David Byrne’s Broadway show American Utopia remains some kind of ongoing artistic miracle. Byrne’s Broadway show opened in October of 2019, and it became an immediate sensation. Spike Lee directed a film version of the show, and it came out a year ago, in the depths of the pandemic, giving a much-needed dose of live-performance euphoria. In September, American Utopia opened on Broadway once again, and the show won a special Tony Award, which takes Byrne three quarters of the way to EGOT status. And now Byrne is once again out on the late-night circuit, letting people see the kinds of performances that he’s doing now.

Last night, Byrne and his American Utopia ensemble were on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show. Byrne, dressed in a truly dashing outfit with vague sea-captain undertones, sat down for an interview with Colbert. The highlight of the conversation came when Byrne agreed to teach Colbert some of his famously gawky and distinctive dance moves: “This one’s called polish the plates! You can see where that’s coming from! There’s another one — anybody can do this — stop the traffic!” Good shit, man.

After the interview, Byrne and the rest of the American Utopia cast performed the Broadway-show version of “I Zimbra,” the Talking Heads’ 1979 Fear Of Music classic. Byrne opened the performance by talking about, and reciting, dada poetry, just as he does on Broadway. Then he and the rest of the musicians really bring the nonsense. The choreography doesn’t hit quite as hard in a late-night studio as it does in Spike Lee’s version of American Utopia, but it’s still strange and exciting. Byrne wears that little headset mic, like he’s giving a TED talk, and then he and his team totally reshape their space. Below, watch the performance and the interview.

David Byrne’s American Utopia is currently running in the St. James Theater. The Spike Lee-filmed version is streaming on HBO Max.