Late Night with The Ting Tings - "Hit Me Down, Sonny" (Captain Kirk Version)

I picked up a copy of The Ting Tings second album, Sounds from Nowheresville a week or 2 after it's March US release date. Pretty solid album, just not as instantly catchy as "That's Not My Name" or "Shut Up & Let Me Go." But hey, those are the kind of anti-calculated breakout hits that happen unexpectedly, very 10 years or so. The Ting Tings played Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night (April 11-12th) in support of a string of recent state-side tour dates. While not exactly a radio single, Katie & Jules ROCKED OUT to "Hit Me Down, Sonny." Dancing frontwoman Katie White was sporting some sort of sexy, mish-moshed little ensemble: trucker hat, red/white "sailor" T-shirt, mysterious buttons, booty shorts, and knee-high lace leggins. Jules de Martino was directly to the left of White on guitar & back-up vocals, behind the band was a dormant drumset. You can almost immediately tell that while "Hit Me Down, Sonny" isn't their strongest track, The Ting Tings can TOTALLY transform it into especially memorable live!




Midway through The Ting Tings' performance, just as the audience slowly began to applaud, Katie picked up a guitar and Jules traded his in for the empty drumkit... Captain Kirk emerged from the dark, smokey backdrop. The Roots' resident guitar player adds a whole 'nother layer of soulful Rock "N" Roll shred-age to "Hit Me Down, Sonny." In fact, The Ting Tings had so much fun taping the Fallon episode with their new-found friend [yesterday afternoon] that they invited Captain Kirk to play @ their New York area gig with MNDA last night. Katie & Jules even treated Jimmy Fallon's studio audience to an additional performance of "Give It Back," which ended up re-appearing online as a special web exclusive. If you enjoyed what you saw, head on over to The Ting Tings' bandpage to peruse a list of their upcoming US tour dates. Sounds from Nowheresville is now available @ Best Buy, etc.