Fallon and the Roots Doing U2: Even Better Than the Real Thing

by nylon

Cancellations are no biggie on The Tonight Show.more

House band the Roots can play just about anything, and so long as we're talking super serious white guys with guitars—Springsteen, Neil Young, etc.—there's no one Jimmy Fallon can't imitate. Last night, Fallon and the crew did a more than passable impression of U2, who were forced to scrap their weeklong Tonight Show residency after Bono hurt his arm cycling in Central Park over the weekend.

"We already have the best band in the world," Fallon said. "And Bono's wardrobe is here, because he was going to wear it tonight. Obviously, he's not going to need it now. Let's have some fun with this."

They opted for "Desire," and sporting Bono's signature wraparounds and one of those Cuban rebel hats he's so fond of, Fallon stopped short of completely goofing on the pompous rocker. His was an understated, loving take on Bono, even during the spoken-word breakdown, and that was probably a smart play. When the singer recovers from his surgery and is cleared to perform again, it's likely he and the band will gladly reschedule and give Fallon's audience a dose of the real thing. The question is whether it'll be much better.