EC to appear on the Late Show With David Letterman one last time, April 23, 2015

[And No Coffee Table]

http://www.cbspressexpress.com/cbs-ente ... w?id=42381

CBS’s “LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN” ANNOUNCES ITS STAR-STUDDED LINEUP OF GUESTS FOR DAVE’S FINAL 28 “LATE SHOW” BROADCASTS, BEGINNING MONDAY, APRIL 13

David Letterman, the longest-running host in late night history at 33 years, will begin his final 28 broadcasts of the LATE SHOW tonight, with a star-studded lineup of entertainment guests making their final appearances with him. As previously announced, his final LATE SHOW broadcast is Wednesday, May 20 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Some of the biggest names in entertainment will make their final appearances with Letterman over the next six weeks, including George Clooney, Robert Downey, Jr., Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, Jack Hanna, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Keaton, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker, Don Rickles, Julia Roberts, Ray Romano, Paul Rudd, Jerry Seinfeld, Martin Short, Howard Stern, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Oprah Winfrey, The Avett Brothers and Brandi Carlile, Elvis Costello, Dave Matthews Band, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Mumford and Sons, Ralph Stanley and Amos Lee, and many more names to be announced in the coming weeks.

Guests confirmed for the week of April 13 include Sarah Jessica Parker, 2015 Masters champion Jordan Spieth and music guests Asleep at the Wheel (April 13); Billy Crystal, THE TALK co-host Julie Chen, and country music artist and “50th Academy of Country Music Awards” nominee Chris Stapleton (April 14); Michael J. Fox, actress Amy Sedaris and musical guests Iron & Wine and Ben Bridwell (April 15); Kevin James, comedian Tom Dreesen, and musical guest Tracy Chapman (April 16); and Alec Baldwin and musical guest John Mayer (April 17).

The LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN is a production of Worldwide Pants Incorporated. Barbara Gaines, Matt Roberts, Jude Brennan and Rob Burnett are the executive producers. Jerry Foley is the director.

[cwr]

I was greedily hoping they'd give EC a whole week!

(Still hoping that the rumors of Colbert pursuing EC as Late Show bandleader are true...)

[bronxapostle]

Would you really want EC locked into such a mundane task detracting us all from varied other performances over the course of these golden years for us all cwr??? I'll take regular appearances two blocks from my work, but not a regular stint please.

[cwr]

Yes, at this point in his career- a steady and stable job like that would, I think, INCREASE the chances of him making new records. It would suck for people who count on him touring all over the place all year long, but it would also raise his profile in a way that I think would be, on balance, a net benefit for Costello fans.

Also, I think he would LIKE doing it. I think he would approach it in a fun and creative way, and I think it would lead to MORE fun collaborations.

No, I wouldn't want him "locked into" a "mundane task" but I also think it's seriously underestimating Costello to think that he would approach it that way if offered and if he wanted to do it.

Would you really want an aging Costello to be "locked into" having to schlep all over the world on a punishing tour schedule, blowing out his voice against his doctor's advice for the next decade? (See, it's all in how you frame it.)

[bronxapostle]

Oh yeah, he'd be great at it I know, and lots of fun with massive room for many more collaborations, I know. I'm just afraid the elbow room would be lacking for him to get away periodically. Unless he is really THAT much wanted and would be given free reign to assign his replacement for short or long sabbaticals and have his contact drawn up thusly. That could work.

[A rope leash]

I'm pretty sure they tape more than one show a day, so it isn't exactly a five day a week "job".

I can't see Elvis doing the music on Late Night. If it is to be done the way Paul Shaffer does it, he will have to play his versions of familiar radio "hits"...Elvis doing his own take on a cover of someone else song is fine, but arranging for the orchestra to play Hot Blooded or some such during the commercial break just demeans his importance. He's an internationally known artist...he can't be chained to NYC or to some asinine variety show.

[cwr]

Fred Armisen is able to be bandleader for Late Night and still pretty much do whatever he wants, including full seasons of Portlandia.

For a guy in his 60s raising two kids, I think the gig would be pretty appealing compared with touring all year long.

