Have you ever been on an Amtrak train? If you have, it’s unlikely that you enjoyed the ride (After all, who the fuck likes awful food and noisy small children?). And if you haven’t taken a ride on one, well, don’t ever make an effort to change that. Of course, Amtrak is pretty dissatisfied with the public’s low opinion of its services. In one of its less well-thought-out moves, it decided recently to improve its popularity with the young ‘uns by offering a service to bands who don’t want to tour by bus: they can rent out a car in an Amtrak train for their tour! It offers an interesting possibility: where else would you find Evanescence, Vampire Weekend, and your little brother’s band all in the same place?
Of course, this plan is still in its beta phase. To test out the service’s usability, Amtrak decided to give one lucky band the chance to use a Tour Train for free. That lucky band turned out to be Pennsylvania’s own noise babies An Albatross, who are pushing the train to its limits by taking the tour to off-the-beaten track places like Chattanooga, Tennessee (though considering the town’s name, I guess it’s an apt stop). Anyway, free soggy hot dogs and coloring books for everyone who comes to one of the shows...
All aboard the tour train!
03.06.08 - Brooklyn, NY - Death By Audio
03.07.08 - Richmond, VA - The Camel *^
03.08.08 - Raleigh, NC – Slim’s Downtown *
03.09.08 - Columbia, SC - New Brookland Tavern *
03.10.08 - Athens, GA - Caledonia Lounge *
03.11.08 - Chattanooga, TN – JJ’s Bohemia *
03.12.08 - Huntsville, AL - Flying Monkey Arts *
03.13.08 - Houston, TX - The Mink Backroom *
03.15.08 - Austin, TX - Spiro's Eyeball Records SXSW Showcase !
03.16.08 - Austin, TX - Beerland Daytime Panache Party @
03.16.08 - Denton, TX. Rubbergloves *
03.17.08 - Oklahoma City, OK - Conservatory
03.18.08 - St. Louis, MO - 2 Cents Plain *#
03.19.08 - Oakland, CA - Uptown Night Club *$
03.20.08 - Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen *
03.21.08 - Detroit, MI - Scrummage University %
03.22.08 - Wilkes Barre, PA - Cafe Metropolis *
03.23.08 - Annandale-on-Hudson, NY - Bard College *
04.05.08 - Brooklyn, NY - Music City Hall of Williamsburg &
05.01.08 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa +
05.02.08 - Hamilton, ON - The Casbah +
05.03.08 - Toronto, ON - Sneaky Dee's (Over the Top Festival Panache Showcase) +
* The Apes
^ Amoeba Men
! MC Astronautilus, Kiss Kiss, Pompeii, Baumer, Search/Rescue, Tiger Lou, The Casting Out
@ Finally Punk, Best Fwends, When Dinos Ruled the Earth, Mika Miko, The Mae Shi, The Show Is the Rainbow, Cpc Gangbangs, Monotonix
# Genghis Tron, Coliseum
$ Vampire Hands
% Mass Shivers, the Beatitude
& Peelander Z, Fun Machine, The Soundscapes
+ Big A little a
