I like to imagine those 17-year-old-looking dudes in Smith Westerns as a modern-day pack of Ferris Buellers, cockily touring around North America this fall and evading their L7-weenie of a principal as they charm the continent with their boyish charms, 1980s confidence, and leopard print man-vests. Or maybe they’re more like The Beatles circa Hard Day’s Night, ruffling the entertainment establishment with their shaggy appearances and endearing themselves to millions for lovably treating their tag-along grandfathers like shit. Ah, to be young and in charge. Suck it, grandpa!
But the cold, hard reality is that, for all of their success with this year’s Dye It Blonde (TMT Review), the dudes in Smith Westerns are still paying their dues and playing second banana to dated old codgers like TV on the Radio, Arctic Monkeys, and — worst of all — that curmudgeonly old Panda Bear (shudder…). Okay, so maybe there’s only one date with Panda on the books… but still, those dudes in Arctic Monkeys are total stuffed-shirts, and starting next week in L.A., those kids in Smith Westerns are going to have to deal with lead singer Alex Turner’s stubborn, London-bred contempt for long hair and youth culture for the next month and a half. Man, I hear that dude can be such an uptight a-hole! He’s all like, “I travel on this train regularly! Twice a week!” And Smith Westerns are all like, “dude, what train???”
Dates:
09.03.11 - Los Angeles, CA - FYF Fest
09.13.11 - Norman, OK - Opolis %
09.14.11 - Dallas, TX - Club Dada
09.16.11 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival
09.16.11 - Austin, TX - The Parish (ACL After Party) +
09.21.11 - Las Vegas, NV - The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
09.22.11 - Las Vegas, NV - The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
09.23.11 - Las Vegas, NV - The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas @*
09.24.11 - San Diego, CA - SDSU Open Air Theatre @*
09.25.11 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl @*#$
09.28.11 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum Theatre *
09.29.11 - Calgary, Alberta - MacEwan Hall Ballroom *
09.30.11 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - The Odeon *
10.01.11 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Burton Cummings Theatre *
10.03.11 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room *
10.04.11 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant *
10.05.11 - Nashville, TN - War Memorial Auditorium *
10.07.11 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live *
10.08.11 - Sunrise, FL - Langerado Festival
10.09.11 - Tampa, FL - The Ritz *
10.11.11 - Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle *
10.12.11 - Raleigh, NC - Disco Rodeo *
10.14.11 - Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues @ Showboat Atlantic City *
10.15.11 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live *
10.16.11 - Columbus, OH - The LC Pavilion *
10.18.11 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE *
* Arctic Monkeys
@ TV on the Radio
# Panda Bear
$ Warpaint
% Evangelicals
+ Cults
• Smith Westerns: http://www.myspace.com/smithwesterns
• Fat Possum: http://www.fatpossum.com
