The immensely talented John Darnielle is taking his musings on the Great American Trail again this fall for TWO helpings of mountain goat meat. Ranked number 13 on the top 20 most prolific writers ever list, Darnielle cannot be stopped on his quest for the perfect song. He has releases on cassette, vinyl, CD, and maybe more media, with albums ranging from conceptual to spiritual under a slew of different labels. He has written so many songs that there are multiple "series" of songs with common characters and themes scattered across his releases. There are songs for people and places, fake people and fake places, for emotions, and even for some of the notable chemical elements. Mad props. And even with such an abundant repertoire, The Mountain Goats shepherd has been known to play many different covers at his live shows. If you love storytelling, fun, happiness, sadness, friends, people, nature, depression, cold, heat, or even your parents, chances are you will enjoy listening to The Mountain Goats. Oddly enough (or maybe not odd at all) most "punk" kids seem to love whatever he puts out. Be it for his DIY ethic, his beauty and grace, or possibly his songs relating to their own suburban experiences as "punks" — whatever the reason, he must be doing something right.
According to a Mountain Goats FAQ, they have released and/or played over 1000 songs live. Allusions to Greek mythology, Latin phrases, and areas studied more thoroughly than Sufjan himself litter Darnielle's songs. All of these tourdates are confirmed, but don't be surprised if more are announced soon. Enjoy! Also, I think The Mountain Goats toured Australia once. I wonder if Steve Irwin was there. He would have loved it. I bet he owned the Devil in the Shortwave 12-inch EP. That's some rare shit.
Does this messenger bag make me look gay?
First Fall Tour:
09.14.06 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club #
09.15.06 – Ames , IA – The Maintenance Shop #
09.16.06 – Chicago, IL – The Empty Bottle #
09.18.06 – Kalamazoo , MI – Kraftbrau Brewery #
09.19.06 – Toronto, ON – Lee's Palace #
09.20.06 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Andy Warhol Museum #
09.21.06 – Athens, OH – The Union #
09.23.06 – Ithaca, NY – Appel Commons at Cornell University #
09.24.06 – Northampton, MA – Pearl Street #
09.26.06 – Cambridge, MA – The Middle East #
09.28.06 – Washington, DC – The Black Cat #
09.29.06 – Brooklyn, NY – Europa #
09.30.06 – New York, NY – The Bowery Ballroom #
10.01.06 – New York, NY – The Bowery Ballroom #
# - w/ Christine Fellows
Second Fall Tour (REMIX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!):
10.20.06 – Durham, NC – Troika Music Festival
10.23.06 – St. Louis , MO – Gargoyle at Washington University
10.24.06 – Springfield, MO – Randy Bacon Gallery
10.26.06 – Norman, OK – The Opolis
10.27.06 – Lubbock, TX – Jake's Back Room
10.28.06 – Denton, TX – Rubber Gloves
10.29.06 – Austin, TX – The Parish
10.31.06 – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
11.01.06 – Birmingham, AL – The Bottle Tree
11.03.06 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl
11.04.06 – St. Augustine, FL – Café Eleven
11.06.06 – Tallahassee, FL – Club Downunder