As the adage goes, you die a Legendary Pink Dot or you live long enough for a portion of your name to become literal. When the London-based experimental group started back in 1980, there was probably a tinge of irony to their name. Who are these youngbucks and where do they get off calling themselves legendary? After 33 years, The Legendary Pink Dots are kind of, sort of legitimately legendary. To tell it less charitably: they’re just long-lived and persistent. Let’s just stick with legendary, though.
A key piece of the Legendary Pink Dots legend is their massive discography, consisting of roughly 50 or 60 albums. It’s so massive, even The Legendary Pink Dots don’t know. Now, though, that discography has to be amended to 51 or 61 albums. The band’s newest record, The Gethsemane Option, is out now through Metropolis. Assumedly, the record went through a longer gestation period than usual, as the album was a year in the making. Do the math and you’ll see that you don’t get 50+ albums in 33 years by taking a year on each one. According to frontman Edward Ka-Spel, the record revolves around a central concept, BUT is not a concept album, because “concept albums were already passe in the 80s.” It is no longer the 80s.
To cement their legend in the North American territories, the band is going there on tour this fall. By starting in Vancouver, touring for roughly a month throughout the US and Canada, and finishing up in Seattle, the band will successfully create a circle around the area. From there, they will fill it with pink paint, transforming it into a pink dot many would consider legendary. They will also probably write a new record in that time. I mean, they’ve got to get to 52 or 62 records.
Legendary Pink Dots dates:
09.14.13 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
09.15.13 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir
09.17.13 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
09.18.13 - Denver, CO - The Walnut Room
09.20.13 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
09.21.13 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
09.22.13 - Detroit, MI - TBA
09.23.13 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
09.25.13 - Montreal, QC - Petit Campus
09.26.13 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
09.27.13 - Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory
09.28.13 - Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
09.29.13 - Charlotte, NC - Casbah @ Tremont
10.01.13 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
10.02.13 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia
10.03.13 - Houston, TX - Fitzgeralds
10.04.13 - Austin, TX - Red 7
10.05.13 - Dallas, TX - The Prophet Bar
10.07.13 - Albuquerque, NM - Launchpad
10.08.13 - Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom
10.09.13 - West Hollywood, CA - Roxy
10.10.13 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
10.11.13 - Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room
10.13.13 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
10.16.13 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe
• Legendary Pink Dots: http://legendarypinkdots.org
• Metropolis Records: http://www.metropolis-records.com
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