Portland’s Decemberists will perform material from their just released new album, “The King Is Dead,” for National Public Radio’s web site on Wednesday, EMI announced. Fans will be able to hear an hour-long performance and interview session that will be webcast from Portland’s NPR affiliate’s studios at noon, which will be viewable at www.npr.org/music/. For local fans, that will serve as warm-up to the band’s Feb. 18 appearance at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre.

Portland’s Decemberists are headed back to Seattle early next year. The experimental pop-rock outfit will headline the Paramount Theatre on Feb. 18, 2011, Capitol Records announced.
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STG Presents just announced that Michael Franti & Spearhead will headline 103.7 The Mountain’s annual Winter Warmth show, which will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 8 at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre.
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Vampire Weekend has scheduled two dates at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre to make up for missing last weekend’s show at Marymoor Park as front man Ezra Koenig battled vocal issues. The new shows will start at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 22 and 23, promoter STG Presents announced Thursday. Tickets for the Marymoor show will be redeemable at either performance. Rules for exchanging tickets were posted on the band’s fan site and are as follows:
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Gangsta rap vets Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube are teaming up for the How the West Was One Tour, which will drop in on Seattle’s Paramount Theatre on July 14, Seattle Theatre Group announced. Tickets will be $45 and go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 19.

Cube was also scheduled to appear at White River Amphitheatre on Aug. 15 with Limp Bizkit, but that show has been canceled. (Say, didn’t Limp Bizkit’s last album go wood? Maybe that had something to do with it.)

And just for fun, …

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The trio was a big hit at Sasquatch! Festival over Memorial Day weekend. And now one of England’s hippest bands, the XX, is headed back for more Washington love. STG Presents announced a headlining gig at 8 p.m. on Sept. 25 at the Paramount Theatre.

Tickets are set at $26.50 and they’ll go on sale at noon on Friday, June 11. Find more details here.

Comedian Margaret Cho will headline Seattle’s Paramount Theatre on Aug. 27, Live Nation announced today. The 8 p.m. show is being billed as “a healthy mix of new stand-up and live music” with songs from her forthcoming album “Cho Dependent,” which features collaborations with Tegan & Sara, Ani DiFranco, Andrew Bird and more and is due on Aug. 24.

Tickets are $28.50 to $45 and will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 11. Find more info here.

This footage sat unedited on my hard drive longer than planned. But maybe I was just saving it as a Valentine’s Day gift to all you Alice fans out there. Enjoy!

P.S. In a related matter, the band announced details for a “Your Decision” comic contest this weekend, details here.

Alice in Chains’ set last night was similar to what they delivered at the Moore last fall. That is to say it was spectacular, but even sharper after several months on the road.

But so much for that fantasy that Sir Elton John – tonight’s co-headliner at KeyArena – might make a cameo. Sure, he appears on the poignant title track from Alice’s new “Black Gives Way to Blue” album, and he had a couple of days off after Wednesday night’s Face 2 Face set at the Key. But nah! An on-site publicist had good intel that the Piano …

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Comedian Chelsea Handler has added a second stand-up show at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre and will now perform at 8 and 10:30 p.m. on March 20, STG Presents announced. “Chelsea Lately’s” Gary Branum will warm the crowd up.

Tickets for the late show are $49.50 to $75.50 and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday (Feb. 5). More details here.