January 30, 2004

We'll show up if you will

Well, all this political mumbo jumbo is fine and dandy, but now back to what really matters. To wit, my own retarded attempt to publicize myself, my band, my band's new album, and my band's upcoming tour.

The big show (well, we're hoping it'll be pretty big) at Slim's in San Francisco is this Saturday. I don't know if it will sell out. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. But if enough people buy tickets in advance, they'll be extra nice to us in the long, uncomfortable period between sound check and stage time, so I heartily encourage you to consider it. A happy pretend rock star is an efficient pretend rock star. We'll try to make the show as rockin' as possible regardless, but every little helps. Either way, if you do show up, and you see me standing around uncomfortably, be sure to say hi or something.

The show list that follows at the end of this post is mostly the same as the previous edition, but there is one new confirmed date (Phoenix, AZ, 3/8.) 3/7 will either be in Albuquerque or Santa Fe-- more on that soon, with any luck. We were going to try to play in Las Vegas on the way back, but the club said we weren't "punk" enough. Bummer. On the other hand, because of that I'm far less likely to lose the band money in one ill-conceived shot, so it will probably prove to be a net gain in the end. Thanks, Vegans! (Maybe "becoming less punk" should be a thirteenth step or something. I'll ask my sponsor about it...)

In the meantime, here are some of the cities and venues with less exacting standards:

Saturday - 1/31/2004
Slim's,San Francisco, California
333 11th St., San Francisco, CA
w/the Phenomenauts, the Plus Ones
doors at 9pm.

Saturday - 2/7/2004
Capitol Garage, Sacramento, CA
details TBA


Sunday - 2/8/2004
Meow Meow Portland, Oregon
927 SE Pine St., Portland, OR
a/a

Monday - 2/9/2004
Graceland Seattle, Washington
109 Eastlake Ave. E, Seattle, WA
$7, a/a

Wednesday - 2/11/2004
Climax Lounge, Denver, Colorado
3233 Gilpin St., Denver, CO
w/Man Planet

Thursday - 2/12/2004
BottleneckLawrence, Kansas
737 New Hampshire, Lawrence, KS
doors: 7:15pm
$7/$8

Friday - 2/13/2004
Gabes Oasis, Iowa City, Iowa
330 E. Washington St., Iowa City, IA
6pm

Saturday - 2/14/2004
Maintenance Shop, Ames, Iowa
Iowa State Memorial Union, Ames, IA
$8 students/$9 public

Sunday - 2/15/2004
Warehouse, La Crosse, Wisconsin
328 Pearl St., La Crosse, WI
6:30pm

Monday - 2/16/2004
Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, Minnesota
629 Cedar Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN
a/a, $7

Tuesday - 2/17/2004
Fireside Bowl, Chicago, Illinois
2646 W. Fullerton, Chicago, IL
$8, a/a

Wednesday - 2/18/2004
The Shelter, Detroit, Michigan
431 E. Congress, Detroit, MI
$8

Thursday - 2/19/2004
Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
1765 Coventry Rd., Cleveland Heights, OH
8pm

Friday - 2/20/2004
Club Laga, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
3609 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA
$10/$12, doors: 9:15pm


Saturday - 2/21/2004
Bug Jar, Rochester, New York
219 Monroe Ave., Rochester, NY

Sunday - 2/22/2004
Middle East, Cambridge, Massachusetts
472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA
$8

Monday - 2/23/2004
The Space, Hamden, Connecticut
295 Treadwell St. - Bldg. H, Hamden, CT
w/ Man Planet, Superfallingstars, Thom Dunn; 7pm

Tuesday - 2/24/2004
North Six, Brooklyn, New York
North 6 66 N. 6th St., Brooklyn, NY


Wednesday - 2/25/2004
Talking Head, Baltimore, Maryland
203 E. Davis St., Baltimore, MD

Thursday - 2/26/2004
Cats Cradle, Carrboro, North Carolina
300 E. Main St. Carrboro, NC

Friday - 2/27/2004
Lime Light, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
1724 Hwy. 501, Myrtle Beach, SC
doors: 7pm

Saturday - 2/28/2004
Wills Pub, Orlando, Florida
1850 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, FL


Sunday - 2/29/2004
1213 Rock Shows, Aniston, Alabama
6216 Meadowlark Dr., Anniston, AL 36206
doors: 7 pm, a/a, $8


Monday - 3/1/2004
The Earl, East Atlanta, Georgia
488 Flat Shoals Rd., East Atlanta, GA
$7, 7pm

