Late Night Performances
Brian Wilson Performs “God Only Knows” and “Love and Mercy” on Colbert: Watch
Brian Wilson popped up on Thursday night’s episode of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The Beach Boys singer-songwriter performed two of his most timeless ballads — “God Only Knows” and “Love and Mercy” — remotely from his grand piano. “Hi, this is Brian Wilson everyone,” the old bard announced over his keys. “I just want you guys to know that we’re all in this together.” From there, he dove right into the crescent waves of his veteran falsetto — as angelic as ever. Watch the replay below. Don’t forget: On June 19th, Wilson and legendary songwriter and arranger Van Dyke Parks are reissuing their first collaborative album, 1995’s Orange Crate Art. So, if you’re looking for some rays, well, there you go. In related news, his embarrassment of a cousin Mike Love recently...
Lil Nas X, Kacey Musgraves Sing Classic Sesame Street Songs on The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo: Watch
With the launch of HBO Max on Wednesday, the streamer debuted a number of new original series. Among them is the children’s answer to late night comedy programming, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo. Just like the Jimmy Fallons and Stephen Colberts of the world, the Muppet’s new show features musical guests, and the first three episodes see Lil Nas X, Kacey Musgraves, and The Jonas Brothers stopping by Sesame Street. Each popular superstar tackle a different song from Sesame Street’s vast repertoire of kids’ classics. Lil Nas X actually gets to “la la la” right alongside Elmo for a smooth hip-hop take on “Elmo’s Song”, even switching up the lyrics at the end to “Lil Nas X’s song.” Musgraves, meanwhile, holds the stage alone backed by nothing but bubbles to sing an acoustic version of “Rubber...
Courtney Barnett Performs “Sunday Roast” Remotely on Fallon: Watch
Courtney Barnett had been scheduled to embark on a European tour with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds this month. Instead, she’s stuck at home like the rest of us, keeping connected with her fans via video. Previously, the Australian indie rocker participated in a livestream supporting Oxfam alongside Sharon Van Ettern and Sheryl Crow, and in Australia’s “Music From the Home Front” benefit with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and DMA’s. And last night, Barnett dialed into The Tonight Show to deliver a special acoustic performance of “Sunday Roast” from her 2018 LP, Tell Me How You Really Feel. Catch the replay below. Late last year, Barnett released a surprise MTV Australia Unplugged live album, as well as a cover of Loose Tooth’s “Keep On”. [embedded content] You Deserve to Make Money Even When ...
HAIM Perform “Don’t Wanna” from Quarantine on Corden: Watch
HAIM Zoomed into The Late Late Show on Thursday night to have a chat with James Corden and perform their new single, “Don’t Wanna”. After awkwardly fawning over the siblings while staring at both his computer and his cellphone, Corden asked the trio who was the worst at handling isolation. Este admitted it was probably her, as she’s gone a little crazy “during Quar.” (And we all shudder together at the “hip” abbreviation.) Apparently, she’s turned a pair of exercise balls into Cast Away-like friends named Ilana and Dunkiel, complete with wigs. Once the brief interview was over, HAIM sat crosslegged on their respective floors or beds to deliever their-first ever performance of “Don’t Wanna”. Much like they did when they played “I Know Alone” on Colbert last month, they e...
Wilco Debut New Song “Tell Your Friends” on Colbert: Watch
Wilco fans were treated to a brand new song during Wednesday night’s edition of the Late Show with Stephn Colbert. Each of the band’s members appeared virtually from their respective homes and were joined by their families for the premiere of “Tell Your Friends”. “We miss each other. So we wrote a song about it to sing with each other, to sing to each other,” Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy said in a statement. Proceeds from the song’s digital download, available now on Bandcamp, will benefit the World Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization providing meals to underprivileged communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with “Tell Your Friends”, Tweedy also delivered a solo acoustic rendition of Wilco’s classic track “Jesus Etc”. Replay both performances below. Wilco rel...
Gorillaz Perform “Aries” on Kimmel: Watch
Long before the outbreak, Gorillaz launched Song Machine, an ongoing audiovisual series featuring new music. The animated band led by Damon Albarn has since forged ahead by releasing singles each month, and on Tuesday, Gorillaz showcased one of them on Jimmy Kimmel Live. For the remotely broadcast TV performance, Albarn teamed up with 2-D to play Gorillaz’s latest single, “Aries”. As Kimmel noted in his introduction, it marked the first time Albarn has ever-performed a duet with one his animated bandmates. Watch below. The studio version of “Aries” features New Order’s Peter Hook and Georgia, and marks the third chapter in Gorillaz’s Song Machine series. Previously, they released “Momentary Bliss” featuring slowthai and Slaves, and Désolé” featuring Fatoumata Diawara. ...
