Aren’t monsters supposed to be jerks? You know, terrorizing villages and sucking blood and killing people and stuff like that? I thought that’s what monsters were all about. I’ve never seen a vampire or a wolfman helping old ladies across the street or volunteering at a library.
That’s why I don’t think these so-called Monsters of Folk are monsters at all. Instead of striking fear in the countryside, the folk-rock supergroup (featuring M. Ward, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, and Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis) are going on their inaugural tour this fall. The way they describe it, the shows won’t even be very monstrous, what with the four members trading instruments and roles throughout the show. Like Frankenstein’s monster would ever let a mummy touch his kit. A real band of monsters probably couldn’t even get it together to put out a record, yet Monsters of Folk have a self-titled debut coming out September 22 on Shangri-La.
If all that doesn’t hurt their monster cred enough, the guys are even giving to charity by partnering with Air Traffic Control, a resource for musicians' philanthropic and social change work. Through this partnership, the band will donate a buck from every ticket sold to local non-profits. Nice guys, those Monsters of Folk -- not monsters at all.
Monsters of Folk dates:
10.13.09 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum
10.14.09 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
10.15.09 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
10.17.09 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
10.18.09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theatre
10.20.09 - San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre
10.21.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Orpheum Theater
10.22.09 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
10.28.09 - Omaha, NE - Holland Center
10.29.09 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
10.30.09 - Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre
10.31.09 - Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace Theatre
11.02.09 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
11.03.09 - Boston, MA - The Orpheum
11.06.09 - New York, NY - United Place
11.08.09 - New York, NY - Beacon Theater
11.09.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Academy of Music
11.12.09 - Stockholm, SE - Philadelphia Church
11.14.09 - Berlin, DE - Huxleys
11.15.09 - Copenhagen, DK - Vega
11.17.09 - London, UK - Troxy
11.18.09 - Paris, FR - Elysee Montmarte
11.19.09 - Koln, DE - E-Werk
11.21.09 - The Hague, NL - Crossing Border
11.22.09 - Antwerp, BE - Crossing Border
