TV Performance

MEMORABLE TV PERFORMANCES: ADAM SANDLER (NEIL YOUNG)- LIKE A HURRICANE ON LETTERMAN

Let’s travel back to 2009. Warner Brothers Records was putting together a compilation album to celebrate their 50th anniversary. A bunch of different artists and bands were chosen to cover a myriad of bands and artists that have been on the label. There are some really interesting choices on this album as to what song was picked and who is doing what. For example Mastodon does a rad version of ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid.” The one that I really want to highlight is Adam Sandler taking on “Like A Hurricane” by Neil Young & Crazy Horse. As a big Neil fan since I was a little kid as well as an Adam Sandler fan, this was quite the great one to hear. Adam is quite underrated as a singer and guitarist and he really does a great job on this. To promote the album, Adam was a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman in 2009 and performed this on the show. What a tremendous performance it is. Enjoy this one!!

Adam Sandler (Neil Young)- Like A Hurricane (Live on Late Show w/ David Letterman, 2009):

Memorable TV Performace: Chris Cornell on The Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno 2006

Back in 2006, Chris Cornell wrote a song for the film Casino Royale. Since this was to be a new beginning for the James Bond franchise (and it’s a great film too), the film’s producers wanted to reflect this new direction of James Bond with a “strong male singer.” Well, they definitely got that with Chris Cornell. The end result is “You Know My Name.” One of the intriguing things about this song is that during the making of it, Ken Andrews of Failure was asked to help out. Chris would wind up doing some vocals with Ken behind the board. Which is a totally awesome thing all on it’s own. I still to this day wonder what Audioslave or even Chris’s solo album would sound like if Ken was the producer and or mixer. When you watch this performance check out who is playing guitar and doing backing vocals!

Chris Cornell- You Know My Name (Live on The Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno- 2006):

Memorable TV Performances: Nine Inch Nails on Jimmy Kimmel 2013

The year was 2013, Nine Inch Nails have returned from a 5 year hiatus and a new album, Hesitation Marks. When news of this came out, needless to say I was pretty damn excited. Around the time of the release of the album, it was announced that Nine Inch Nails would be the musical guest on an upcoming episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. This would mark the bands network TV debut. They have obviously previously performed on MTV but, never a late night network show. They would perform 5 songs this evening with “Various Methods Of Escape” leading it off on TV followed by “All Time Low,” “Sanctified (altered version),” “Came Back Haunted,” and “The Hand That Feeds.” It was quite a fun set as those of us in attendance got to hear 3 new songs live for the first time plus a couple classics. It’s crazy to think that this was almost 10 years ago now. And since today is May 17… Happy Birthday Trent!

Nine Inch Nails- Various Methods Of Escape (Live On Jimmy Kimmel 2013):

All Time Low:

Sanctified:

Came Back Haunted:

The Hand That Feeds:

Memorable TV Performances: Alice In Chains & Heart- Rooster on VH1 Tribute To Heart

Back in 2006, VH1 put together a program to honor the band Heart. The show also featured a short set from Heart’s long time friends, Alice In Chains. Joining Alice In Chains this evening with Jerry Cantrell, Sean Kinney and Mike Inez were Duff McKagan on guitar, Phil Anselmo on Vocals (singing “Would?”) and the one and only William DuVall (singing “Man In The Box” and “Rooster”). I’ve written about the Phil performance before which you can read and watch HERE. This night however would actually be a sort of reveal to showcase William as the new singer of Alice In Chains and it didn’t disappoint one bit (and still 17 years later, William is so damn good). Watching this performance and hearing William inhabit the songs and words, is astounding. Also, this was William’s first “real” performance with the band and what a way to introduce yourself. I’ve said it many times before, William was a great choice for Alice to carry on their legacy. He’s his own voice and person and the way he respects the songs and what the band did beyond thoughtful. This performance is one of those that should live on in TV history, it’s that good!

