When the first week of guests were announced for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, there was a lot of speculation as to whom the mysterious Paul Simon tribute band, Troubled Waters, could be. Turns out it was Simon himself accompanied by a whistling Colbert performing "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard."
An all-star super group including Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, Ben Folds and many others kicked the week off with Kendrick Lamar and Toby Keith putting up equally buzzed about performances. Given that lineup, there was no way the opening week's closing performance was going to be some C-list tribute band.
Stereogum even did some pretty in-depth investigation into the matter, speculating it could have been Pavement, Vampire Weekend or Simon himself. As we found out last night, the latter was accurate.
Colbert said he reached out to Simon in hopes the "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" musician would come on the show and let Colbert whistle along to "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard," as it had always been a dream of his. However, Simon turned him down.
In true Colbert fashion, he did the next best thing and found a Paul Simon tribute band, saying he heard them play at a friend's BBQ last summer. The Late Show host even got Simon to say, "Paul Simon is a bit of a jerk."
The bit was fairly elaborate with a fake website listing tour dates such as a cancelled gig at the Rosen bar mitzvah. There was even a number to call for booking and if you call it, you'll even hear the following message:
"If you're calling about the lawnmower advertisement on Craigslist, it has already been sold. But if you're interested in having Troubled Waters play at your wedding, corporate event, or bachelorette party, please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible," Stereogum reports.
Watch the performance below as a giddy Colbert dances, whistles and sings his way through "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard."
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