remphish1 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Although I haven't watched the late show in I'd say 10+ years the Late Show has a very special place in my life. Back when I was in High School I used to watch all the time. Any time there was a good guest my friends and I would hang out and try and meet them or attend a taping. I must have attended the show 25 times or so...Some of my highlights were seeing: Wilco, Bruce Springsteen, Radiohead, Phish, BIll Murray, Christopher Walker, Beck, Elvis Costello etc..I just figured since it is appropriate I will share my Wilco story since it was so much fun. We didn't have tickets for the show when Wilco was the guest so we decided to go for standby tickets.It was 1997 and Being There was just released. We were able to snag standby tickets and decided to wait by the stage door to see if we can meet the band. While waiting Jeff gets out of the car and starts to head in. I say hey...he stops sign my cd and just starts talking. We must have spent 15 minutes just talking to Jeff. I think he was shocked anyone was waiting for them but it was awesome. After that Jay stopped by and talked and then Bob Edgan. After the show we were waiting and Bob walked out and said hey did you get everyone signature wanted...I said no I haven't met John and Ken yet. Bob disappeared for a second and dragged them outside and we all talked for awhile longer.. what a great memory. As an added bonus while we were waiting in line for the show we heard them soundcheck. We got to hear Outta Site Outta Mind about 10 times in practice.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Heartbreak Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 That is a really cool story. I enjoyed a few interactions with some of the guys in the late 90s, and they were all very laid back and friendly. I never got a chance to get to a Letterman taping, but the show was a big part of my life, too, for quite some time back in the 80s, especially. I even watched as recently as 2003-2004, and remember catching the last Warren Zevon appearance when it aired. I have been watching some of these last few shows after DVR-ing them, and have been surprised by how much the quality of the writing seems to have declined over the years. I know I can be a tough audience - I have been known to sit in front of The Daily Show recently, and not crack a smile - but this was much worse than The Daily Show's decline. This material (monologue, Top Ten list, etc) was bad. I'm talking Jay Leno bad. It was a great show in its prime, but that was a long, long time ago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I'm guessing that Oprah will make an appearance tonight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atticus Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 God I hope not. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 That is one of the best Wilco stories I've ever heard. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
worldrecordplayer Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I'm guessing that Oprah will make an appearance tonight.Oprah was on Friday Quote Link to post Share on other sites
worldrecordplayer Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 After watching Letterman religiously for many years, many years ago, I hadn't watched much for a long time. I've been recording Jon Stewart (and Chelsea Lately before that ended) every night, so not enough time in the day to also watch Dave. But over the last month I've been recording Letterman every night and really enjoying every minute of each of the shows. I'm still behind, but will end up watching them all. i don't disagree with the comment that the writing has declined, but the video clips they've been showing have been great, as have the A+ guest list of people who have showed up these last few weeks, many of whom have literally been in tears during their last appearances. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Letterman was idolized in my home growing up. I don't recall a time from the mid-to-late 80s when when I could possibly have missed an episode. We recorded it every night (Fridays were always a repeat, so four eps a week) and over the course of a week into the weekend, through various viewings (my parents would watch it religiously after dinner, and my four brothers and sisters would watch any time of day - in the summer my sister and I would stay up for it), I probably watched each episode at least two full times. And the anniversary specials we'd all watch to the point where I can still recite streams of bits according to those edited segments. And the music was nearly as important as the comedy. Of all things, I fondly recall watching Brian Setzer doing Radiation Ranch from The Knife Feels Like Justice, his first solo album which I was completely alone in my adoration of. I watched it with my dad and he was impressed not only by Setzer's performance but, by extension, that I owned the record. It might be the unshakeable grip of nostalgia this has on me, but it still looks and sounds good today. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
remphish1 Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Oh I forgot some other random Letterman meetings outside 1 Day I met Eddie Vedder and Pete Townsend.Dustin Hoffman signed a dollar bill for me...wasn;t there to met him but the timing worked outAnother I met Norm MacDonald, Bob Saget and one of the Indigo Girls all on the same dayMet George Carlin...and he said hey kid. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I watched the primetime special a couple of weeks ago and while it doesn't diminish my memories of the old NBC show, it made it clearer than ever that the switch to CBS (and, the 11:30 time slot restrictions/debts that came with it) changed the spirit of the show in some small but significant way that made me less of a fan and more of an admirer of Dave's for sticking it out. I liked it better when Brother Theodore was saying his fellow guest Miss America "makes Bella Abzug look like an airline hostess" than when Julia Roberts appeared for the hundredth time to flirt with Dave. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Great Setzer clip. Interesting seeing him without that big Gretsch guitar. Like many people, College was the heyday of my Dave watching. No matter what paper I was writing or what I was studying, the Letterman show was something I would always make sure I took a break and watched. Will be strange living in a post Letterman world. I even remember watching that daytime Dave show in the summer way back when. Seems like he has always been there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