Also, I think "asinine variety show" is a pretty harsh assessment of a show that hasn't even aired yet starring one of the most talented and well-respected comic minds in America, isn't it?

[A rope leash]

Late night shows in the USA may be funny, and topical, and even sometimes entertaining...of course, they are much beloved. But when we look at what Paul Shaffer does and what Questlove does, it amounts to filling down time with music. Elvis can't play all his own tunes...I don't think the public would accept it. So he will have to play shortened versions of crap radio hits everyone "loves".

For an artist that has done quite a bit of raging against the machine, placing himself as a permanent cog in that machine just doesn't seem fitting. Maybe I just remember the old days when a lot of American rock fans complained constantly about how Elvis "sucked". Now he's some sort of treasure to everybody? There are lots of lesser artist that could fill this gig and if Elvis wants to "settle down" he can settle down in a studio and make us a new record.

[cwr]

Well, let's be at least a little bit realistic. There is likely no version of Costello settling down where he is making a bunch of studio records, given how poorly National Ransom and Wise Up Ghost sold. The only records he's made since 2010 have been at the behest of others designing a recording project FOR him.

If anything, settling down on a national TV gig in NYC would increase the likelihood that he'd make some more studio recordings, because it would raise his profile a little bit and make him a part of the cultural conversation in a way that touring simply doesn't.

I also don't think it's fair to assume that somehow Costello's version of being a bandleader would be him unimaginately trotting out fragments of boring hits. The man is the world's biggest record geek and a human jukebox. I'd bet that IF Colbert wanted him on his show, it would be precisely because he'd want to take advantage of having someone as creative as Costello redefine the role. Now, obviously there are limits to that, but I don't think this is any kind of nightmare scenario, and the upside could be significant for Costello fans. (Maybe not the fans who try to see dozens of shows during each tour, but for the fans who'd like to up the odds of him making more recordings.)

[verbal gymnastics]

If Elvis were to be a bandleader he would make it fun and could turn his hand to any artist's song - witness Spectacle for example.

It would stimulate his creativity and he wouldn't have to tour and rehash his solo show or reviving his old songs which, let's face it, is all he's been doing for the last few years. When was the last Elvis and the Imposters CD (it's a rhetorical question)? I agree his last few albums have been projects.

[A rope leash]

Bandleader for late night variety shows is for second-tier artists. For an icon like Elvis to take the job the role would have to expand. All the band does is carry people on and off stage and entertain the audience during breaks. The television audience doesn't even get to hear the whole performance.

Elvis is bigger than that. He's bigger than Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon or any of those guys, so why would he settle for being a sidekick? I thought he didn't want to be treated like some poor grateful clown.

[cwr]

Well, prior to Theme Time Radio Hour, nobody thought that a legend like Bob Dylan would try his hand at being a disc jockey. It's all in how you approach it, and all it requires is a little imagination.

Of course, if we envision it as a humiliating indignity, then there's no way Costello takes that job. But if Colbert were to ask Costello to be a part of the show, the mere act of asking would indicate that they want to do something a little bit special with it.

The Roots and Fred Armisen are the two examples that have started to shift the idea of what the job can be. Costello would be another nudge in that direction.

For an artist in his 60s, the idea of a sort of residency at the Ed Sullivan Theater where he'd be a part of a national tv show run by one of the most revered comedians in the business seems to be a much better option for a lifestyle than Dylan and his Never-ending road show. Let's not forget that it wasn't that long ago that EC's doctors were telling him he was damaging his voice by touring so much.

As for being "bigger than" this, I think that may be a fan's overestimation of how large Costello's legend currently looms. His own show lasted two seasons and was not brought back on basic cable. I think he would enjoy having a platform like this to have some fun on TV in NYC, meet and play with dozens upon dozens of musical guests who come on the show (and potentially sparking collaborations with them, quite conveniently.)

He's seen how much The Roots have enjoyed having their own playhouse over at NBC, and I could easily imagine him asking for a similar set-up where he would have a small recording studio in the building where he could record to his heart's content. And he could live in his Manhattan home with his wife and kids.

