The Best in Late-Night Music: Week of Nov. 16
Before I begin, I must acknowledge a bit of musical history that went down after last week’s late night recap was posted: A Tribe Called Quest just reunited after a 15-year absence. Check out their grand return below.
Now, on to the business at hand.
This week’s late night champ: retro reinvention
All the geezers came out this week. Some of it was nostalgia, but most of it was later-in-life reinvention on late-night parade. It’s proof that art never gets old and artists have no expiration date.
MONDAY
Billy Gibbons on Conan
He brought the car, he brought the boogie, but Gibbons left ZZ Top at home — trading his trio for a killer combo and some old-school showmanship. (WATCH IT HERE.)
TUESDAY
Public Image Ltd. on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Don’t be distracted by his use of a teleprompter and the reading glasses. Yes, John Lydon is old, but he’s gloriously cranky as ever in this profanity-laced bit of late night performance art.
WEDNESDAY
Jeff Lynne’s ELO on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Make no mistake: Jeff Lynne’s ELO is not ELO. The band is completely different, there’s no spaceship, and it feels middle phones-in. But screw it, “Mr. Blue Sky” still sounds great nearly 40 years later. A little nostalgia never hurt anyone.
THURSDAY
One Direction on Jimmy Kimmel Live
This has to seen just for the spectacle alone. Six-thousand crazed teens packed on Hollywood Blvd. The song? Mediocre. The performance? They look bored. Harry Styles’s pants? I can’t make sense of them. [Cue the hate mail.] Still, there is something riveting about the whole scene. The guys travel in rarified air.
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