We're a few days away from the end of Stephen Colbert's Late Show. In what appears to be a transparent attempt to curry favor with Donald Trump, CBS announced plans to end The Late Show last year, and Colbert is making the most of his final week on the air. Tonight, for instance, Bruce Springsteen will be one of Colbert's guests. Colbert hasn't yet announced the guests for Thursday's grand finale. Last night's episode featured an all-star lineup, and Colbert got to perform with one of his musical heroes.
Tuesday's Late Show included Colbert's reunion with his old Daily Show colleague Jon Stewart, and it also featured Steven Spielberg, so that's pretty good. The night's musical guest was David Byrne, who always does cool things with his TV time. Byrne was just on Colbert back in March, adapting his current touring performance for the show's studio. These days, Byrne and his full backing band wear matching blue jumpsuits, and they all move across the stage in a kind of choreographed parade. On last night's Late Show, they did the Talking Heads classic "Burning Down The House," an obviously pointed choice, and Colbert put on one of those blue jumpsuits and joined in.
I was honestly pretty worried about the prospect of Colbert and Byrne performing together, but it wasn't quite the self-congratulatory spectacle I'd imagined. Colbert only showed up at the end of the song, and he did a quick Soul Train strut down the line of musicians and soaked up applause. He didn't sing into a mic or play the triangle or anything. Even if you don't feel all that strongly about the CBS incarnation of Colbert's career, you still get a "Burning Down The House" performance out of the deal. Check it out below.
