Seth Meyers Recalls Comedy Show That Changed His Life Ahead of Philadelphia Gigs

Seth Meyers joined The Preston & Steve Show via Zoom call this past Monday morning while prepping for his two-show event this weekend at the Miller Theater.  

“And he looks just like he does on television!” Preston exclaimed in the middle of introducing the Late Night With Seth Meyers host. 

When the comedian was asked about his show’s “Day Drinking” bit, he described the behind-the-scenes fun. Seth laughed and explained that after shooting he always worries about what he said. After viewing the final cut, he claims it’s “the memory of a dream I had a week ago,” – just how anyone feels after drinking too much.  

Are you familiar with Seth's weekly bit called "Corrections"? During the pandemic, Seth started reading the YouTube comments found under The Late Show’s weekly clips and would react to the outlandish and crude remarks. He now continues to do it once a week after the live audience leaves. The host was glad that we like it, because it's one of his favorite segments! It’s a time where he can try to make his crew members laugh.  

Seth described the time he asked Werner Herzog his thoughts on Documentary Now’s parody episode of Aguirre, The Wrath of God.  After interviewing Werner on The Late Show, Seth showed him pictures of stills from the documentary’s set. In one sentence Werner replied, “No one will ever be able to recreate that…” Nope. He didn’t get the humor. But Seth understood explaining:  

“It would be if someone came to me and said ‘Hey! My friends and I recreated your wedding!’ and showed pictures but different actors. Like different people that weren’t at my wedding. Right? It was a big ask.” 

Working with talented comedians was very inspiring for Seth. His time being a part of Northwestern’s Improv Group, SNL, and Strike Force Five have become fond memories. His co-comedians are entertaining in different ways, as Seth explained. John Oliver’s use of language and vocabulary is unbelievable. Kimmel is “every best friend you ever had”. Steve Colbert is “’dad jokes’ if dads were funny”. Fallon probably made him laugh the most in Strike Force 5. He is “so fast” and quick witted.  

Recently, Seth has joined his brother, Josh’s, podcast that tells stories of family trips with the Meyers Brothers. The podcast dives into past family trips and the trauma that they caused. “The ones that go the worst are the ones you remember the longest,” Seth claimed. 

On Saturday, April 6, Seth Meyers will be playing at the Miller Theater. His two shows start at 7pm & 9:30pm. Get tickets at EnsembleArtsPhilly.org. 

- Grace Hoath, The Preston & Steve Show Staff

The “Unplugged” trend was all the rage in the ‘90s thanks to MTV Unplugged, which featured some of music’s biggest names going acoustic.

The series aired on a regular basis from 1989-1999. From 2000-2009, the show was billed as MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 and aired less frequently. There have only been limited Unplugged specials that have aired since 2009.

The very first episode of MTV Unplugged featured Squeeze, Syd Straw and Elliot Easton. In the years that followed, some of the biggest names in music took to the Unplugged stage to wow fans with their stripped-down performance. These artists included Aerosmith, Elton John, Paul McCartney, R.E.M. Eric Clapton, Nirvana, Annie Lennox and more. (Frankly, that small list of artists doesn't even scratch the surface of some of the icons that went "Unplugged.")

MTV Unplugged performances were often released as albums. Including recordings from MTV Brasil, there have been over 100 MTV Unplugged albums released from 1991-2020.

The '90s truly saw a boom of artists taking part in the show. On top of that, many of the albums released from MTV Unplugged episodes went on to be platinum hits. Among the artists to score a platinum album from their MTV Unplugged performances include Mariah Carey, Tony Bennett, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Shakira, Lauryn Hill and more. Carey even had a No. 1 hit from her special thanks to her cover of The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There."

Additionally, the show received a Peabody Award in 1994. In a synopsis about why the series earned the honor, the Peabody Awards noted, "'MTV Unplugged' has brought the unique talents of some of our finest contemporary artists to center stage. Recordings of these sessions have become influential in their own right."

With all of this in mind, here’s our list of 10 unplugged albums everyone should own.

Clapton’s Unplugged was a massive commercial and critical success. The LP won six Grammy Awards in 1993: Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Song for the acoustic version of “Layla” and Album of the Year. Clapton’s Unplugged has sold a whopping 26 million copies worldwide. Of course, we’d be remiss in not mentioning the Unplugged version of “Tears in Heaven,” which remains devastatingly moving to this day.

Recorded just five months before the untimely passing of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana’s performance would later be released as the live LP MTV Unplugged in New York.  It was Nirvana’s first release following Cobain’s death, and it would go on to win the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album.

Equal parts extraordinary and bitter-sweet, AIC’s 1996 performance on MTV Unplugged was the band’s first performance together in over two years due to Layne Staley’s issues with drug abuse.  It would also be one of the band’s last high-profile gigs with Staley. In spite of that and Jerry Cantrell famously battling food poisoning, AIC’s set served as a reminder of why they were the first band to really break out of the fruitful Seattle music scene. 

Stewart’s appearance on MTV Unplugged also featured former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood and marked the first time in about two decades they shared the stage together. The album features unplugged versions of some of Stewart’s biggest hits, including “Hot Legs” and “Maggie May.” The LP also features moving covers of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” and Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately.”

No Quarter was a 90-minute special for MTV featuring a reunited Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. While there were some electric elements, this performance also received some extra oomph thanks to string and orchestra musicians local to Morocco, Wales and London where the special had been recorded. A number of Led Zeppelin tunes made up the tracklisting including “Kashmir,” “The Battle of Evermore” and “That’s The Way.” 

Pearl Jam simply crushes it in this set from March 1992, about seven months after the release of Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten. The band’s Unplugged set would finally get an official release as part of Record Store Day in 2019.

KISS’ 1995 appearance on Unplugged featured the four original band members on stage together for the first time since the late '70s. It was so popular that it led to KISS’ famed 1996 reunion tour.

The iconic singer-songwriter recorded his performance for MTV Unplugged in November 1994. The album release of the performance came out in May 1995 and featured some of Dylan’s biggest songs including “The Times They Are a-Changin'.”

Recorded in February 1993 and released just four months later, Young’s Unplugged set also featured some of his most classic tunes. Among them were “Harvest Moon” and “The Needle and the Damage Done.”

Fun fact about Sir Paul’s appearance on Unplugged: It was completely unplugged.  Most other performances featured artists playing acoustically with the help of amps. It was also one of the first performances in the show’s history.