iPad News: iPad Makes Guest Appearance on Jimmy Fallon Show

How interesting that the appearance by an old rock band on a late night chat show should be heralded not by the music but by the use of a new device, namely the iPad. ‘70’s band Squeeze, once dubbed “the new Lennon and McCartney”, are currently undertaking a huge US tour taking in, amongst other places, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. On Wednesday night they did a promo appearance on the late night Jimmy Fallon show, only to produce an iPad during their performance. Was this a necessary part of the music, did the iPad add to the whole performance, or was it an excellent piece of marketing to add to their publicity machine? Well one thing’s for sure – I’m writing about it!

The band obviously like the new iPad technology: during their Wednesday night appearance ahead of last night’s gig in New York, keyboard maestro Stephen Large bigged up his performance by juggling between a traditional electronic keyboard and his iPad. This did limit his playing ability slightly as it effectively put his left hand out of action (perhaps an iPad stand would be useful?) However, audiences were entranced by his keyboard solo played entirely on the iPad. How’s that for adding a brilliant new 21st century angle to an established late 20th century sound? Squeeze regrouped in 2007, and they certainly seem to be successfully reinventing themselves. Using an iPad during a performance is just another example of how the band are adjusting to the ever-changing music scene. Stephen Large is so impressed with his iPad that he is hoping to play it throughout the number “Pulling Mussels” by the end of the tour.

Such positive exposure not only benefits the band and the iPad, it also benefits the app developer. Stephen Large’s iPad solo was made possible using the Pianist Pro app by MooCowMusic. Such an app deserves its own review, which is what I’m going to give it later on today. However, sufficing to say that a big-named professional band of such long standing as Squeeze are not going to use any substandard audio device during their performance…

If you’d like to see a video of the Squeeze performance on the Jimmy Fallon Show, go to:

http://www.squeezeofficial.com/home/2010/7/14/squeeze-on-jimmy-fallon-714.html