Conan O’Brien has only been on the air at TBS for less than a month, but he’s wasted no time nabbing some big names to take the stage at Warner Bros.’ Studio 15. He kicked off Conan by rocking out with Jack White and has since booked acts like Fistful of Mercy and Soundgarden to provide us with some fine auditory stimulation. O’Brien continued the trend last night as Sacramento, Calif. alt-rock legends Cake taped not one, but two performances for dear old Coco.
Frontman JohnMcCrea put a little anger behind his signature vocal delivery for the band’s performance of “Sick of You” from their forthcoming, 11-track LP, Showroom of Compassion. “Every shiny toy that at first brings you joy/ will always start to claw and annoy,” he sang on top of some sprightly bass work from Gabe Nelson, “every camera, every phone/ all the music that you own/ won’t change the fact you’re all alone…” Despite the hateful nature of the lyrics, McCrea’s demeanor makes it hard to not have a good time.
He even goes sans-guitar, walks into the crowd, splits them in half, then directs them to sing two contrasting harmony parts. The audience seems a bit reluctant at first and McCrea seems to playfully drop an expletive to get them to chime in. O’Brien seemed appreciative, and the band even taped a web-only exclusive: A horn-laden version of “It’s Been A Long Time”. The three-and-half minute cut isn’t on the official tracklist for Compassion, but O’Brien said it would be on the album when he introduced the band.
The videos are available below and the band is currently on the road through March. Tour dates are listed below the videos and ticketing info can be had at Cake’s official website.
“Sick of You”
“It’s Been A Long Time”
Cake 2010/2011 Tour Dates:
12/05 – Charleston, WV @ Culture Center Theater
12/06 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
12/07 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
12/08 – Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater
12/10 – Portland, OR @ KNRK’s December to Remember
12/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas
12/13 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
12/14 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
12/15 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
12/30 – Dallas, TX @ The Palladium
12/31 – Austin, TX @ Austin Music Hall
01/14 – Boca Raton, FL @ Sunset Cove Amphitheatre
01/15 – St. Petersburg, FL @ Jannus Landing
01/16 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
01/17 – Atlanta, GA @ Centerstage
01/18 – Atlanta, GA @ Centerstage
01/19 – Atlanta, GA @ Centerstage
01/20 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
01/21 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall
01/22 – Birmingham, TN @ Work Play Theater
03/18 – London, UK @ The Troxy
03/19 – Paris, FR @ La Cigale
03/20 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
