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Herbie Hancock @ Nissan Live Sets, 03/20/08
A few weeks ago, LAist was invited to see Herbie Hancock perform live, at the Nissan Live studio in Century City. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music is a series of performances attended by fans (plus a friend) for an intimate show of around 400 that features A-list artists, and released only on Yahoo! Music. Previous shows mentioned by LAist include Iggy and the Stooges, Lenny Kravitz, PJ Harvey, and Wyclef Jean. Other artists featured include Beck, Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5, the Mars Volta, and Trisha Yearwood.
The audience was lucky enough to see a superb group of musicians (including LA fixture and drumming sensation Vinnie Colaiuta) collaborating with special guests DJ C-Minus, up-and-comer Sonya Kitchell, and a very rare appearance by Joni Mitchell.
How to see a concert live and another video after the jump...
The band performed some of Herbie's greatest hits, including "Rock It", "Watermelon Man", and some mesmerizing performances with Joni Mitchell singing tunes from Herbie's latest album, River: the Joni Letters. This album has the distinction of being the second jazz album to ever win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year (beating out Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, and the Foo Fighters).
If you browse the website, there are nifty slideshows, fan blogs, behind the scenes footage, and interviews done during the show. You can sign up for announcements of upcoming events and product news through the website as well. I can vouch for the entire process, since a friend and fiancé were able to go to the show after finding out on LAist. The cool thing is if you're selected to go to the concert, you also have the chance to ask a question to the artist on camera! These performances are bi-monthly, so keep checking back to get the chance to see a once-in-a-lifetime performance for FREE!
Above is a performance of "Watermelon Man" and right below is "Tea Leaf" featuring Joni Mitchell.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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