Alice In Chains w/ Heart- Rooster (Live On VH1 Decades Live- 2006):

Memorable TV Performances: Interpol- PDA on Letterman 2002

There are a lot of bands out there that I enjoy that would probably surprise a bunch of you that read Audioeclectica. One of which is Interpol. Now, when they first arrived on the scene I was not into it and I wrote them off as a Joy Division wannabe type band but, then I saw them around the time of their first album and my attitude about them changed. Yes, they have some very similar moments that you would find in a Joy Division song but, Interpol brought something more to it. Their debut album, Turn On The Bright Lights is a terrific debut album and the song “PDA” to this day always seems to perk me up. Which now brings me to Interpol’s late night TV performance debut on the Late Show with David Letterman back in 2002. It’s crazy to think that this song and performance is over 20 years old now and the song still sounds great! Enjoy!

Interpol- PDA (Live on the Late Show with David Letterman- 2002):

Memorable TV Performances: Radiohead on Late Night with Conan O’Brien

The date is September 14, 1993 and it’s the debut show of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The music guest for the night is Radiohead. What a debut show! Radiohead’s performance of “Creep” is pretty classic. Looking back on it almost 30 years later, and where Radiohead has gone since is pretty astounding. It’s performances like this that you can look back on knowing that they were memorable for more than just the usual reasons. This one stands out as a definite highlight for Late Night performances.

Radiohead- Creep (Live on Late Night with Conan O’Brien- 09/14/93):

Memorable TV Performances: A Perfect Circle- 3 Libras on The Tonight Show

This morning I woke up with a part of a song in my head and it took me a minute to realize what it was and then once it hit, I knew what I was going to write about today. The song I had in my head was “3 Libras” by A Perfect Circle. To this day, this song is still one of my favorites and when it gets to that part of the album it gives me chills. One of my favorite performances of “3 Libras” actually comes from their appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno (that long ago). This one is a stand out not just for how well they rocked the song but, having Paz Lenchantin play violin throughout the song and having one of my all time favorite musicians, Danny Lohner join them on bass to round it out made it that much more memorable. Revisit this gem of a performance with me!


A Perfect Circle- 3 Libras (Live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno):

Memorable TV Performances: 311 on Late Night with Conan O’Brien

This is a fun one for you all. Back in 1996 on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Omaha’s own 311, made their national television debut with a performance of their hit song “Down.” This was the year that 311 broke and everyone knew the song “Down.” It was and still is infectious. To this day, anytime I hear this song it takes me back and I can’t help but turn it up loud! 311’s self titled album or the “blue album” as some refer to it as, still holds up quite well to this day! If it were ever announced that the band would do a full play through of this album, I’d definitely go! In the meantime, enjoy this classic performance of 311’s “Down.”

311- Down (Live on Late Night with Conan O’Brien/ 1996):

Memorable TV Performances: Chimaira on Farmclub

For a short time in late 1998 to early 2000 on the USA network, Farmclub was all the buzz. The show’s content featured “it” musical artists of the moment and promoted unsigned bands through national exposure and website interaction. It was hosted by music industry vet Matt Pinfield and model/actress Ali Landry. During the time it was on air, the show was responsible for a bunch of artists signing to major labels. One of the most legendary of these signings was when Chimaira performed on the show. On this night, they performed the song “Dead Inside” and it was one of those magical moments of TV performances that has gone on to live in infamy. Not long after this, Chimaira and Roadrunner Records would go on to work together. Between Farmclub and Reverb on HBO, we are definitely missing shows like that!

Chimaira- Dead Inside (Live On Farmclub):

Memorable TV Performances: White Zombie on David Letterman 1995
See White Zombie "Blow the Roof Off" 'Letterman' With "More Human" in 1995 | Revolver

Travel back to 1995 with me and revisit the time White Zombie was on the Late Show with David Letterman. While out promoting their album, Astro-Creep 2000, White Zombie payed a visit to the Letterman show and performed “More Human Than Human.” They were joined by Paul Schaffer as well who provided the keyboard parts. It’s a very fun performance and it looks like the band was enjoying it, especially David Letterman at the end. What’s even cooler is that, White Zombie returned to the Letterman show a few months later and performed again. This time they chose “Super Charger Heaven.” I still believe that if White Zombie were to reunite, they could put out one hell of a good album.

More Human Than Human:


Super-Charger Heaven: