Pitchfork

When its curtains are drawn August 7, the proper rollout of Okkervil River's The Stage Names will almost certainly hold audiences rapt. But just the same, the generous sorts at Jagjaguwar are giving 5,000 listeners a peek at the dress rehearsals.

The first 5,000 copies of the Austinites' CD will come packaged with a bonus disc of Will Sheff's demos for the Stage Names tracks, sequenced just like the original LP. With nothing to distract from Will's vocal theatrics, this bonus disc may very well deserve an ovation alongside its official counterpart.

What's more, pre-ordering the album from the Jagjaguwar webstore will get you access to the whole LP as a free download some two-and-a-half weeks before it hits shelves. Man, these indie labels are making it really hard not to buy records these days!

Thanks to reader Ryan D. Ward for the heads-up.

Okkervil are laying low for the rest of July and August before heading out in early September for a month of North American shows. All dates with Damien Jurado.

Okkervil tour:

08-30 Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
08-31 Phoenix, AZ - The Brickhouse
09-03 San Diego, CA - Casbah
09-04 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
09-05 San Francisco, CA - Independent
09-08 Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan (MusicFest NW)
09-09 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
09-10 Seattle, WA - Neumos
09-13 Denver, CO - Marquee Theater
09-14 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room
09-15 Iowa City, IA - Picador
09-17 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre
09-18 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
09-19 Urbana, IL - The Canopy Club (Pygmalion Festival)
09-21 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace
09-22 Hamilton, Ontario - Pepper Jack's Café
09-23 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa
09-24 Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
09-25 Boston, MA - Middle East
09-26 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
09-28 New York, NY - Webster Hall
09-29 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
09-30 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
10-02 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
10-03 Athens, GA - 40 Watt
10-04 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
10-06 Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington