Pitchfork

With the words "post-punk" being tossed around like teased-out, back-length hairswaths on White Lion's '91 Mane Attraction tour, the newly reunited Mission of Burma are prepared to show us young scamps the textbook definition. And what better time to do it than 2003? Could the world be any more post-punk than it is right now? NO. So shut up and hear this: Dudes are giving up three performances this weekend, the first of which happens tonight at Atlanta's Echo Lounge. That's when I reach for my mom's checkbook:

n 02-20 Atlanta, GA - Echo Lounge (w/Heroes Severum, Martyr & Pistol)
02-21 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club (w/Oxes, Tone)
02-22 Philadelphia, PA - Theater of the Living Arts (w/Oxes)

n For a band with so little studio output to speak of, Mission of Burma's legacy has resonated with a kind of Velvetian influence on an absurd number of bands since their original demise in 1983. And it came as a bit of a shock to middle-aged hold-outs from the original post-punk movement to discover that the band's original members, while enjoying something of a renaissance last year, announced they would reunite for an initial round of concerts in Somerville, MA, New York, and their original hometown of Boston.

n During that all-too-brief outing, they were assisted by Shellac's Bob Weston on live tape loop manipulations (a role originally occupied by Burma's unofficial "fourth member", engineer Martin Swope). The success of these shows eventually led to more dates in Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as well as a special appearance during UK's All Tomorrow's Parties festival at the bequest of über-producer Steve Albini, who served as the festival's curator.

n The two Irving Plaza shows from 2002 featured some surprising guest appearances. Opening night saw Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo joining Mission of Burma for a noisy encore of "All World Cowboy Romance". The second night featured Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo, Richard Baluyut of Versus, and the diminutive Moby sharing the same stage with the band. In addition to Burma's three shows in February, Conley and Miller will be performing together and with their respective projects in March:

n 03-06 Cambridge, MA - Middle East - Conley and Miller's band, Binary System
03-07 Brooklyn, NY - North Six - Conley
03-15 Cambridge, MA - Middle East - Conley's band Consonant

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