Pitchfork: Xiu Xiu Tour World, Prep Covers EP

Xiu Xiu sure do tour a lot. Maybe it has something to do with Jaime Stewart's fabulous, road-tested, art-rock muscles (OH!) Or maybe it's that Stewart and his muppet-faced bandmates (or mate, depending on the weather) are just a prolific bunch, releasing an LP about once a year and various EPs, singles, and other projects in between, and those songs are begging to be played to rapt audiences. Or they're just trying to escape the pain inside. Whatever the reason, this time around it probably has something to do with their forthcoming album, The Air Force, which now has a solid release date of September 12. Sure, it's kind of a ways away, but chops must be honed and clown towns must be visited.

Citizens of Americanada will have to wait until August for their live fix, when Xiu Xiu touch down at the Homo A Go Go festival in Olympia, Washington. Right now, they're Down Under, and they're heading to Europe next week, where they'll spend the next month and a half.

Skipping the Valley, OH!:

04-20 Melbourne, Australia - Northcote Social Club
04-21 Brisbane, Australia - Troubadour
04-22 Auckland, New Zealand - Schooner Tavern
04-28 Athens, Greece - Underworld
04-29 Bourges, France - Festival Printemps de Bourges
05-04 Ancona, Italy - Thermos *
05-05 Legnano, Italy - Jail *
05-06 Bologna, Italy - Covo *
05-07 Trieste, Italy - Teatro Miela *
05-09 Rome, Italy - Circolo degli Artisti *
05-10 Naples, Italy - Galleria Toledo *
05-11 Genova, Italy - Banano Tsunami *
05-12 Basel, Switzerland - Hirscheneck
05-13 Munich, Germany - Rote Sonne #
05-14 Vienna, Austria - Chelsea
05-16 Schorndorf, Germany - Manufaktur
05-17 Amsterdam, Holland - TBA
05-18 Cologne, Germany - Gebaeude
05-19 The Hague, Netherlands - Ground One Festival
05-20 Diksmuide, Belgium - 4AD $
05-22 Hamburg, Germany - Uebel & Gefaehrlich %
05-23 Berlin, Germany - Volksbuehne %
05-24 Reims, France - Centre Culturel St Exupery (Festival Elektricity)
05-25 Paris, France - Le Nouveau Casino ^
05-26 Nantes, France - L'Olympic $
05-27 Poitiers, France - Le Confort Moderne $
05-28 Tarragona, Spain - Sala Zero
05-29 Madrid, Spain - Caf� la Palme
05-30 Castellon, Spain - Ricoamor
05-31 Valladolid, Spain - Malbicho
06-01 Vigo, Spain - Vademecwm
06-02 Leiria, Portugal - Teatro Miguel Franco
06-03 Gijon, Spain - Festival Intersecciones
06-04 Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound Festival @
06-17 Guadalajara, Mexico - Sonorama Revista Festiva
08-03 Olympia, WA - Homo A Go Go !

* with Larsen, XXL
# with Lesbians on Ecstasy
$ with Thee Silver Mt. Zion
% with Final Fantasy
@ with Lou Reed, Deerhoof, Motorhead, more
^ with Amusement Parks on Fire, Scarling
! with Lovers, Des_Ark, Kinney Starr, Katastrophe, Rigamortis, Shelley Doty, Gina Young

Oh, and remember that covers EP we told you about last time? We've got some more info about it. Looks like it's coming out next week on Acuarela Discos, it's called Tu Mi Piaci (which means "I like you" in Italian), and according to Stewart, "it is all very simple version of the songs, with one instrument and vocals". And the tracklist is:

01 "He Needs Me" (Nina Simone)
02 "Don't Cha" (Pussycat Dolls)
03 "Blue Berry Mine Shaft" (Nedelle)
04 "Kangaroo" (This Mortal Coil/Alex Chilton)
05 "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything" (Bauhaus)

Yup, the Pussycat Dolls. Tori Alamaze is so pissed right now!