10th Anniversary Top 10 Moments

It's been 10 years since The Nite Show first barrelled our way onto TV.
Here are the Top 10 moments from the first 10 years, as voted on by your pals at Maine's Only Late Night Talk Show!

#10
John Davidson Guest Hosts the 9th Anniversary Show

#10 is actually from our 9th anniversary show, when John Davidson stepped in to guest host. Davidson had guest hosted The Tonight Show for Johnny Carson dozens of times, and hosted several shows himself including "That's Incredible," "Hollywood Squares" and "The $100,000 Pyramid." His one-show stint on The Nite Show was to interview Dan about the show's history, and was a memorable visit to the show.

#9
Paula Cole Performs "I Don't Want to Wait"

Paula Cole joined us at The Westbrook Performing Arts Center in April of 2018. Dan asked her about the origins of one of her biggest hits, "I Don't Want to Wait." After explaining in detail how the lyrics to the song took inspiration from her own family, she gave one of the most inspired performances of that song we've seen.

#8
Patrick Dempsey Visits The Nite Show

Patrick Dempsey paid a visit to The Nite Show when the show went on the road to the Sanford Performing Arts Center, and it was a night full of memories. The in-studio audience went wild when he was introduced, and Patrick brought plenty of laughs and stories to share with the crowd of adoring fans. Check out a few highlights of the appearance here, and catch Patrick on "Devils" on the CW Wednesday nights at 8; and in his surprise return to Grey's Anatomy on ABC Thursday nights at 9!




 

#7
Dan's Dad, Jack Cashman

Dan's dad, Jack Cashman, is a former Maine State Legislator, government official, and small business owner. He is currently an author of three books, and a proud papa to five granddaughters. He first was a guest on The Nite Show on "Family Night" in April of 2012. His appearance on this show ranked as #7 in our Top 10 favorite moments as voted on by The Nite Show team.



#6
"Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)"

#6 on our list is the annual performance of "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)." We started doing this as a web exclusive to honor the annual tradition on David Letterman's show with the song's original singer, Darlene Love, performing it year after year. When Dave retired, we moved our annual production of the song to the TV airwaves, keeping the tradition alive, at least for Maine viewers. Anna Roman has held down lead vocals for it each year, with Opus Trio on strings and Brian Nadeau & the Nite Show Band rounding out the instrumentation - often with additional horns brought in for the occasion. A variety of choral groups have provided backing vocals with additional musicians brought in for new flavor each year. The result is a familiar tune with subtle differences, performed every year on The Nite Show as a holiday tradition. 

This version is from 2019, although you can see all of them on the Videos page of our website.



#5
"Christmas Kitties" Commercial Parody

This entry continues the holiday theme as it is a recreation of a classic holiday commercial from Bangor Savings Bank. The parody is a shot-for-shot remake featuring Dan Cashman and Brian Nadeau in the roles held by adorable kittens in the original commercial, which first rolled out in 1980. Our version is from 2018 and occupies slot #5 in our Top 10 list of Favorite Nite Show Moments from the past decade.

#4
Richard Troxell Performs with The Jump City Jazz Band

Richard Troxell visited the show in February of 2015 to chat about an upcoming performance at The Gracie Theatre in Bangor. While with us, he performed "I Love Paris" with The Jump City Jazz Band in a unique and memorable way. This is one of the most talked about musical performances in the history of our show. Give it a look to find out why, and see why it ranked as #4 on our list of the Top 10 Favorite Moments from the past decade!


#3
Count von Count Auditions for Sock Puppet Santa's Christmas Album

Count von Count is...a...legend. Known to viewers - and residents - of Sesame Street for the past several decades, The Count has endeared his way into the hearts of all who know him. He came to The Nite Show with much fanfare, and auditioned for a role on Sock Puppet Santa's Christmas album while he was here. The appearance was one of the first episodes we recorded at The Gracie Theatre, and it is easily one of the most memorable, ranking as the #3 moment of the past decade, as voted on by The Nite Show team!


#2
Tom "Bones" Malone Sits in with Brian Nadeau & The Nite Show Band

#2 features another incredible musician: Veteran of the Late Show with David Letterman, SNL, The Blues Brothers Band, and many more, Tom "Bones" Malone. He has actually been on our show six times sitting in with Brian Nadeau & The Nite Show Band (further proof of how damn good the band really is!), but the appearance that got the votes was the time he sat in with the band performing tunes he had arranged for the CBS Orchestra on Letterman. It was a great night of music and friendships were born. It is not only Bones' talent and legacy, but his genuine excitement to hang out the folks involved in our show that skyrocketed this appearance from December of 2016 to #2 on our Top 10 list.

Below are clips from that 2016 appearance, as well as a 2018 appearance where the band played Blues Brothers tunes all night (also arranged by Tom) to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of "Briefcase Full of Blues."

#1
Ed Asner Pays a Visit

Ed Asner is a legend. From Mary Tyler Moore to Lou Grant to Elf to Up to Dead to Me, Asner's a legend of the small screen, the big screen, and the stage. He visited The Nite Show and created many memories behind the scenes, on camera, and for the audience, and he occupies the #1 position on our Top 10 list of favorite moments from the past decade!