Conan's Last Stand with the Stripes
There was lots of excitement surrounding Conan O'Brian's final New York show before shipping out to LA, with weeks of clips and memories from the show's 16 year run. The final episode featured one of Conan's favorite band, The White Stripes, performing for the first time together in a couple years. The duo seemed a bit rusty, performing the acoustic "We're Going to be Friends," but created a memorable moment, despite not always hitting the right chords. In a way, the performance fit with the aesthetic Conan has always maintained on Late Night, slightly sloppy and not taking itself too seriously, but personable and real. Whatever Conan has in store for his new LA show and timeslot, it will hopefully maintain the always impressive musical booking schedules, giving both major and up and coming bands a bit of TV time. For the video from the performance, check here.
Ticketmaster/LiveNation Gets Grilled on Capitol Hill
Needless to say, when Ticketmaster and Live Nation announced a merger, consumers were none too happy about the potential monopoly. The group presented themselves in front of the Senate Antitrust subcommittee this week and did their best to assure the government they would not take advantage of concert-goers, despite being only option in getting tickets to most shows. The senators showed bipartisan skepticism of the merger, despite the companies insisting that joining forces was the only way for the concert industry to survive. Sen. Schumer, in particular, urged Ticketmaster to drop their scalping site TicketsNow, which has led to much confusion and conflicts of interest, as many of the best seats seem to go directly into the secondary market without any oversight as to how or why. But despite these pressures from the Government, TM/LN refused to concede much, admitting ticket prices and service fees will likely remain high. Here's some more on the latest developments.
Yeaysayer's Musical?
PItchfork reported earlier this week that Anand Wilder, guitarist for Yeaysayer, is currently working on a musical about "an interracial love affair in a coal mining town around the turn of the century." Really! While the production is still in its infancy, Anand has been able to rope in a bunch of his friends to contribute, including members of MGMT, Dirty Projectors, Chairlift and a bunch of other local avant-indie acts. The plan is to release an album of the music alongside a stage show, although nothing is set as far as when or how it will be released. Recording has already begun on the project, so we may see this ambitious project come to life sooner than expected. Let's hope it's a little bit like the Forgetting Sarah Marshall puppet rock opera.
