opening, Sept. 7 at the OceanFirst Bank Center at Monmouth University in West Long Branch. Tickets go on sale March 16 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster).

Here is last night’s setlist, according to setlist.fm. Asterisks (*) denote songs from American Utopia. The video is under the setlist.

“Here” (*)
“Lazy”
“I Zimbra”
“Slippery People”
“I Should Watch TV”
“Dog’s Mind” (*)
“Everybody’s Coming to My House” (*)
“This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”
“Once in a Lifetime”
“Doing the Right Thing” (*)
“Toe Jam”
“The Great Curve”
“I Dance Like This” (*)
“Bullet” (*)
“Every Day Is a Miracle” (*)
“Like Humans Do”
“Blind”
“Burning Down the House”

ENCORES
“Dancing Together”
“Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)”
“Hell You Talmbout”