Back when Paul Schafer played along with the musical guest on Letterman

Sure, but that’s not typical. It doesn’t seem like it was a “Hey, can we play with you guys?” sorta set-up, but kinda the price you pay if you wanna be on the show. Cuz I can’t imagine most bands would be cool with it.

As mentioned upthread, that's why the Replacements never did Letterman (Pleased To Meet Me-era, iirc).

Yeah, it always seemed like a shitty flex, like “you may think you’re so great, but actually we can do your shit as well as everyone else’s.”

Also I’d like to know if bands’ song choices were ever vetoed because the house band couldn’t do them or didn’t have a part to play.

Probably not. Shaffer & co. were all heavy session pros, so there's not a lot they couldn't fake.

A lot of times they would also back up solo artists, even if said artists already had established backing bands.

For example, Stevie Ray Vaughan sans Double Trouble

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEeck-DHDaI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQr_L4_M9lU

"Crossfire" & "Wall of Denial"...Another example of somebody making separate appearances on the show months apart promoting the same album.

i mean, the roots do this on fallon all the time?

But people like them!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jszCZPGsCow

CSN: "As I Come Of Age"

#OneThread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWsM3BkXZXM

Albert Collins & The Anton Fig Blues Band: "A Good Fool Is Hard To Find"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bijm95hoVF4

Lucinda Williams, with Gurf & Roger McGuinn (!)*: "Six Blocks Away"

*I guess he was sitting in that night?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwBV-bXQsfY

Subdudes, with Paul stepping back: "Tired of Being Alone"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPQPJp8xrOY

Psychedelic Furs: "Until She Comes"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jkZEJuD21o

Spin Doctors, w/a double rhythm section:'"Jimmy Olsen's Blues"

One more...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lGq-Y4LQrQ

Squeeze, except it's just Difford & Tillbrook &...Jools(?): "If It's Love"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OUfXJ8g6Fw

Blue Rodeo, with Steve Ferrone: "Restless"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5B2_Rbu8-8

Steve Earle: "Copperhead Road" and a funny interview

Re: earlier discussion on why they did this, I'd imagine the production team were happy to have essentially the same band on each week with the same backline. Saves them dealing with some over-hitting drummer or guitarist who turns their amp up full otherwise "it doesn't sound right".

Man, WIll's really rocking the Breck hair in that Lucinda McGuinn video.

Matt OTM. I remember a conversation with guy who had been in the show a few times who he said something like "Paul, Will and company have been doing it for so long they are like the crew of a B52 bomber."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-f3Weo2vs4

Cracker, with their drummer on tambourine and dance moves: "Teen Angst"

Think I already posted the Poi Dog Pondering appearance upthread. Believe they managed to get the whole band on stage somehow. One guy had to play percussion on a soda can iirc.

It wouldn't surprise me if Paul renegotiated his contract at some point so that they always had to play with the bands in order to give him and his band more to do on the show. They were and are highly well-connected so maybe they thought it was their due. But Matt's explanation could very well be right.

Still think it must have had something to do with either union rules, royalty payments or both.

Yeah, but the practice stopped when they went to CBS and they may have been worried about losing bookings to Leno.

They still did a version of it at CBS: bands appear in their full lineups, but sometimes the house band would play along with them to beef up the sound. However, usually when this happened, Paul & co. wouldn't get as much screentime during the performances.

Speaking of CBS, Dave's people have been having clips from that era removed left and right as of late.

Dave's staff has really stepped up trying to post their own clips. Somewhat ghoulishly perhaps, anytime a celebrity who was on the show dies they'll get an old interview with them up that same day.

...or just if somebody's in the news. Noticed they put up some Blink-182 stuff right after the reunion announcement.

Anyway, this is new to me: Sonic Youth (w/a very pregnant Kim) doing "Bull In The Heather" on the CBS show.

https://digg.com/music/link/sonic-youth-letterman-1994-GqIWpyBSo0

Paul and the band have to sit silently and watch.

By the time Letterman moved to CBS, Shaffer’s band rarely accompanied musical guests.

And I always assumed the main reason one or two members of a band had to play with Shaffer et al on NBC was the size of the studio. For the first few years of Late Night the Bangles, R.E.M., and Dylan, among others, played without Shaffer’s band, but Letterman was moved to a new, and smaller, studio around ‘86-‘87 or so, making it difficult-to-impossible to fit even just a four-piece band’s gear etc. onto the stage.

when we played the CBS show Paul & the band hung around to watch our performance from their stations, even though we were dead last and they all could have bailed early. out of sight of the camera Schaeffer was there really bopping head head along and following what we were doing, just rocking out, and it made me feel like a million, billion bucks. One of the best "go ahead and meet your heroes" experiences I can imagine

Cool!

Another one of those 'discreet augmentation' bits from the CBS Orchestra:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d75oeqBBVA

ZZ Top: "What's Up With That"

On that same tip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIpmUroL2D4

Johnny Winter: "Dust My Broom"

oh man that Johnny Winter one is hot stuff

the letterman youtube videos have started including ads and psas at the end, it's lovely stuff

From now or then?

era appropriate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opdndYLhcJI

Richard Thompson: "I Feel So Good" (Will Lee going HAM during the guitar solo)

Posted before, but was taken down:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Y_3t629YM

Breeders: "So Sad About Us" (with bonus Who from TWMDB afterwards)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3MxcmfEtxo

Ray Davies (no Kinks, not even Dave): "How Do I Get Close?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVgeAK6IN4s

Los Lobos: "Reva's House"

I stayed up for that Ray Davies appearance (hey, 11:30-12:30 Central was LATE on a weeknight for a high schooler who had to get up at 6am for Jazz Band practice). I was disappointed that Dave wasn’t there, but liked the performance anyway. And Letterman’s wrong: it was their 26th album (counting live albums, not counting compilations), not their 48th.

It’s hard to see the hype sticker, but it calls the Kinks “The World’s Premier Rock & Roll Band!” They really wanted to fill the stadiums that the Stones and Who had filled in the summer of ‘89, but UK Jive topped out at #122 in the US, and the best they could hope for was 1/2-empty sheds on their 1990 tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo6V2V6luLY

Liz Phair: "Supernova"

WOW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYifslpfSq8

The Feelies: "Doin' It Again"

oh big cheers for that one - they sound good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaoEuyObRkY

Bo Diddley: "Bo Diddley Put The Rock In Rock-'n'-Roll"

Lol @ Dave's bit of business with the LP cover at the start of the Liz Phair clip

(Liz doesn't sound her best there... too bad)

https://consequence.net/2023/01/paul-shaffer-fill-in-the-roots-jimmy-fallon/

(posted today)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnUI4a7BKpE

Letterman did one of his primetime anniversary specials not long after the SNL incident, including part of that clip in a musical guests montage, and there was audible booing.

On a related note, here's Julee Cruise w/the SNL band when she and the Spanic Boys pitch-hit for Sinead in '90.

https://vimeo.com/145203027