Q & Not U Launch World Tour, Ready New Album
Apartheid not what it used to be

In case you weren't present, let me take you, for a moment, to the desert heat of early May in Indio, California. Q & Not U performed just before Beck at this year's Coachella Music and Arts Festival, and by the end of their 40-minute slot, vocalist/bassist Christopher Richards had spewed countless anti-Bushisms, smashed the stage clock into a thousand pieces with a drumstick, and simultaneously exercised unheard sounds from his guitar whilst playing a bell with his teeth.

Although their stage show exceeded the generally agreed upon bounds of normality, it was difficult to fault Q & Not U's somehow completely authentic and unchecked energy. They are a band of dichotomies, as their sound reflects the seldom achieved (though often attempted) merger of complexity and melody into one concise, kick-ass sound. Now, after a four-year career as Dischord's shining stars, with two LPs to their name and one member lost somewhere along the way, the politically charged trio are ready to hit the road once again, starting their tour, however improbably, in South Africa, before heading back to the comforting confines of the U.S. The dates:

08-04 Durban, South Africa - Wave House
08-05 Grahamstown, South Africa - Taphuis
08-06 Cape Town, South Africa - Arts
08-07 Tyger Valley, South Africa - Boogaloos Skate Park
08-18 Farmingdale, NY - Downtown
08-19 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Club
08-20 Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
08-21 Washington, DC - Trinity Lutheran Church
08-27 Richmond, VA - Virginia Common. Univ.
09-01 New York, NY - Knitting Factory
09-28 Albany, NY - Trinity United Methodist
09-29 Portland, ME - SPACE
09-30 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
10-01 Toronto, Ontario - Rockit
10-02 Alfred, NY - Alfred State SUNY College
10-07 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
10-08 Washington, DC - Black Cat
10-10 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium *
10-11 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club *
10-13 Ann Arbor, MI - Blind Pig *
10-20 Saint Louis, MO - Creepy Crawl *
10-21 Omaha, NE - Sokol Underground *
10-22 Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck *
10-23 Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom *
10-28 Portland, OR - Nocturnal *
10-30 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill *#
10-31 Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction #
11-01 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour #

* with El Guapo
# with Erase Errata

According to their official website, the band has also put the finishing touches on their third full-length, to be entitled Power. The album is due out in early October on Dischord, and the tracklist is like so:

01 Wonderful People
02 7 Daughters
03 LAX
04 Throw Back Your Head
05 Wet Work
06 District Night Prayer
07 Collect the Diamonds
08 Beautiful Beats
09 Dine
10 X-Polynation
11 Passwords
12 Book of Flags
13 Tag Ta