Tuesday - 3/2/2004
Vinos, Little Rock, Arkansas
923 W. 7th St., Little Rock, AR
$8

Wednesday - 3/3/2004
Fitzgerald's, Houston, Texas

Thursday - 3/4/2004
Emos, Austin, Texas
603 Red River, Austin, TX
doors: 8pm

Friday - 3/5/2004
The Wreck Room, Forth Worth, TX
3208 W. 7th St., Fort Worth, 817-348-8303
w/Ghoultown, 41 Gorgeous Blocks
doors 9:00, a/a

Saturday - 3/6/2004
Green Door, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
329 E. Sheridan Oklahoma City, OK
w/The Stellas

Monday - 3/8/2004, The Mason Jar, Phoenix, AZ

Posted by Dr. Frank at January 30, 2004 03:40 AM | TrackBack
Comments

i'll be there saturday, providing i don't catch rick's nasty cold between now and then. erin put me on the guest list- does that count as 'buying' tickets in advance?

if i see you standing around, i may be too embarrassed to say hi to you. you'll just have to settle for me giggling and pointing from a distance.;)

Posted by: anne at January 30, 2004 03:52 AM

A note about the Pittsburgh show. Club Laga's web site says doors at 6:00 and show at 7:00. Also, several people planing to go would really like to hear 'Lickitung' at that show.

Posted by: John A at January 30, 2004 04:20 AM

oh, and 'not punk rock enough'??? hmmm...kinda sounds like gilman, after they stopped accepting my lifetime membership card...

Posted by: anne at January 30, 2004 04:26 AM

Frank, it is really something that all these years later, there is still a class of "not punk enough," and that MTX is still being accused of membership in it. Anyway, I won't be at the show 'cause The Stacks are also playing on Saturday, but I heard "Book of Revelation" and "Love American Style" through the practice room walls last night and it certainly brought back fond memories. Next time for sure . . .

Posted by: Aaron at January 30, 2004 04:26 AM

Aaron, you probably have no idea just how little has changed, in some respects at least, since 1992. It's like Milk Milk Lemonade all over again every couple years or so. Remember how they used to complain that the guitar didn't sound enough like the Bad Religion guitar? Well, they still do. Have a good gig, dude. Punk for eve.

Posted by: Dr. Frank at January 30, 2004 06:05 AM

did you really mean "Thanks, Vegans!" or was that just some sort of subconscious slip? :)

Posted by: r a e d y at January 30, 2004 06:25 AM

Raedy, I think I'd prefer to describe it as a see-through slip.

Posted by: Dr. Frank at January 30, 2004 06:28 AM

So nice to see you'll be in Arizona. Remember, if you'd like another show, one is always waiting for you in Tucson. Just gimme the word and it's done.

Posted by: Amy 80 at January 30, 2004 11:30 AM

Sigh. Looking at the tour dates I am beginning to remember why I had reservations about moving back to Indiana from Austin.

Posted by: Brian Ruh at January 30, 2004 01:58 PM

fuck those punker-than-thou fools, frank.

Posted by: resident jason at January 30, 2004 02:08 PM

2/24 at North Six in Brooklyn: I'll be the tall skinny guy who's trying to bother you.

Posted by: geoff at January 30, 2004 03:14 PM

How come no dates for SXSW?

Posted by: austin at January 30, 2004 05:04 PM

That, my dear Austin, is a more complicated question than you know.

Posted by: Dr. Frank at January 30, 2004 05:08 PM

Anybody who plays at Fireside Bowl is at minimum an honorary punk. Work/life issues permitting, I'm there. I love that place. Most of the crowd was literally not born yet when I was buying my first punk rock albums. In fact, most of the crowd wasn't born when I graduated from college. It makes me feel old, but also good to see the scene continuing on with youth and vitality even as me and my generation wither into middle age ...

Posted by: Lexington Green at January 30, 2004 07:26 PM

Yeah, Lex. I'll take any title I can get, esp. honoraria, especially if they come with a cash prize. As you're probably aware, I invented punk back in the 60s along with Lint and that bald guy from Miner Threat, Al Gore, Mo Tucker and a couple of guys from the Mahavishnu Orchestra. They owe me big time.

Posted by: Dr. Frank at January 30, 2004 07:34 PM

I think you can pass the hat at the Fireside for some extra chump change, call that the honorarium.

