"The thing about 'Doolittle,'" said Santiago, the band's guitarist, "is that it's still as fresh today as it was when we recorded it. I loved it then and I love it now."

Pixies at Hammerstein Ballroom in 2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

The Pixies celebrated the 20th anniversary of Doolittle on a 2009 tour that included 4 NYC dates. They've since continued touring the album and are now embarking on another Doolittle run that they're dubbing the "Lost Cities" US tour. The tour will hit smaller cities in the US that the initial tour didn't stop in. Surfer Blood open most of the tour and Imaginary Cities open the last few dates.

"Two years and counting in this celebration of Doolittle's 20th anniversary," laughed drummer Lovering. "But people keep asking us to bring 'Doolittle' to their city, and we're really happy to do it."

The tour will start in Montclair, NJ, where the band will play on October 27 at Wellmont Theatre with Surfer Blood. The tour moves to Asbury Park the next day and then to CT before continuing to NH, ME, Rochester. It then hits Easton, PA and then Huntington, NY. No NYC dates, but lots of options for those willing to take a short trip. Tickets for all shows go on sale on July 15th.

Speaking of Surfer Blood and the Pixies, Surfer Blood recently covered "Gigantic" for A/V Undercover with Sarah Baldwin from The Girls at Dawn on lead vocals. Watch that below.

"We are all big fans of Surfer Blood," said Pixies' Black Francis. "They're a young and energetic band and write great songs. And it will be terrific to have Imaginary Cities back on the road with us. They were a big success on our Canadian tour earlier this year."

Black Francis has shows coming up too including July 24 at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets are still available.

All Pixies tour dates with more info on what to expect at the shows, and that video, below...

Continue reading "Pixies announce more Doolittle dates, many with Surfer Blood"

...and those new dates are now on presale

"JERUSALEM (JTA) -- In more apparent fallout from Israel's interception of a Gaza-bond flotilla, the American alternative rock band the Pixies canceled a scheduled concert in Israel.

The band was scheduled to perform Wednesday in Tel Aviv in its first concert in Israel.

"The decision was not reached easily, and we all know well the Israeli fans have been waiting for this visit for far too long," read a message received Sunday by the concert's producers in Israel from the band's management, according to reports.

"We'd like to extend our deepest apologies to the fans, but events beyond all our control have conspired against us. We can only hope for better days, in which we will finally present the long awaited visit of the Pixies in Israel."

Two other groups, Klaxons and the Gorillaz, canceled their scheduled performances in Israel following the deaths of nine activists during clashes with Israeli Navy commandos during the boarding of one of the flotilla's ships early on May 31.

The cancellations come less than a month following the cancellation of British rocker Elvis Costello, who was making a political protest. Costello called the cancellation of his scheduled June 30 and 31 concerts "a matter of instinct and conscience."" [JTA]

Pixies won't be heading to Israel, but they will continue touring in 2010 with more "Doolittle" shows now scheduled through the end of September. There were four NYC Doolittle shows in November of 2009. The closest show to NYC at the moment is Philly in September of 2010, and those tickets, like all the new dates, are on presale now ("All pre-sale ticket purchases include a download of the live recording from the show, delivered to the purchasing fan via email the day after the show*. Pre-sale prices are all-in, and are less than total cost of tickets at public outlets. This fan-only presale ends at 11:59 pm on Friday, June 11. All tickets can be claimed at WILL CALL, unless otherwise noted.). All dates and a widget that will get you a free live EP right now, below...

Continue reading "Pixies cancel Israel shows, add more Doolittle dates in the US "

During the recording sessions, Whore was discarded as a potential album title, after Oliver changed the cover artwork idea to a monkey and halo cover. Francis later explained his rationale for the move: "I thought people were going to think I was some kind of anti-Catholic or that I'd been raised Catholic and trying to get into this Catholic naughty-boy stuff. [...] A monkey with a halo, calling it Whore - that would bring all kinds of shit that wouldn't be true. So I said I'd change the title." Francis then named the album Doolittle, from the "Mr. Grieves" lyric "Pray for a man in the middle / One that talks like Doolittle." This was in the tradition of previous Pixies albums; both Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa used song lyrics for the album title. [Wiki]

Tickets for the upcoming Pixies' "Doolittle" shows at Hammerstein Ballroom go on "Internet Presale" and "Live Nation presale" Thursday at 10am. The passwords, and a selection of Doolittle videos, below...

Continue reading "Pixies Hammerstein Ballroom tickets (and presale password)"

Alt-rock kingpins the Pixies will make their live return to the U.S. this fall!

Frontman Frank Black tells SPIN.com that the Boston-born quartet will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their groundbreaking release, Doolittle, by playing the album in its entirety in Oakland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, New York City, and "maybe Montreal" this fall.

"I believe we're doing the Wang Center in Boston," he says of his hometown gig at the 3,600-capacity venue.

Exact dates have yet to be confirmed. The U.S. tour is expected to follow a run of Doolittle shows in Europe scheduled for October.

The gigs will coincide with the release of the Pixies' ambitious Minotaur box set, which will arrive in October on 4AD Records (order yours now via Artist in Residence).

In the meantime there are plenty of side projects to keep us busy including two NYC-area Grand Duchy shows this week, one of which will take place in Coney Island at 5:00pm on Saturday (7/18).

It was also just announced that the Pixies will play the Ontario Virgin Festival on August 29th. The full lineup of that two day festival also includes Grizzly Bear, Sloan, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Pet Shop Boys, Plants and Animals, and one of Nine Inch Nails' final performances. All European Pixes dates below...

Continue reading "Pixies planning US/NYC Doolittle shows - current dates include Europe & Virgin Festival Ontario (full lineup)"