antony-91

Antony & The Johnsons - 2 NYC nights @ Town Hall + other 2009 Tour Dates & new album details

Antony & The Johnsons @ the Apollo in October (more by Ryan Muir)
Antony

The Crying Light is the highly anticipated full-length follow-up to I Am a Bird Now. Here, Antony shifts the thematic focus and explores his relationship with the natural world. The intimacy of the Johnsons’ sound is enveloped by avant-classical composer Nico Muhly‘s symphonic arrangements. The first moments of “Her Eyes Are Underneath the Ground” unveil an animist world in which the leaves are winking and the sun “…dances crystals in my eyes.” The joyful ricochets of “Kiss My Name” and the spiraling waltz of “Epilepsy Is Dancing” are to follow. The record’s centerpiece, “Another World” traces the singer’s despair in the face of a vanishing landscape. The striking vocal on “Dust and Water” seems to sooth the mind like an unfurling and pastoral “Everglade” concludes the album, Antony stepping beyond the confines of his loneliness and into the landscape to find that his “…Limbs (have) stopped Crying for Home…” Antony falls into a reverie and seems join the legendary Butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno, whose eerie portrait graces the cover of The Crying Light“.

Antony and the Johnsons’ music bridges the gap between avant-classical music and the blues, and the band’s sold out performances have resulted in standing ovations from Carnegie Hall to the Apollo. “The Crying Light” is a soul-stirring new work with its daring compositions and captivating vocal performances. The Crying Light may even become one of those albums that becomes emblematic of its time, a reflection of the momentous changes that we are facing, within each of our private worlds as well as collectively, and how we are summoning the courage to start moving through them.

The Crying Light will be released January 20th, 2009.

A month later Antony & The Johnsons will grace the stage of Town Hall in NYC for two nights in a row. Tickets for the February 19th & 20th shows go on sale Friday at noon.

It’s been an exciting day for show announcements. First Sharon Jones announces two NYC shows in February and now Antony. Both of them contribute to the Dark Was Night comp too.

Antony’s last NYC show was at the Apollo which was not long after his new EP was released. The two upcoming Town Hall shows look like they’re part of a still-unannounced larger tour. The dates we know are listed below…

Antony & The Johnsons – 2009 Tour Dates
Feb 04 – Southern Theatre, Columbus, OH (tickets)
Feb 17 – Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Toronto, ON (tickets)
Feb 19 – Town Hall, NYC
Feb 20 – Town Hall, NYC
Feb 22 – Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA
Feb 24 – Davies Sypmphony Hall (Noise Pop), San Francisco, CA