My Bloody U.S. Tour

Yes, I post tour info on bands very infrequently. In fact, it's something I don't really like doing. And that of course is said with no offense intended towards artists themselves or promoters. I'm just of the mind that if you happen to really like an artist, you'll check their Myspace page or Pollstar or something to find out if they'll be touring in your town.

Occasionally I do find myself particularly enthralled by an upcoming show, so I guess this is one of those cases where talking about tour dates is more than okay. Specifically we're talking about a reunited My Bloody Valentine here. After spreading some wealth around the world with a few tour dates, the band is finally coming back to the U.S. in an extremely short tour for the first time in a very long time. They last played Chicago in 1992. I was 9 years old and had no idea who they were. Now I'm well versed in the ways of My Bloody Valentine. As somebody who has heard many people say that the band's live show (in the 90s) was one of the "pivotal concert experiences of their lives" and to "never, EVER miss the opportunity to see this band," I was sold on this show the moment I heard about it.

To be clear, a My Bloody Valentine show can be difficult to sit through. At least it used to be. In addition to completely hammering the crowds with a wall of sound so intense that you may not hear right for weeks on end afterwards, the band used to get mindlessly artistic and would often play the same excruciating note for 15 minutes straight (which traditionally cleared out 75% of the room). It's easy to ask why you'd put yourself through the equivalent of sonic torture by going to see the band in concert. But if you're asking that, you've never clearly heard the band's recorded material before. "Loveless" is more than a classic - it's one of the greatest albums ever made. To miss the chance to hear those songs performed in a live setting, in addition to also-incredible "Isn't Anything" tracks along with the potential for new material (which was promised by Kevin Shields), is simply something you can't pass up. The band's tendency to do off-the-wall things in concert, even if that continues in these upcoming performances, will be worth whatever provided they do the classics (which is guaranteed I think). I'm not passing up the chance to see this performance.

What sucks for Chicagoans is that the show is at the Aragon Ballroom, which tends to have shoddy sound most of the time. Though nothing can be done about the acoustics, word is being passed around that the band will be bringing their own, uber-expensive sound system with them, as Kevin Shields is a bit of an audio perfectionist. So if anybody can make the Aragon sound good, it's My Bloody Valentine.

Now then. Tickets for most of the U.S. shows went on sale last week/weekend. The odd thing is that most (if not all) of them are not yet sold out. A number of factors could've contributed to this, most notably the extremely short time between the announcement of U.S. dates and when tickets actually went on sale (an extremely short window). Plus, the dates aren't until the fall, and we're currently in the middle of spring. Or perhaps people have stopped paying attention. After all, those who loved the band in the early 90s probably don't have the ears for it anymore. I could also be totally off base in believing this band is still remarkably cared about within the independent music community. Whatever the reason, I'm taking time right now to remind you that tickets for the band's U.S. shows are currently on sale. This is me telling you to buy them. My hope is you'll thank me later.

My Bloody Valentine U.S. Tour:
Sept. 19-21: Monticello, N.Y. (All Tomorrow's Parties festival)
Sept. 22-23: New York (Roseland Ballroom)
Sept. 25: Toronto (Ricoh Coliseum
Sept. 27: Chicago (Aragon Ballroom)
Sept. 30: San Francisco (Concourse Exhibition Center)
Oct. 1-2: Santa Monica, Calif. (Santa Monica Civic Auditorium)

My Bloody Valentine- Blown A Wish

Buy "Loveless" from Amazon1

Also, For Chicagoans (and others, to a degree):
El Perro Del Mar and Lykke Li will be playing at Schubas tonight. Tickets are still available. Lots of positive feedback coming from these shows. Lykke Li is also very hot right now, with her "Little Bit" EP garnering some hype and her debut full length "Youth Novels" hitting U.S. stores soon. El Perro Del Mar's latest album "From the Valley to the Stars" is also quite good, so check that out as well. I won't be able to make the Chicago show tonight, but if you're looking for something to do, I will recommend that you go check these very talented artists out in concert. Take some mp3s to help inspire your decision, and if you're not from Chicago then here's the remaining tour dates in case they've yet to play your city:

Lykke Li and El Perro Del Mar:
May 12: Chicago (Schubas)
May 14: Vancouver (The Red Room)
May 15: Seattle (Triple Door)
May 16: Portland (Doug Fir)
May 18: San Francisco (Bimbos)
May 19: Los Angeles (El Rey)

Lykke Li- Dance Dance Dance
El Perro Del Mar- Glory to the World

Preorder Lykke Li's "Youth Novels" from Amazon
Buy El Perro Del Mar's "From the Valley to the Stars" from Amazon

Labels: el perro del mar, lykke li, my bloody valentine, tour dates