Petra Haden, beloved vocalist/violinist for the Decemberists, will be perusing other avenues of adventure after touring exclusively with the Decemberists for most of last year. "It's an amicable thing; we still are friends," reads a posting on the band's official message board. "For one thing, we initially had asked her to come aboard as a touring musician for just the Picaresque tours. We hadn't really expected to take her on as a full-time part of the band. There was some talk about that happening, but in the end, after the tours were over and we were back in the comforts of our homes it didn't necessarily still make sense." But don't you worry about Ms. Haden; she has plenty of activities to keep her busy. She's currently writing songs and playing shows in New York with Yuka Honda (of Cibo Matto) in a project called If By Yes. She's also working on her next solo a cappella record (the first one was 2005's Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out) in her hometown of Los Angeles. And as if that's not enough, Haden is going on tour with the Foo Fighters later this summer as part of their acoustic band. Isn't there some sort of fine for trading Colin Meloy for Dave Grohl? Tour Dates: 07/10 - Vancouver, Canada - Orpheum Theatre 07/11 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre 07/13 - Berkeley, CA - Berkeley Community Theater 07/14 - Berkeley, CA - Berkeley Community Theater 07/17 - San Diego, CA - San Diego Civic Theatre 08/15 - Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall 08/16 - Upper Darby, PA -Tower Theatre* 08/18 - Atlantic City, NJ -Borgata Hotel and Casino 08/21 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre* 08/22 - Boston, MA - Wang Center* 08/23 - Toronto, Canada - Hummingbird Centre* 08/25 - Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre* 08/29 - Los Angeles, CA - Pantages Theatre 08/30 - Los Angeles, CA - Pantages Theatre * With Frank Black www.petrahadenmusic.com