Billy Corgan Gives Quarantine Performance of “Hard Times” on Fallon: Watch
Despite his fondness for far-right, anti-government figures like Alex Jones, Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan seems to be abiding by stay-at-home orders. He’s even grown himself a quarantine beard (!) — which he proudly showed off during an in-home performance for Monday’s episode of The Tonight Show. Supporting his 2019 solo album, Cotillions, served up a delicate rendition of his song “Hard Times”. Watch below. Corgan’s Pumpkins were supposed to go on tour with Guns N’ Roses this summer, but obviously that’s no longer happening. On the plus side, it gives Corgan ample time to finish up those two new studio albums he’s been promising. [embedded content] You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you ...
Fantastic Negrito Announces New Album, Rips Through “Chocolate Samurai” on Colbert: Watch
Fantastic Negrito has announced his new album Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? The follow-up to the Grammy-winning Please Don’t Be Dead arrives August 14th, and to promote it, the blues rocker ripped through a fiery performance of the lead single “Chocolate Samurai” on Colbert. Xavier Dphrepaulezz began his Late Show set alone, holding two kinds of tape — measuring and duct — and marking out six feet of distance for his band. For the concert, he wore a fuzzy bucket hat and what looked like a military uniform made out of the Bible’s coat of many colors. Fantastic Negrito has a powerful voice with an inimitable grind; he approaches the notes with the unstoppable force of a locomotive barreling down the tracks. Throughout “Chocolate Samurai” he strutted and danced, refus...
Ben Gibbard Performs “Life Under Quarantine” on Colbert: Watch
If you put aside the disparities that always exist between societal strata and the political nonsense surrounding the health crisis, there’s something equalizing about the pandemic. Late night TV has provided somewhat a reflection of this, as the increasing delirium of hosts like Stephen Colbert mirrors our own stir-craziness, and guests have been reduced to the same Zoom calls in which everyone else is partaking. Take, for example, Ben Gibbard’s performance of “Life Under Quarantine” on A Late Show Wednesday night. The Death Cab for Cutie frontman debuted the new song back in March during a livestream for Seattle news outlet The Stranger’s “A Message to the City” series. Back then, he delivered the sad, strumming musing on our current trying situation while sitting squarely in f...
The Killers Dedicate “Caution” Performance on Fallon to Frontline Workers: Watch
The Killers may not be able to hit the road due to the pandemic, but they’ve certainly been making the rounds on the TV circuit. In support of forthcoming album Imploding the Mirage, Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and CBS This Morning. On Wednesday, the pair continued their streak by performing an at-home edition of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Broadcasting from a remote location, Flowers and Vannucci rolled out early single “Caution”. Though it was only just the two of them at the helms, their homemade, stripped-back rendition still captured the spark of The Killers’ songwriting prowess. Prior to the performance, Vannucci dedicated the song to workers “who are putting themselves out on the frontlines helping e...
James Blake Covers Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You” on Corden from Quarantine: Watch
James Blake has been spending his time in quarantine perfecting the art of the cover song. In March, the UK crooner took to Instagram Live to perform countless originals by Radiohead, Billie Eilish, and Frank Ocean. He also tackled the Joni Mitchell track “A Case of You”, which he released on his own Enough Thunder EP from 2011. For his remote appearance on the Late Late Show with James Corden on Tuesday, Blake again dusted off that Mitchell cover. Cozied up to a piano in his own sunlit living space, the Grammy winner delicately, softly sang his way through the 1971 single. Elsewhere in last night’s episode, Blake spoke to Corden about his upcoming projects. He said his newest single, “Too Precious”, would likely end up on his next album, though “the rest of the stuff is quite di...
Tame Impala Gives a Trippy Performance of “Is It True” on Colbert: Stream
On Monday evening, Tame Impala played a special quarantine rendition of “Is It True” for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The performance of The Slow Rush cut was suitably psychedelic, but it also revealed some troubling tendencies in the band. The singer was almost late, the guitarist kept walking off-stage, and did they really need to hide the bass player all the way at the back? Of course, that’s Kevin Parker in all three roles, using the magic of video editing to express his status as a one-man band. While other artists have relied on pre-taped bathroom recordings to give the illusion of a live performance, Parker acknowledged the artifice, utilizing it to create a simple but thrilling spectacle. Check out “Is It True” below. Earlier this month, Tame Impala participated i...
