Pitchfork: Guided by Voices Reveal Dates for Final Tour

Guided by Voices Reveal Dates for Final Tour
Or, Tascam loses last customer

You know half the story by now: On August 25th, Guided by Voices will release their final full-length, entitled Half Smiles of the Decomposed, on Matador Records. On January 1st, 2005, they will cease to exist as a functioning unit. Realistically speaking, this is more or less a retirement of nomenclature-- Bob Pollard has always been the brunt of the band, and the man has already assured the world that it will be a good while yet before he turns in the towel as a solo artist. But let's momentarily disregard realism for a somewhat necessitated bout of rock 'n' roll theatrics: Symbolically speaking, this is the end of an era.

The band released their first EP in 1986, and have since then recorded... look, I don't really want to think about their discography in terms of a concrete numeral. GBV aren't merely prolific, they are iconic. Pollard and his crew have been constant, and nearly consistent; their batting average is pretty goddamn respectable. Guided by Voices have exactly 25 shows left in their final itinerary, beginning with a free concert on August 19th by the Hudson River (followed that very night by a record release party at New York's Tonic), and concluding with a bang in Chicago with a New Year's Eve extravaganza at the Metro.

Former bandmate and erstwhile co-songwriting powerhouse Tobin Sprout has announced that he'll be accompanying the band as opener on a number of dates. Which leads us to speculation that he may, in fact, even join the band for a few numbers, provided everyone gets along. This, of course, is unconfirmed, but indeed, if he does play a set with Pollard and crew, one can only imagine the greatness to which these select audiences might bear witness. It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday:

08-19 New York, NY - Hudson River Pier 54
09-09 Boston, MA - Paradise *
09-10 Philadelphia, PA - Theater of the Living Arts *
09-11 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club *
09-28 Carrboro, NC - Cats Cradle
09-29 Athens, GA - 40 Watt
10-01 Houston, TX - Engine Room
10-02 Austin, TX - Stubb's
10-03 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
10-21 Columbus, OH - Al Rosa +
10-22 Newport, KY - Southgate House +
10-23 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom +
10-25 Bloomington, IN - Bluebird +
10-26 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre +
11-11 San Diego, CA - Canes *
11-12 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre (w/Brian Jonestown Massacre)
11-13 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore *
11-15 Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan
11-16 Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan
11-17 Seattle, WA - Neumos
12-03 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
12-04 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
12-12 Orlando, FL - Beacham Theatre
12-30 Chicago, IL - The Metro
12-31 Chicago, IL - The Metro (w/The Go)

* with Tommy Keene
+ with Tobin Sprout

As previously reported, the tracklist for Half Smiles of the Decomposed reads as follows:

01 Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking)
02 Sleep Over Jack
03 Girls of Wild Strawberries
04 Gonna Never Have To Die
05 Window of My World
06 The Closets of Henry
07 Tour Guide at the Winston Churchill Memorial
08 Asia Minor
09 Sons of Apollo
10 Sing for Your Meat
11 Asphyxiated Circle
12 A Second Spurt of Growth
13 (S)mothering and Coaching
14 Huffman Prairie Flying Field

And finally, Scat Records has revealed plans to reissue Guided by Voices' landmark classic Bee Thousand in a 3xLP edition titled Bee Thousand: The Director's Cut. Due August 31st, the set will be released on vinyl only in a double gatefold jacket with new artwork, liner notes, photos, posters, and "etc." A CD version may be released at a later date, although as of press time, no plans have been made official. Tracklist:

>> Side One
01 Demons Are Real
02 Deathtrot and Warlock Riding a Rooster
03 Postal Blowfish
04 The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory
05 At Odds with Dr. Genesis
06 Hot Freaks
07 Queen of Cans and Jars
08 Bite
09 It's Like Soul Man [4trk version]

>> Side Two
01 Supermarket the Moon
02 Stabbing a Star
03 Ester's Day
04 Her Psychology Today
05 Good for a Few Laughs
06 Smothered in Hugs
07 What Are We Coming Up To?
08 Peep-hole

>> Side Three
01 Revolution Boy [aka Greenface]
02 Indian Was an Angel
03 Zoning the Planet [aka "Dank Star Ground Control"]
04 Scissors
05 Crayola [aka "Parakeet Troopers"]
06 Kicker of Elves
07 2nd Moves to Twin
08 I'll Buy You a Bird [aka "Tobacco's Last Stand"]

>> Side Four
01 Awful Bliss
02 Echos Myron
03 Why Did You Land? [4-track version]
04 You're Not an Airplane
05 Crunch Pillow
06 Rainbow Billy
07 Tractor Rape Chain
08 Crocker's Favorite Song

>> Side Five
01 I Am a Scientist
02 Buzzards and Dreadful Crows
03 A Big Fan of the Pigpen
04 Mincer Ray
05 Way to a Man's Heart
06 Twig
07 Gold Star for Robot Boy
08 Hardcore UFO's
09 Yours to Keep
10 Shocker in Gloomtown [early version]
11 Break Even [early version]

>> Side Six
01 I'll Get Over It
02 Shocker in Gloomtown
03 Alien Lanes
04 Off the Floor
05 Break Even
06 Bee Thousand
07 I Am a Scientist
08 Curse of the Black Ass Buffalo
09 Do the Earth
10 Planet's Own Brand
11 My Valuable Hunting Knife [Shernoff version]