Go big or go home. That must've been Jeremy Messersmith's thinking as he headed to the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan yesterday to make his network TV debut on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
In addition to his regular, four-piece backing band, the Minneapolis pop craftsman brought the Laurel Strings Quartet and his non-touring guitarist Brian Tighe with him all the way to New York for the show – the same large ensemble he employed at Rock the Garden in June. He admitted via Twitter afterward that his entourage was too bulky to fit in the "Late Show's" puny dressing rooms. "Lots of hanging in the hallway," he said. Long before the performance aired, Messersmith posted a selfie on Instagram during the band's ungodly early 4 a.m. rehearsal on the Letterman set (reposted to the right).
Not only was the band big, but so was the song. He picked one of the grander, more challenging tunes from his "Heart Murmurs" album, "Bubblin'." I'd say it paid off, but judge for yourself in the clip below.
Touring hard since February, Messersmith will scale back to his smallest incarnation for the next few weeks playing a string of the "supper club" solo shows he has long favored. He and the band do have one big gig in the area coming up soon: a pairing with Mason Jennings at the Vetter Stone Amphitheater in Mankato on Sept. 5.