I see we have a little dispute brewing about who invented punk in the '60s. Johnny Ramone in 8th grade jammed with some of the guys from Sun Ra, in the basement of the Brill Building, possibly with Leslie West (still skinny), and Johnny Burnette was reputedly there, too. Speaking of bald guys, the drummer for Spirit kicked some proto-pop-punkish butt sort of on "I Got a Line on You", so he may be the great grandfather of, say, Green Day. And we can't fail to mention the unjustly forgotten '60s garage act the Pyramids -- all bald.

Mo Tucker I agree about, certainly. She's on the diagram, no matter what.

Bottom line, the genealogy is hopelessly tangled. Everybody was high or drunk and can't remember whose DNA got mixed with theirs in the dark during a blindfolded grope session while Sister Ray was playing. It is that hopeless.

Bottomer line, much as penniless European immigrants stepped off the steamship onto the wharves of New York and claimed made-up titles of nobility, so you can claim to be personally one of grandfathers of the whole damn movement, such as it is, and no one will ever be able to prove it aint true. So put your stakes in the ground and claim your 40 acres. I've got your back.

Bottom-most line. Have fun on tour. Drive safely. Pack warm clothes. It is damned cold in Chicago right now. By February it may be just as nasty. Bring extra gloves, because you'll lose them. Think long johns. Think siberian-style hats with ear-flaps. Think pull-down face-covering eski-caps. It's that bad. But, it is totally worth it. Hope to see y'all.

Posted by: Lexington Green at January 31, 2004 03:59 AM

I'm so excited to see MTX coming to Club Laga in Pittsburgh. This will be my first MTX show, and I've been listening for about 10 years(Not to mention, Laga is my favorite venue)! Pray for good weather - we're a few hours away.

I know what you mean, Lexington - the crowds keep getting younger, yet a few of us vets remain. I'm starting to feel ancient. ; ) Sheesh, I'm twenty-five and I sound like an old woman... "Back in my day..."

Posted by: Stacie at January 31, 2004 05:46 AM

Green is right. I seem to get a good sneering from the thirtysomethings at fireside but i just imagine them smiling when i turn my face away. That and that you may want to just construct a room temperature bubble to play in that will be impervious to Chicago's element. All in all, its a great excuse to not clean a suburban Mall from 10 pm to 6 am for one day. Book of Revelation would be more than wonderful to hear to rock us out of our frozen cranky penguin-state.

Posted by: buz splint at January 31, 2004 07:04 AM

Damn, you Chicago boys are starting to scare me. Thanks for the heads-up, though. Buz, remind me before the show and we'll give "Book of Revelation" a shot-- if I can force my frozen, useless fingers to play the guitar parts (a big maybe even in California.)

Posted by: Dr. Frank at January 31, 2004 07:28 AM

fuck. i think i'm getting sick. i might not be able to go tomorrow. damn that rick and his germ spreading!

Posted by: anne at January 31, 2004 08:24 AM

Dude, here in chicago people whine complain and wuss out about the weather like pete brady in sam's deep freeze meat locker. those are even people who lived here all their lives. i get cold but i don't complain, i go for the burn so to speak. one suggestion: layers, layers, layers.(ok maybe that's 3)
only fools wear giant puffy coats alone. remember, you can always take layers off when you're out there, you can't put more on.

Posted by: scott shtape at February 1, 2004 01:31 AM

WOAH I CAN'T WAIT until your show in Baltimore. I've been a huge fan for a long time but I've never seen you live. I'm really looking forward to it!!

Posted by: Joanna at February 2, 2004 02:07 AM

Scott, I'm not complainin', or whinin' I'm just warnin' an out-of-towner. The guy from Nerf Herder was at the Fireside last December, it was about 12 degrees without windchill. OK, fine, I had warm clothes. That guy had only bought his first pair of gloves ever in his life that day, and they'd played in Minneapolis the previous night! So, just a word to the wary.

Posted by: Lexington Green at February 2, 2004 04:35 AM

oh, i wasn't targeting you lex, i just think its funny how people who live here and know exactly what the weather will be each winter still never accept the reality of it and trudge on. you're right though, out of towners just don't realiize how that lake effect works, they don't call it the windy city fer nothin'!

Posted by: scott shtape (not my real name) at February 2, 2004 07:19 AM

Good luck on the road, Frank. We're pretty excited about your show here, ourselves. Ignore the apprehension rising in you when you see our car door/sign. While it's a pretty dead-on signal of our poverty, the inside is thankfully much more inviting.

And if you get bored between soundcheck and showtime, one of us will probably be free to swing you around downtown New Haven for eats, records, and unseeming heavy gothic architecture. Or you can wrestle with the house Rubik's cube. Yum.

--The Space

Posted by: Chris G. at February 6, 2004 04:25 AM