NVinNYC

I had a chance to see the The Decemberists play a show earlier this week and loved how they played ‘The Hazards of Love’ straight though. One of my favorite bits was watching Shara Worden (also known from her solo project as My Brightest Diamond) sing and rock out with the band.  Luckily I was able to record a their live performance on Leno from last week so I can share and relive a bit of the magic.

Here’s ‘The Wanting Comes in Waves’ live on Leno in 540p HD (114 MB) or iPod (37MB) formats. The performance features Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark (in green) on backing vocals along with Shara (in white), Colin, and the rest of The Decemberists.  As you’re watching, imagine everything twice as loud and Shara even more animated and you’ll get an idea what the live concerts are like.

Enjoy!

If you haven’t heard, Live Nation and Ticketmaster are attempting to merge their businesses into one ticketing and promotion super conglomerate.  Needless to say, such a merger would be extremely detrimental to fan and artist by giving the new company monopolistic power over the entire live performance industry.  Hitsville has a great rundown of Five Arguments Against the Live Nation/Ticketmaster Merger.  It’s well worth reading about the chilling effects of such a merger.  Let’s hope that the Obama Administration and Congress step up to the plate and regulate this catastrophe in-the-making.

The Coachella 2008 lineup has been announced. The music festival runs from Friday, April 25th through Sunday, April 27th. Saturday looks to be the standout day for me the venerable Portishead is headlining (with a new album due out in April). Other Saturday notables for me are Cold War Kids, Rilo Kiley, and Cinematic Orchestra. Friday looks pretty good too with Stars, The Raconteurs, and Tegan & Sara (fuck Jack Johnson headlining though), however Sunday is a wasteland with a few small exceptions like Sia and Metric.

Tickets are $90 per day, available Friday, January 25th.

Reason #138 that I wish I still lived in NYC:

The Kronos Quartet are playing a concert in February where they will perform Clint Mansell’s Requiem for a Dream suite.

(Via Choire at Kottke.)

My Coachella 2007 Lineup.

A guy’s gotta dream.