Editing Max Weinberg (section)

==Move to ''The Tonight Show''==
The ending of the O'Brien ''Late Night'' and beginning of ''The Tonight Show'' coincided with the start of Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2009 [[Working on a Dream Tour]].<ref name="rs022309"/><ref name="bs-max09">{{cite news | url=http://www.backstreets.com/news.html | title=Max Watch '09: A Tale of Two Bosses | publisher=[[Backstreets.com]] | date=January 16, 2009 | access-date=February 7, 2009}}</ref> O'Brien told a ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reporter at the time of the announcement that he hoped that Weinberg would follow him to Los Angeles and that he also hoped an arrangement could be worked out to let Weinberg go on the road with Springsteen as had been done for past tours.<ref name="bs-max09"/>

[[File:Max-Weinberg.jpg|thumb|250px|right|alt=Middle-aged man with slightly graying dark hair and glasses wearing black shirt sits behind a silver-colored, gold-lit drum kit with his left hand and stick about to hit a cymbal and his eyes fixed straight ahead.|Weinberg performing in [[Valladolid]], Spain on August 1, 2009, during one of the portions of the [[Working on a Dream Tour]] that he could attend.]]
Whether Weinberg would stay with O'Brien and move or not became a subject of conflicting news reports.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/04122008/tv/max_to_keep_beat_in_la_106128.htm | title=Max to Keep Beat in LA | author=Buckman, Adam
|newspaper=[[New York Post]] | date=April 12, 2008 | access-date=February 7, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/02042009/tv/tonight_tries_to_woo_max_153486.htm | title='Tonight' Tries to Woo Max | author=Kaplan, Don | newspaper=[[New York Post]] | date=February 4, 2009 | access-date=February 7, 2009}}</ref> 
Nevertheless, O'Brien confirmed on February 18, 2009, that Weinberg and the band were indeed coming with him.<ref name="e022409">{{cite news | url=http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b101432_conan_andy_back_together_tonight.html | title=Conan 'n' Andy Back Together for Tonight | author=Serpe, Gina | publisher=[[E!]] | date=February 24, 2009 | access-date=February 24, 2009}}</ref> Weinberg had not missed an E Street Band show since joining the outfit in 1974, and E Streeter Van Zandt said that no amount of rehearsal by another drummer could replace Weinberg's "intuitive understanding" of Springsteen's performance gambits.<ref name="rs022309"/>

The conflict was resolved when son Jay became a substitute drummer for his father during parts of the Working on a Dream Tour that Max could not make due to commitments to the O'Brien show.<ref name="mst050909"/><ref name="rs032009">{{cite news | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/03/20/max-weinbergs-son-to-sub-in-at-a-handful-of-springsteen-gigs/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322030038/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/03/20/max-weinbergs-son-to-sub-in-at-a-handful-of-springsteen-gigs/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 22, 2009 | title=Max Weinberg's Son to Sub in at a Handful of Springsteen Gigs | author=Greene, Andy | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=March 20, 2009 | access-date=March 20, 2009}}</ref> Springsteen said, "Once again, I want to express my appreciation to Conan O'Brien, and everyone on his team, for making it possible for Max to continue to do double duty for both us and for him. We promise to return him in one piece."<ref name="sfm032009">{{cite press release | url=http://www.shorefiremedia.com/index.php?a=pressrelease&o=2821 | title=Statement About Tour Personnel | publisher=[[Shore Fire Media]] | date=March 20, 2009 | access-date=March 20, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716063729/http://www.shorefiremedia.com/index.php?a=pressrelease&o=2821 | archive-date=July 16, 2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref> The younger Weinberg began playing during segments of the tour's shows, and got a very positive response from audiences and reviewers as a spark plug for the band.<ref name="gnr050409">{{cite news|url=http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/05/03/article/3_hour_show_rocks_steensboro |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090505165230/http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/05/03/article/3_hour_show_rocks_steensboro |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 5, 2009 |title=Review: 3-hour show rocks 'Steensboro' |author=Puterbaugh, Parke |newspaper=[[News & Record (Greensboro)|News & Record]] |location=Greensboro, North Carolina |date=May 4, 2009 |access-date=May 10, 2009 }}</ref> Max Weinberg said Jay's segments allowed him a "total out-of-body experience. For the first time in – I've been with Bruce for 35 years – I've been able to go out in the audience and enjoy a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert."<ref name="mst050909">{{cite news|url=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/44553222.html |title=The beat goes on |author=Bream, Jon |newspaper=[[Star Tribune]] |location=Minneapolis |date=May 9, 2009 |access-date=May 11, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513095431/http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/44553222.html |archive-date=May 13, 2009}}</ref> In one case, Jay did one show of a two-night stand on the East Coast and Max then took a [[red-eye flight]] back from Los Angeles to do the second.<ref name="nyt060509">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/arts/television/06max.html | title=For TV Band, Jet Lag Is Part of the Job | author=Steinberg, Jacques | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=June 5, 2009 | access-date=June 21, 2009}}</ref>

