Pitchfork

Photo by Nilina Mason-Campbell

Their current European tour is days from completion, and Xiu Xiu are already gearing up for more. Jamie Stewart and his roving band of weirdoes will hit the road in the U.S. come mid-August for pert' near a month of jams. And the weirdness doesn't start or stop with Xiu Xiu, as the new tour finds the group joined by Carla Bozulich's Evangelista, righteous racket-maker Prurient, and Common Eider, King Eider, the new project from former Deerhoof member and frequent Stewart collaborator Rob Fisk. 

And if Jamie Stewart has anything to say about it, you better show up early for all the pre-Xiu excitement. Of Ms. Bozulich, Stewart writes that, after hearing the first Evangelista record, "she became an idol to me", and that "to hear the songs of the following record, Hello, Voyager, exploded as loud as possible can only be matched by having been awarded the key to the secret tunnels beneath Mt. Fuji by the Japanese consulate."

Of Prurient, he says, "It has been reported to me that people have thrown up at his shows for the intensity and evil/beautifully minded focus of sound and light. How or why have we waited to work together?" He can't wait to "get hurt by the every night of this music." As for old friend Rob Fisk's Common Eider, King Eider, it is "the most touching, pointed and austere of all his incredible sound", led by Fisk's "astoundingly dark and innovative" guitar work.

When reached for comment on the tour headliners, all parties involved had this to say: "Shit is crazy, yo."

Xiu Xiu:

05-20 Manchester, England - Roadhouse
05-21 Glasgow, Scotland - Nice N Sleazy
05-22 Dublin, Ireland - Whelan's
05-23 Barcelona, Spain - Apolo
05-24 Madrid, Spain - Neu!
08-14 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex *
08-15 San Diego, CA - Casbah *
08-16 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture *
08-19 Lubbock, TX - Tequila Jungle *
08-20 Austin, TX - Mohawk *^
08-21 Houston, TX - Orange Show Center for Visionary Art *^
08-22 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree Cafe *^
08-23 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn *^
08-24 Charlotte, NC - Milestone *^
08-25 Baltimore, MD - Sonar *^
08-26 Providence, RI - Living Room *^
08-27 Boston, MA - Paradise - Boston *^
08-28 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *^!
08-29 Pittsburgh, PA - Garfield Artworks ^!
08-30 Columbus, OH - Milo ^!
09-01 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop ^!
09-02 Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom ^!
09-03 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge ^!
09-04 Dekalb, IL - House Cafe ^!
09-05 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon ^!
09-06 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club !
09-07 Fargo, ND - Aquarium !
09-10 Seattle, WA - Neumos !
09-11 Portland, OR - Backspace !
09-13 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill *!

* with Evangelista
^ with Common Eider, King Eider
! with Prurient