San Francisco noise-pop specialists Xiu Xiu are experts at fan interactivity. They’ve conducted contests on their “band hotline” phone number, taken portraits of every individual in attendance on Jamie Stewart’s solo tour, and posted fan responses to online questionnaires on their blog. Now the band is using their PR wizardry to help out a local cause. While on tour, the band will be collecting donations in-person and online for At The Crossroads, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that helps street youth through counseling, outreach, and other services. Like those PBS fundraisers, the band will offer a special gift for every level of donation, and the band’s prizes are way more badass than any public television swag (except for maybe a Joy of Painting with Bob Ross canvas tote).
• $1 (show only): Everyone who donates a dollar or more at the show will get together at the end of the show for a big group picture. The band will then post these pictures online.
• $5: The band will mail you a postcard, probably made by Xiu Xiu, sent while on the road.
• $10: Xiu Xiu will email a one-of-a-kind picture of the band on the road and a description of what’s going on before and after, not during.
• $30: The band will mail you any random thing bought at a gas station, thrift store, or anywhere from the road.
• $50: The band will mail you a special David Horvitz collection of Xiu Xiu photos.
If Xiu Xiu receives $5000 in donations, they will release a free download of a song: a previously unreleased collaboration with Mary Pearson from High Places. But wait, there’s more! At the end of the fundraiser, the band will read the name of every donor on camera and post the video online.
To review: help out struggling youth, get a neat prize, and have your deed recognized publicly on the internets. Oh, and see Xiu Xiu play in your town.
03.05.10 - Greensboro, NC - Guilford College
03.06.10 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn * ^
03.07.10 - Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree * ^
03.09.10 - Little Rock, AR - Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack * ^
03.10.10 - Norman, OK - Opolis Productions * ^
03.11.10 - Dallas, TX - The Cavern * ^
03.12.10 - Houston, TX - The Studio at Warehouse Live *
03.13.10 - Austin, TX - Red 7 * ~
03.15.10 - Tempe, AZ - Sail Inn *
03.16.10 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture * #
03.17.10 - San Diego, CA - The Casbah * %
03.18.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo * %
03.19.10 - Santa Cruz, CA - The Crepe Place * %
03.20.10 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill * %
03.23.10 - Olympia, WA - Northern %
03.24.10 - Portland, OR - Holocene %
03.25.10 - Boise, ID - Neurolux % !
03.26.10 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge % $
03.27.10 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive % $
03.29.10 - Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon % $
03.30.10 - St. Louis, MO - Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center % $ +
03.31.10 - Iowa City, IA - The Picador % $
04.01.10 - Northfield, MN - The Cave at Carleton College % $
04.02.10 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry % $
04.03.10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall % $ &
04.05.10 - Oberlin, OH - The Dionysus Discotheque % $
04.07.10 - Cleveland, OH - The Spot % $
04.08.10 - Buffalo, NY - Mohawk Place %
04.09.10 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom % &
04.10.10 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs %
04.12.10 - Amherst, MA - Hampshire College Red Barn
04.13.10 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church %
04.14.10 - Washington, DC - DC9 %
04.15.10 - Richmond, VA - The Canal Club Downstairs Lounge %
04.16.10 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 %
04.17.10 - Detroit, MI - Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
04.29.10 - Krems, Austria - Donaufestival @
* Noveller
^ Girl in a Coma
~ Jonathan Mieberg (Shearwater)
# Extra Life
% tUnE-YarDs
! Scout Niblett
$ Talk Normal
+ Br’er
& Zola Jesus
@ with Deerhoof (performing Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures)
Xiu Xiu’s latest album, Dear God, I Hate Myself, comes out today via Kill Rock Stars. Check out the video of “Gray Death” at the Chocolate Grinder.
• Xiu Xiu: http://xiuxiu.org
• At The Crossroads: http://www.atthecrossroads.org
[Photo: Shiver Shi]