worldrecordplayer Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Foo Fighters announces as the final musical guest for tonight. Underwhelming choice to me, I can't stand them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 This is a classic episode, with Robert Klein and a great performance/interview with George Clinton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc1t6aOJF0Q Quote Link to post Share on other sites
worldrecordplayer Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 the A+ guest list of people who have showed up these last few weeks, many of whom have literally been in tears during their last appearances. Especially Norm MacDonald Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Foo Fighters announces as the final musical guest for tonight. Underwhelming choice to me, I can't stand them. Same here but they're his favorite, so good for him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Same here but they're his favorite, so good for him.Just made me think back to the first-ever Conan show. And his first-ever musical guest was Jonathan Richman.Made me so happy.But this thread is about Letterman, so… back to it! And for the record, while I like Foo Fighters, I don't love them. Underwhelming for me, too.But yeah, if they're Dave's favorite, that's all that matters tonight, I guess. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jw harding Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 The Fucking Foo Fighters? Like Dave Grohl needs any more validation for his sense of self and identity as being the mayor of rock n roll. I get that some people like generic scripted rock, but enough with the Foo Fighters already. They are so mediocre. First Wolf of Wall St and now this. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I've said it before but Grohl is the Phil Collins of the New Millennium. A really good drummer from a very good band who goes solo, becomes a frontman, and churns out bland, boring music, and it gets to the point where you cannot turn on your TV without seeing his face. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jw harding Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I've said it before but Grohl is the Phil Collins of the New Millennium. A really good drummer from a very good band who goes solo, becomes a frontman, and churns out bland, boring music, and it gets to the point where you cannot turn on your TV without seeing his face.That is a great analogy. I'm gonna use that to piss people off. Thanks so much! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 In that episode I posted George Clinton describes the allure of Letterman's show perfectly - "The first thing that let me know I wasn't crazy was when I first saw you on television, and people liking you. Because I mean, I know what it's like to be a jerk...no no no, now don't get me wrong...a positive creative nuisance. You know what I'm sayin'? We get off on that, and you do it good." Clinton even wrote his own Top Ten list of favorite Late Night moments. And coincidentally, Dave makes a jab at the ubiquity of Phil Collins in that episode. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moss Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 This is a classic episode, with Robert Klein and a great performance/interview with George Clinton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc1t6aOJF0Q It's funny, you can tell how upset he was about thinking it was George Clinton sitting in with the band. From everything you read, that was the kind of thing that would just wreck his entire week. He seems so much more relaxed these days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I've said it before but Grohl is the Phil Collins of the New Millennium. A really good drummer from a very good band who goes solo, becomes a frontman, and churns out bland, boring music, and it gets to the point where you cannot turn on your TV without seeing his face.Brilliant! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 It's funny, you can tell how upset he was about thinking it was George Clinton sitting in with the band. From everything you read, that was the kind of thing that would just wreck his entire week. He seems so much more relaxed these days. Yes indeed. "Big, dumb, white guy." Quote Link to post Share on other sites
worldrecordplayer Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Wilco gets in on Dave's last day with a #thanksDave tweet of this performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd-1zwWYGKU&feature=youtu.be Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Passenger Sid Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Hothouse Flowers singing "Don't Go" woulda been cool. That song was supposedly a big favorite of Letterman's, and would often be played at the conclusion of his show. The Foo Fighters? Yawn. Maybe Chris Elliott shows up? Jay Leno? Richard Lewis? Jerry Seinfeld? Sad that Terri Garr is dealing with MS...doubtful, but if she somehow made a brief appearance, she'd get a standing O. She was a great guest in the old days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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