I have a story about The Mountain Goats. Or, sort of about The Mountain Goats and mostly about me. When my dad was teaching me how to drive, I insisted that he let me choose the music in the car. Not a radio station, but a carefully curated playlist. “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton” came on as we made our way home from the grocery store one afternoon, and even though I’d heard the song tons of times, I paid more attention to John Darnielle’s voice than I did to the speed limit or stoplights. My dad yelled at me to pay attention as I slammed on the brakes and nearly rear-ended the car in front of me. As we waited for the light to turn green, the song got to the part where John Darnielle yells “HAIL SATAN. HAIL SATAN TONIGHT,” and my dad asked what the hell was going on. I told him he wouldn’t get it because he wasn’t listening to the story.
Anyway, I’m just trying to tell you that The Mountain Goats are touring in the fall. John Darnielle will probably tell some stories. They’ll be playing a covers and rarities set at Hopscotch Festival, maybe including “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton” (just hazarding a guess, because really I have no idea). They’ll be playing most of those shows with Matthew E. White, who wrote the horn arrangements for The Mountain Goats’ new albumTranscendental Youth, which will be out October 2 on Merge. I bet you’ll hear some stories there too, and in the meantime, you can hear the album’s first single, “Cry for Judas” via Merge’s SoundCloud below:
Dates:
09.01.12 - Livermore, CA - Wente Vineyards Estate Winery %
09.07.12 - Raleigh, NC - Fletcher Opera Theatre (Hopscotch Music Festival)
10.06.12 - Durham, NC - Reynolds Industries Theatre #
10.09.12 - Richmond, VA - The National*
10.10.12 - Baltimore, MD - The Ottobar*
10.11.12 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts*
10.14.12 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg*
10.15.12 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom*
10.18.12 - Boston, MA - House of Blues*
10.19.12 - Ithaca, NY - The Haunt*
10.20.12 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre*
10.22.12 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Ladies Literary Club*
10.23.12 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre*
10.24.12 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre*
10.26.12 - Iowa City, IA - The Blue Moose TapHouse*
10.27.12 - Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre*
% The Dodos
# Anonymous 4
* Matthew E. White
• The Mountain Goats: http://www.mountain-goats.com
• Merge: http://www.mergerecords.com
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