A Silver Mt. Zion on International Mt. Tour
If I could fuck a mountain, Lord I would fuck a mountain-- but only if it signs this mutual consent / mineral rights release form

[Updated Friday, January 23nd, 2004 04:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

A Silver Mt. Zion, they of the ever-expanding nomenclature (their latest album was attributed to The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band with Choir) is one of the brightest stars in the Constellation Records skyscape. Constellation is the label that's home to many of Canadian post-rock's key players (though post-classical seems more apt a term), including the genre's aesthetic pacesetters, Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The Silver Mt. Zion etc. plays like a more staid, less dense Godspeed with more intelligible vocals-- and for good measure, is led by Godspeed's Efrim Manuck. They share Godspeed's predilection for deeply coded, anarchist / anti-globalization themes, which are usually more discernible from their packaging, liner notes and web-manifestos than from the music itself.

Some listeners may wonder why one person would form two groups that sound, at root, so very similar. According to their Constellation website bio, A Silver Mt. Zion was "born out of a desire on the part of the Godspeed players to work in a smaller musical ensemble; in effect, to escape some of the constraints that often accompany writing and arranging music democratically with nine musicians." But like most utopian ideals, this one's purity has been sullied by walking the imperfect earth: by now, the three-piece has swollen to a sextet. Catch 'em live before they balloon up to Polyphonic Spree proportions. Dates:

01-23 Toronto, Ontario - Clinton's
01-24 Hamilton, Ontario - The Underground
01-25 Wakefield, Quebec - The Black Sheep Inn
02-01 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rosa
02-02 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rosa
02-16 Hamburg, Germany - Schlachthof
02-17 Aarhus, Denmark - Vox Hall
02-18 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
02-19 Berlin, Germany - Magnet
02-20 Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli
02-21 Diksmuide, Belgium - 4AD
02-22 Tourcoing, France - Le Grand Mix
02-24 London, England - Scala
02-25 London, England - Scala
02-26 Paris, France - L'echangeur
02-27 Paris, France - L'echangeur
02-28 Bordeaux, France - Theatre Jean Vilar
02-29 Bilbao, Spain - Cafˇ Anchokia
03-02 Madrid, Spain - Arena
03-03 Barcelona, Spain - Bikini
03-05 Montpelier, France - TBA
03-06 Lyon, France - TBA
03-07 Geneva, Switzerland - L'usine
03-09 Zurich, Switzerland - Rote Fabrik
03-10 Colmar, France - Le Grillen
03-11 Nancy, France - TBA
03-13 Athens, Greece - TBA
03-15 Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne
03-16 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg- Kulturfabrik
03-17 Eindhoven, Netherlands - Eefenaar
03-18 Groningen, Netherlands - Vera
03-19 Cologne, Germany - Gebaude 9
03-20 Haarlem, Netherlands - Patronaat

Constellation: http://www.cstrecords.com