Something they don’t tell you when you start writing about music news for the internet is that your brain starts to work like a press release. You start saying things like “for immediate release” on your way to the bathroom. Like, I cracked open this here press release for the new Moon Duo live album Live in Ravenna and was all about to say something about how the kraut-flavored psych group was, I don’t know, “initially conceived as an experiment in maximal sonic possibilities with minimal personnel,” namely Sanae Yamada and Ripley Johnson. But that’s exactly what the press release says! I can’t just say that and leave it, can I? Can I?
Anyhow, that accidental quote was going to dovetail super nicely into the fact that, back in 2013 (after the release of 2012’s Circles), Moon Duo decided to Ben Folds Five themselves and add drummer John Jeffrey to their number. Jeffrey joined just in time to head out on tour with the group, and so, as the press release might have said, “the group decided to ask engineer Mattia Coletti to document their nightly sonic explorations, attempting to recreate that magical and sparkling synergy that flows between twisting human bodies in musical motion as they travel about Europe by dirigible and train.”
The recordings from the group’s performance in Ravenna will then make up a release entitled Live In Ravenna, which is out on Sacred Bones as both a limited LP and a digital download on September 19 (pre-order the digital here). The press release says that the band felt adding a full-time drummer on stage added “dynamism and flexibility,” which are totally fine words to use there. I would’ve gone with “ardor” and maybe “litheness,” but it’s whatever. Different strokes, you know? Check out a video of the group performing “In the Sun” embedded below, and catch them on their pile of dates.
Live in Ravenna tracklisting:
01. In The Sun
02. Mazes
03. Free Action
04. I Been Gone
05. Motorcycle, I Love You
06. Goners
Dates:
08.29.14 - Asheville, NC - The Mothlight [Transfigurations II]
09.01.14 - Hebden Bridge, UK - Trades Club
09.02.14 - Sheffield, UK - The Harley
09.03.14 - Aberdeen, UK - The Tunnel
09.04.14 - Edinburgh, UK - The Caves
09.05.14 - Vlieland, Netherlands - Into The Great Wide Open Festival
09.07.14 - Moscow, Russia - Teatr
09.10.14 - Thessaloniki, Greece - Eightball Club
09.11.14 - Athens, Greece - An Club
09.13.14 - Valada, Poland - Reverence Festival
09.15.14 - Tilburg, Netherlands - Incubate Festival
09.18.14 - Cardiff, UK - Club Ifor Bach
09.19.14 - London, UK - Queen Elizabeth Hall
09.21.14 - Brussels, Belgium - Ancienne Belgique @
10.13.14 - San Diego, CA - Belly Up
10.14.14 - Santa Ana, CA - Observatory *
10.15.14 - Los Angeles, CA - Mayan Theater *
10.16.14 - San Francisco, CA - Fillmore *
10.18.14 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre *
10.19.14 - Vancouver, BC - The Rickshaw Theatre *
10.20.14 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre *
10.22.14 - Salt Lake City, UT - Bar Deluxe *
10.23.14 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theater *
10.24.14 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room *
10.25.14 - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line *
10.27.14 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall *
10.28.14 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *
10.30.14 - Toronto, ON - Opera House *
10.31.14 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre *
11.01.14 - Boston, MA - Paradise *
11.02.14 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer *
11.04.14 - New York, NY - Stage 48 *
11.05.14 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg *
11.06.14 - Washington, DC - Black Cat *
11.08.14 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse *
11.10.14 - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald’s *
11.11.14 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues *
11.12.14 - Austin, TX - Parish *
@ Goat
* The Horrors
• Moon Duo: http://www.moonduo.org
• Sacred Bones: http://www.sacredbonesrecords.com
More about: Moon Duo
