Watch Run the Jewels, TV on the Radio Team on ‘Angel Duster’
Just days after Paul Simon and Stephen Colbert fronted a fake Paul Simon tribute band, the Late Show was back with another unique musical collaboration: Run the Jewels teaming up with TV on the Radio. “Tonight’s musical guest is so hip, their backup band is TV on the Radio,” Colbert said while introducing the pairing, with the Seeds crew helping Killer Mike and El-P bring “Angel Duster” to the stage.
For the spacey, energetic rendition of Run the Jewels 2‘s emotional closing cut, RTJ and TVOTR were also joined by a strings section and the rap duo’s DJ Trackstar. The intense performance reaches its peak at the final chorus, as TV on the Radio turned the track’s denouement into a synthy rave-up.
As the musicians faded out, El-P said, “To Desiree Zondag and Ikey Owens, we love you and miss you” as photos of the two appeared on the Late Show screens. Owens, Jack White’s touring keyboardist who appeared on the Run the Jewels 2 version of “Angel Duster,” died of a heart attack in Mexico while touring with White in October 2014. “Angel Duster” was one of his last recorded performances.
Zondag, a Los Angeles costume designer, died September 10th in a surfing accident. “Tonight’s performance on the Colbert show is dedicated to our friends Ikey and Desi,” El-P tweeted. “Tonight was for our friends who aren’t here anymore.”