In 2008, the world was a different place. Most significantly, the internet didn’t exist yet, so when members of Athens, Georgia’s sprawling and hyper-collaborative Elephant 6 Collective first launched the Holiday Surprise Tour — in which members of bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, of Montreal, Olivia Tremor Control, and Elf Power put on different collaborative shows each evening that consisted of giant super-group mashups and members trading off instruments and songs — no one even noticed.
But now things are different. Internets are plentiful, and everyone can promote anything they want with a few clicks of a button. So naturally, Elephant 6 is giving it another go early next year, crisscrossing the US with at least 14 of their biggest and brightest stars. This time out, the tour will feature a bunch of artsy-fartsy short films, audience participation games led by Music Tapes frontman Julian Koster, and of course, J-A-M-S by such luminaries as Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Circulatory System, The Music Tapes, and others. Confirmed participants in the hootenanny include Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, Peter Erchick, John Fernandes, Julian Koster, Scott Spillane, Andrew Rieger, Laura Carter, Derek Almstead, Heather McIntosh, Bryan Poole, Theo Hilton, Robbie Cucchiaro, and others. Does “others” mean “Jeff Magnum”? Hey! Probably! Wow! Wait, who’s that?!?
Oh, and if you’re worried about not being able to make it to one of these shows because you already have lame vacation plans with your insipid “family” over the holiday season, don’t be. Those hippies are all way too stoned to actually pull together a “Holiday Surprise Tour” by the actual holiday season. The damn thing doesn’t even start until like March.
Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour:
02.24.11 - Roswell, GA - WhirlyBall Atlanta
02.25.11 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder (Florida State University)
02.26.11 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
02.28.11 - Austin, TX - Emo’s Inside
03.01.11 - Dallas, TX - The LOFT at the Palladium
03.03.11 - Phoenix, AZ - The Duce
03.04.11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Satellite
03.05.11 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
03.08.11 - Portland, OR - Backspace at the Someday Lounge
03.09.11 - Seattle, WA - The Vera Project
03.11.11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
03.12.11 - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
03.14.11 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
03.15.11 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
03.16.11 - Kalamazoo, MI - The Strutt
03.17.11 - Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop
03.18.11 - Toronto, Ontario - Horseshoe Tavern
03.19.11 - Buffalo, NY - Big Orbit’s Soundlab
03.20.11 - Easthampton, MA - Flywheel
03.22.11 - Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory
03.23.11 - New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
03.24.11 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
03.25.11 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern Cafe and Music Hall
03.26.11 - Raleigh, NC - Kings Royal Barcade
• Elephant 6: http://www.elephant6.com
