Gang of Four - last US tour

Gang of Four announced their last ever tour of the USA. They are going to play 'Hard' in its entirety and then some others. "I've always felt that 'Hard' is a great album and I think now is a great time to re-introduce it to our fans" Jon King said.

Just joking - they are going to play 'Entertainment' in its entirety and then other songs. Same line-up as before: King, Burnham, Pajo but Gail Greenwood is replacing Sara Lee.

April 20th – Crystal Ballroom, Boston, MA
April 22nd – Fairmount, Montreal, QC
April 23rd – Axis Club, Toronto, ON
April 24th – Sony Hall, New York, NY
April 25th – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
April 27th – Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill, NC
April 29th – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA
May 1st – Granada Theater, Dallas, TX
May 2nd – Paper Tiger, San Antonio, TX
May 5th – Basement East, Nashville, TN
May 7th – Magic Bag, Detroit, MI
May 8th – Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
May 9th – Vivarium, Milwaukee, WI
May 10th – Fine Line, Minneapolis, MN
May 12th – WAVE, Wichita, KS
May 13th – Knuckleheads, Kansas City, MO
May 15th – Gothic Theatre, Denver, CO
May 16th – Mesa Theater, Grand Junction, MO
May 18th – Treefort Music Hall, Boise, ID
May 20th – Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
May 21st – Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR
May 23rd – Chapel, San Francisco, CA
May 26th – Pappy & Harriet’s, Pioneertown, CA
May 28th – Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
May 29th – Music Box, San Diego, CA

Live performances of some of HARD's songs with Hugo Burnham suggest the album could've been far better. (Its Wikipedia entry suggests Andy Gill played drums on it.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2024 10:26AM by steevee.

I enjoyed the show a couple of years ago quite a bit and will probably be at this one too. Too bad we don't get one last dose of Sara Lee, but maybe Fripp can recruit her again and do some gonzo old folks tour!

I went to the 2022 (?) show with a group of guys, including a co-worker who's about 30. He was stunned to see folks older than his parents jumping around on stage with such energy!

The ENTIRE show from Somerville, MA on April 20 is up on YouTube, with some surprise guest appearances!

[www.youtube.com]

I saw them the other night (a late show, it ended close to 1 AM. Impressive that us old folks could make it that long). Ted Leo is playing guitar on this tour. Gail Greenwood is definitely more animated than Sara Lee when performing (I guess that goes back to her L7 days). Jon King's voice was a bit ragged at the beginning, by the time they got to 'I Found That Essence Rare', the band was locked in. As for special guests, we got Marissa Paternoster (Screaming Females) but no 'big' ones like Roger Miller, Bif Naked, Tanya Donelly or Lenny Kaye. What, they couldn't convince Ian Mackaye to get up there?

After the show, King came out to sign his new book and to me, he was very friendly. Upon finding out my name, he told me about one of the greatest shows he'd ever seen: Brian Wilson and the Wondermints doing 'Pet Sounds', it moved him to tears.

Set 1: Entertainment!
Ether
Natural's Not in It
Not Great Men
Damaged Goods
Return the Gift'
Guns Before Butter
I Found That Essence Rare
Glass
Contract
At Home He's a Tourist
5.45
Anthrax

Set 2:
He'd Send in the Army
Capital (It Fails Us Now)
Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time
We Live as We Dream, Alone
Paralysed
What We All Want (with Marissa Paternoster)
I Love a Man in Uniform
I Parade Myself (with Marissa Paternoster)
To Hell With Poverty

Encore:
Armalite Rifle
Damaged Goods

They did Damaged Goods twice?

Yes - check out the link I posted, they did that in Somerville, MA as well.

Heff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> After the show, King came out to sign his new book
> and to me, he was very friendly. Upon finding out
> my name, he told me about one of the greatest
> shows he'd ever seen: Brian Wilson and the
> Wondermints doing 'Pet Sounds', it moved him to
> tears.

That's pretty awesome. In all the eulogies for David Thomas, I saw quite a few mentions that he was a huge Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fan, especially when it came to Pet Sounds and SMiLE, and IIRC, someone sat next to him by chance at a Pet Sounds show with the Wondermints and they chatted a bit about their mutual love for that album. And of course, that music was a big presence among the indie groups I grew up with and listened to throughout the '00s...just awesome how it's touched so many across generations. (I think Henry Rollins is a huge SMiLE fan too.)

I won't be able to catch them; I have a commitment on the night of the Seattle gig. But I'll always remember the 2005 set at the Gothic Theatre in Denver. One of those shows that I feel fortunate to have seen.