Last fall, Evan Dando's great shambling fuzz-pop institution the Lemonheads came back strong with Love Chant, their first album of new material since 2006. On Tuesday night, Dando and his current Lemonheads lineup were the musical guests on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show. As far as we can tell, this was the Lemonheads' first late-night performance in 30 years. And let me tell you: Fallon was fucking psyched about it, to the point where he had to jump in there and sing some harmony vocals.
Our own Scott Lapatine, who loves to research these things, has determined that the last time that the Lemonheads played on late-night TV was a 1996 appearance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, where they played "Big Gay Heart" and Dando talked about his decision to cut his hair. (Dando was also a guest on Last Call With Carson Daly in 2003, but he gave a solo-acoustic performance and wasn't billed as the Lemonheads, so it probably doesn't count.) Given his colorful life, it's a wonder that Dando looks and sounds as good as he did on Fallon last night.
The lead guest on last night's Tonight Show was Will Smith, another '90s icon with another checkered history. The band performed "Roky," their ode to the late rock 'n' roll outsider icon Roky Erickson. As a bonus, they also busted out "My Drug Buddy," from their 1992 classic It's A Shame About Ray. Fallon jumped in to sing backup on that one. This was not without awkwardness, but it's honestly the most endearing thing I've seen Fallon do in I don't know how long. Watch both performances below.
This would also be a good time to check out the Wellness Check video that Evan Dando did with Stereogum jumping jack correspondent Rachel Brown last year.
Love Chant is out now on Fire Records. Tonight, the Lemonheads have a pop-up show at New York country bar Lucinda's, and co-owner Lucinda Williams played Colbert last night, so maybe she'll be there. Check out our We've Got A File On You interview with Evan Dando here.