''[[The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien]]'' premiered on June 1, 2009, with the Max Weinberg 7 now expanded to eight and referred to as Max Weinberg and the Tonight Show Band. [[Andy Richter]] was back as an announcer,<ref name="e022409"/> making Weinberg's role as a foil a little uncertain. Gradually, Weinberg and the band's roles in the comic aspects of the show began to assert themselves.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2009/06/conan-night-three-things-come.html | title=Conan Night Three: Things Come Together | author=Catlin, Roger | newspaper=[[Hartford Courant]] | date=June 4, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701173718/http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2009/06/conan-night-three-things-come.html | archive-date=July 1, 2012 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> On June 25, Weinberg departed ''The Tonight Show'' temporarily for four weeks to join Springsteen and band part-way through their European leg; this was conveyed on the show via a comedy bit that had his drum riser turn into a [[Float (parade)|float]] that took him outside the studio and purportedly to the airport. Weinberg returned to the show on August 3, after flying back from a Springsteen show that had ended early into the same morning in Spain. Of being ''Tonight Show'' bandleader, he said, "I think one of the biggest thrills in my life was seeing my name in the same sentence as Doc Severinsen, who, in my view, is the gold standard for 'Tonight Show' bandleaders. There's never been anyone who did it quite near the class and the brilliance of Doc Severinsen in the original Tonight Show Band. I used to think when I was a kid what a great job that must be – you know, same place, every time, everyday. Lo and behold, here I am 40 years later, doing it. That sounds deep, deep, deep, deep, deeply satisfying to me."<ref name="nsl081309"/> On September 25, Weinberg left ''The Tonight Show'' again for two months to join Springsteen and band for the final, American portion of the Working on a Dream Tour. The same drum-riser-to-float comedy bit was used, except this time the float was "hit" and demolished by a truck just outside the studio (and airing of the segment was delayed a few days due to O'Brien legitimately injuring himself during the same show). The tour wrapped on November 22, 2009, in [[Buffalo, New York]]; Weinberg was back on ''The Tonight Show'' the next day. With no E Street Band projects in sight for at least the next year or two,<ref name="bb091709">{{cite news | url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/267371/springsteen-e-street-band-taking-time-apart-after-tour | title=Springsteen, E-Street Band Taking Time Apart After Tour | author=Graff, Gary | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | date=September 17, 2009 | access-date=September 18, 2009 | author-link=Gary Graff}}</ref> Weinberg was left to concentrate on his bandleader role.

Even though Weinberg was living in Los Angeles for ''The Tonight Show'', he retained his home in New Jersey and considered that his permanent residence: "I'm not really moving. I'm living out here, but it's more like an extended road trip."<ref name="nsl081309"/> Regarding his decision to stay in music rather than pursue the legal profession, he has had no regrets: "The world needs more drummers and fewer lawyers."<ref name="nsl081309"/>

However, Weinberg's stint as ''Tonight Show'' bandleader was not to last long. The [[2010 Tonight Show conflict|2010 ''Tonight Show'' host and timeslot conflict]] erupted, and after an intense period of public turmoil, the last O'Brien show took place on January 22, 2010,<ref name="nola012110">{{cite news | url=http://www.nola.com/tv/index.ssf/2010/01/conan_obrien_signs_departure_d.html | title=Conan O'Brien signs departure deal with NBC | author=Walker, Dave | newspaper=[[The Times-Picayune]] | date=January 21, 2010 | access-date=January 21, 2010}}</ref> finishing with Weinberg propelling a guest-filled seriocomic rendition of "[[Free Bird]]".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.pbpulse.com/tv/late-night-tvtalk-shows/2010/01/23/obrien-refuses-to-be-cynical-as-he-ends-tonight-show-run/ | title=O'Brien refuses to be cynical as he ends 'Tonight Show' run | author=Tully, Jonathan | newspaper=[[The Palm Beach Post]] | date=January 23, 2010 | access-date=January 23, 2010 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715092311/http://www.pbpulse.com/tv/late-night-tvtalk-shows/2010/01/23/obrien-refuses-to-be-cynical-as-he-ends-tonight-show-run/ | archive-date=July 15, 2010 | df=mdy-all }}</ref> While O'Brien negotiated a settlement deal with NBC for himself and his staff, Weinberg as well as Richter had to reach their own agreements with the network.<ref name="nola012110"/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://variety.com/2010/tv/features/nbc-o-brien-agree-45-mil-exit-deal-1118014097/ | title=NBC, O'Brien agree $45 mil exit deal | author=Schneider, Michael | newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=January 21, 2010 | access-date=January 23, 2010}}</ref>