Then again, how could that possibly compete with the allure of being on airplanes and living in hotels and on tour buses all the time?

[sweetest punch]

If Elvis were to be a bandleader he would make it fun and could turn his hand to any artist's song - witness Spectacle for example.

It would stimulate his creativity and he wouldn't have to tour and rehash his solo show or reviving his old songs which, let's face it, is all he's been doing for the last few years. When was the last Elvis and the Imposters CD (it's a rhetorical question)? I agree his last few albums have been projects.

He has written about thirty new songs with Burt Bacharach. The New Basement Tapes project will give us maybe ten more EC/BD songs. So there is a lot to expect. But I agree, we are waiting for a new album with the Imposters!

[verbal gymnastics]

They're still project songs SP!

[sweetest punch]

Indeed, these are project songs.

[cwr]

I am excited about the new BB/EC songs (although I thought it was 10 new songs, not 30!) and about the remaining 10 or 15 EC versions of the New Basement Tapes songs!

I think the thing I think the Colbert gig would do best is to simply raise EC's profile, which is the fuel that could lead to more recordings. Let's not forget that Momofuku was the direct result of him guesting on Jenny Lewis' album, and that the mild sales success of Secret Profane & Sugarcane was at least partly linked to his slightly higher profile from Spectacle and it's accompanying promotional campaign. (And the success of SP&SC in turn sparked him to immediately write and record a double album, National Ransom.)

He could also, of course, take the gig and not do it full time, taking off months to go on the road if he wanted to.

All entirely hypothetical of course! Who knows what Colbert will really want for the show? But there's a little bit of buzz for this at the moment, so it's fun to speculate!

[sweetest punch]

Elvis and Burt have written 10 new songs for the Painted From Memory musical and about 20 new songs for the Austin powers musical.

[cwr]

WOW. It's hard to imagine what those 20 Austin Powers songs will be like.

I think I can just about imagine what 10 more PFM-style songs from EC & Burt might roughly sound like, but 20 Austin Powers songs is a lot!

I really hope we at least get to hear some demos someday even if these productions somehow fall apart. 30 songs is a lot to look forward to!

[And No Coffee Table]

EC will appear April 23.

http://www.interbridge.com/lineups.html

Th 4/23: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Russo, Elvis Costello

[Azmuda]

EC will appear April 23.

http://www.interbridge.com/lineups.html

Th 4/23: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Russo, Elvis Costello

http://www.elviscostello.info/wiki/inde ... ember_2005
_

[bronxapostle]

EC will appear April 23.

http://www.interbridge.com/lineups.html

Th 4/23: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Russo, Elvis Costello

wonder if this is the film date as they sometimes tape two shows per day.

[cwr]

Also, they're gonna be doing a Legends Of Letterman series where some of the musical guests do longer sets which will be shown online. I'd bet EC will do one of these!

http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/mu ... 201472958/

[sulky lad]

That's good news, it gives Elvis a day off before he flies over for the London meet up (again!)

[bronxapostle]

i'm on stand-by for Letterman early taping thursday: BUT I GOT TO GET OUT OF THIS FILMING A LACROSSE GAME GIG THAT I HAVE FOR THAT AFTERNOON ON LONG ISLAND, UGH!!! & i'm feeling all the stars aligning as i have seen him three times on april 23rd already: 2002, 2005 & 2010. please send good vibes this ba way that my buddy gets replacement videographer! that is if you want SONY there for whatever my transpire that does NOT hit the airwaves.

[monkey2man]

i'm on stand-by for Letterman early taping thursday: BUT I GOT TO GET OUT OF THIS FILMING A LACROSSE GAME GIG THAT I HAVE FOR THAT AFTERNOON ON LONG ISLAND, UGH!!! & i'm feeling all the stars aligning as i have seen him three times on april 23rd already: 2002, 2005 & 2010. please send good vibes this ba way that my buddy gets replacement videographer! that is if you want SONY there for whatever my transpire that does NOT hit the airwaves.

how do i get on stand-by? i'm off on thursday and sure wouldn't mind trying to catch this!