Why?

Why can't NBC mix its live bands well?

The Gaslight Anthem played "Conan" last night, but I refuse to post a YouTube link here because they sounded awful, through no fault of their own, and I would hate for that performance of "The '59 Sound" to be anyone's first impression of the band. Because that was not the band I love; it was some doppelganger created by the horrendous mixer at the NBC board.

I don't watch a lot of these talk-show performances, just for this very reason. But every time I do, whether it's Leno, Conan, or "SNL," the music almost always sounds terrible (Letterman, on the other hand, typically does it right, at least when Pearl Jam's on, anyway). The vocals are way too high in the mix, the lead guitars are pushed too far back, and the bass is just banging around somewhere in the middle. Whether it's U2, Metallica, Saves the Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or The Gaslight Anthem, NBC perpetually screws it up.

Good for TGA getting such exposure, but I hope it didn't do more harm than good.