We are in Davenport, Iowa and we are doing a daytrotter.com live session today (Tuesday April 17th). The session is being recorded for later use, but you can listen in to rehearsal and soundcheck today at around noon (Iowa time)…. Click on the link on the right side of the daytrotter.com page. Meanwhile, if you live in the midwest make sure that you check our tour dates….
Day Two. NHL playoffs are in full swing with three or four games a day and our satellite gets them all. We even have a PVR to capture what we miss while we are on stage. Heaven. Jared convinced me and Al to experience our first Five Guys Burger. Very tasty. Another excellent show in front of an excellent audience…funny how those two things often go together. The Space in Evanston isn’t the best sounding room, but they have made a lot of upgrades since the last time we played here in 2010. It’s another very intimate performance space, great for the audience and fun for the band. The backstage area is about as comfortable as they come and the staff, owners and promoters treat us royally. We couldn’t ask for much more. A very, very fun night. Meanwhile, the Senators and Rangers are settling into what could be a really nasty series; Vancouver is heading towards a catastrophic collapse; the Penguins defence and goaltending seem to have vanished; and the other series are just warming up…..and, according to the weather channel, we are heading into a whole mess of tornados and severe thunder storms…woo-hoo, game-on!
This was a great way to start a tour: welcomed and stuffed by Skippy’s Sausage Stand Deluxe. It’s always a pleasure coming to Ann Arbor. This was one of the first towns in the US that showed a real interest in our music. We have many fond memories of playing sold out shows at The Blind Pig in the very early days when the only album that we had on our merch table was Whites Off Earth Now!! (we sold both the vinyl and cassette version!!). The Ark is our home in town these days, it’s a great room to see a band, very fun to play and they have Bells Two Hearted Ale on tap. We probably should have done two shows, but we’ll settle for a jammed packed, enthusiastic first night house. We had a great night, despite the fact that Margo isn’t feeling great…the energy and enthusiasm of the audience lifted her up….but….. back to that sausage stand….
Margo, Jeff and I did an early afternoon recording for the radio show Acoustic Cafe, which is always an enjoyable experience and by the time that we arrived at the venue, Skippy and his crew of Chef Rob and sous-chef Major Mike were already cooking up a storm. We were treated to a lunch of that Sausage Stand classic; sausage sautéed in peppers and onions (with a splash of bourbon) and a bowl of tasty, spicy gumbo. When we returned, after soundcheck, for dinner, Skippy and his crew had raised the bar to new heights. In honour of the completion of our ambitious Nomad Series, Skippy had designed a menu inspired by the four albums: glazed scallop over miso noodles; grilled salmon; strips of beef; peach cobbler; and several other tasty sides and sauces. It was pretty spectacular and darn tasty too. Skippy is pulling up stakes in these parts and heading west to settle in Des Moines to be near his daughters and grandkids. So it looks like we’ll have to start planning more regular trips through the heartland. A great beginning to the tour…let’s just hope that Margo recovers quickly.
We are very honoured to be participating in a concert at Massey Hall (Toronto) on May 14th in honour of Leonard Cohen who will be there to receive the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize. We will be performing two Leonard Cohen songs, one of which will be a duet with John Prine. Other guests include Jimmy Dale Gilmore, James McMurtry, our old friend Greg Keelor along with Travis Good and many more. Tickets are now on sale.
The second leg of The Nomad Tour begins on Friday in Ann Arbour. You can still win tickets for any of the shows of your choice, by entering the contest through our Facebook page. Speakers In Code is also giving away some tickets to the St Louis show and will also be running an interview with Margo next week.
There are good things being said across the pond as well… this is from one of England’s national papers. Check out the different packages that we have available…Also, we are on the road again in a week. Please check out the upcoming tour dates.
The Daily Telegraph – 5 out of 5 stars
Each word and note of this album feels so deeply percolated and thoughtfully placed that it’s hard to believe that this is the fourth record the experienced alt-country band have released in 18 months. Songwriter Michael Timmins explores loss and loneliness with austere clarity warmed by a steady glow of humanity and tinder dry sparks of humour. Margo Timmins’s beautifully bruised vocals float through a dreamy fog of shivering cymbals and muddy guitars. A masterclass in lo-fi longing.
This review/blog reminds me of the good ole days when Cream and Circus and Crawdaddy reigned supreme, back when Rolling Stone was a music paper. Back then music reviews had some heft and lots of personality, sometimes the reviewer was as much a part of the review as the music (which could be a good or bad thing depending on the reviewer). If you have a few minutes, take a look: Doc Martian’s Lounge.
The Nomad Series box set is now available for pre-order.The box set includes 5 compact discs: Renmin Park (volume 1), Demons (volume 2), Sing In My Meadow (volume 3) and The Wilderness (volume 4) as well as Extras, which is made up of 10 songs recorded during the making of The Nomad Series but not included on any of the volumes (these songs were all available on the bonus digital EPs. The box set also contains a 52 page colour booklet.
Also, we’re back on the road in two weeks, so make sure that you check out the Tour page to see if we are coming anywhere near you.
The concert that we performed on March 14th at Glen Gould Theater is now up on their website for all to enjoy. As usual the techies at CBC did a great job recording the concert. Check it out.
Canada steps up again with an excellent national review throughout the Post Media chain. The album is now on sale and there are all sorts of bargains out there, including here on our own website and on Amazon. Also, if you live in the US mid-west make sure that you check out the upcoming Tour dates. we have also just announced a cross-Canada Tour opening for John Mellencamp (we’ll be adding our own shows to that tour in the next few weeks).
The Wilderness – The Nomad Series: Volume 4
4 stars
Considering the self-imposed time restriction, the Nomad Series – four albums within less than two years – has been distinguished by a startling lack of filler. It has also been distinguished thus far by sturdy conceptual frameworks; going by that criterion, The Wilderness is the weakest of the lot, connected with tenuous threads of loneliness and existential quests (according to songwriter Michael Timmins) that could apply to almost any Junkies disc. But taken as a standalone release, this is one of the discography’s crown jewels, featuring some of the group’s purest expressions of melancholy. Especially in light of the 5-month-old Sing in My Meadow’s cacophonous jamming, The Wilderness feels like a return to the quietude of the band’s early days, although the peppy comic relief of F—, I Hate the Cold makes it very clear that the Junkies aren’t bound by their history.
