Pitchfork

Rufus Wainwright's spring/summer/fall tour in support of the just-released Release the Stars has swelled to ginormous proportions, now a sprawling, continent-spanning, many-tentacled mass that whisks our "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" salesman from Paris to L.A. and very nearly everywhere in between.

One opener could not possibly stomach so much road-worn Wainwright, and one opener won't have to: merciful Rufus has enlisted a dozen or so like-minded musical entities to help keep his wiles in check while on tour.

Chief among them, Neko Case, who'll croon to folks on the August 8-17, mostly-Southern stretch of Rufus' campaign. UK softies the Magic Numbers take over for Case thereafter, while latest Tori torch carrier A Fine Frenzy bears the brunt of Wainwright's whimsy, sharing opening duties on both stretches. Lad of the Lennon seed Sean also opens a selection of pre-Case dates, and lucky peoples in Calgary and Vancouver get treated to the often enchanting Sarah Slean. Antony amiga Joan as Police Woman does a June NYC date too, and we think that's mighty swell.

Case has a basketful of Rufus-free summer dates as well, several of which we've previously reported. Both Neko and Rufus' dates are listed below for your geeking-out convenience.

Neko:

05-26 George, WA - Gorge Amphitheatre (Sasquatch! Festival)
07-19 Pittsburgh, PA - Byham Theater *
07-20 New York, NY - Central Park Summer Stage
07-21 Greenfield, MA - Greenfield Community College (Green River Festival)
08-09 Kansas City, MO - Voodoo Lounge at Harrah's Casino #
08-10 Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theatre #
08-11 Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q #
08-13 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle #
08-14 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium #
08-15 Charlottesville, VA - Charlottesville Pavilion #
08-16 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
08-17 Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center for the Performing Arts
08-18 Mansfield, MA - Download Festival
09-02 Marquette, MI - Ellwood Mattson Lower Harbor Park
09-03 Detroit, MI - Detroit International Jazz Festival
11-16 Los Angeles, CA - Walt Disney Concert Hall

* with Eric Bachmann
# with Rufus Wainwright, A Fine Frenzy

Rufus:

05-22 Paris, France - La Trianon
05-24 Portsmouth, England - Postmouth Guildhall
05-25 Bristol, England - Bristol Colston Hall
05-27 London, England - Old Vic Theatre
05-28 London, England - Old Vic Theatre
05-29 London, England - Old Vic Theatre
05-31 London, England - Old Vic Theatre
06-01 London, England - Old Vic Theatre
06-05 New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre ^
06-06 New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre %
06-08 New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre $
06-09 New York, NY - Gramercy Theatre +
06-11 Toronto, Canada - Danforth Music Hall *
06-12 Toronto, Canada - Danforth Music Hall *
06-14 Montreal, Quebec - Place Des Arts *
06-16 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavillion =
06-17 Columbia, MD - Merriweather Post Pavillion =
06-22 Glastonbury, England - Glastonbury Festival
06-24 Brighton, England - Dome Theatre
06-25 Oxford, England - New Theatre
06-27 Folkestone, England - Lees Cliff
06-28 Werchter, Belgium - Werchter Festival
06-30 Stockholm, Sweden - Accelerator Festival
07-01 Gothenberg, Sweden - Tragarn
07-03 Copenhagen, Denmark - Opera House
07-07 Naas, Scotland - T in the Park Festival
07-08 Kildare, Ireland - Oxegen Music Festival
07-10 Cornwall, England - The Eden Project
07-12 Montreux, Switzerland - Montreux Jazz Festival
07-20 Benicàssim, Spain - Benicàssim Festival
07-25 Edmonton, Alberta - Winspear Center ~
07-26 Calgary, Alberta - Prince's Island Park (Calgary Folk Festival)
07-28 Vancouver, British Columbia - Center of the Performing Arts ~
07-29 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre @!
07-31 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom @!
08-02 Santa Rosa, CA - Wells Fargo Center for the Arts @!
08-03 San Francisco, CA - Nob Hill Masonic Center @!
08-04 Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery
08-06 Santa Fe, NM - Paolo Soleri Amphitheatre @!
08-07 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium @!
08-09 Kansas City, MO - Voodoo Lounge at Harrah's Casino &@
08-10 Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theatre &@
08-11 Austin, TX - Stubb's Bar-B-Q &@
08-13 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle &@
08-14 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium &@
08-15 Charlottesville, VA - Charlottesville Pavilion &@
08-17 Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center for Performing Arts &@
08-18 Westhampton Beach, NY - Performing Arts Center #@
08-19 New York, NY - Central Park Summerstage #@
08-21 Boston, MA - Avalon Ballroom #@
08-23 Columbus, OH - Lifestyle Communities Pavilion #@
08-24 Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan Theater #@
08-25 Highland Park, IL - Ravinia Festival
08-27 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater #@
08-29 London, Ontario - Centennial Hall #@
08-30 Montreal, Quebec - Montreal Place des Arts
09-23 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl (Judy Garland concert)

^ with Lucy Wainwright Roche
% with Joan as Police Woman
$ with Teddy Thompson
+ with Jason Hart
* with Andrew Rodriguez
= with Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry, Erasure, Margaret Cho (True Colors Tour)
~ with Sarah Slean
@ with A Fine Frenzy
! with Sean Lennon
& with Neko Case
# with the Magic Numbers