Tom Waits brought the highlight reel of notable late-night appearances up to date tonight by returning to the Ed Sullivan Theater for Letterman’s Late Show. This time around, Waits unveiled our first glimpse at Bad As Me in live form preceded by yet another memorably unpredictable interview segment, in which he brought out a 19th century rat trap/drowning device.
Also of note was tonight’s stellar backing band, featuring Waits’ son Casey on drums, Larry Taylor on bass, (recent Bob Dylan collaborator) David Hidalgo on guitar, keys legend Augie Meyers, and guitarist Big Bill Morganfield (the son of late blues legend Muddy Waters). Watch Waits and the boys do “Chicago” above. Here’s the interview: