Akron Family played Union Pool (twice) & New Museum (pics), playing APW, ATP & other places next (dates)
photos by Leia Jospe
Decider: Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free is more percussive, more rhythmic. Is this the result of one member taking the lead, a concerted group effort, or sheer randomness?
Dana Janssen [of Akron Family]: Well, we didn’t necessarily strive to achieve this, but I think what’s come out is our affinity for African music. We’ve been deeply impacted by the work of King Sunny Adé, Ali Farka Touré, Toumani Diabaté, Fela Kuti, a lot of the Afrobeat stuff, music we’ve heard [like] Malian guitar players and desert nomads like Tinariwen. On tours recently, we’ve been having these big percussion jams where we hand out toys to audience members so they can participate. It’s all coming out in the music.
Akron Family played at the New Museum in Manhattan on Friday, March 27th (part of the Get Weird music series) (with Lexie Mountain Boys) before playing two nights in a row at Union Pool in Brooklyn (March 28th and 29th).
“The bi-city band, based in New York as well as Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was full of whimsical energy Sunday night as they surged through an 11-song set without so much as a pause. Song bled into song, the transitions carried by any combination of the nine people on stage. Of those nine, three drive the madness that is Akron/Family – Seth Olinksy (guitar), Miles Seaton (bass) and Dana Janssen (drums). They have their primary roles, but much like a freak-folk version of Broken Social Scene, they’re all multi-instrumentalists, and vocal duties shift, with Olinksy usually taking the lead.” [PopDose]
Akron Family has a varied schedule of spring/summer shows planned next (including some European dates opening for Wilco). The band visits NYC again on May 6th, coming to the Bowery Ballroom. Tickets for that show are still on sale.
And then the band is on the bill for both All Tomorrow’s Parties on September 12th and (with its recently announced line-up) All Points West on August 2nd.
Updated tour dates and more pictures from the New Museum show below…
Lexie Mountain Boys…
Akron Family…
Akron Family – 2009 Tour Dates
05-05 The Middle East, Cambridge, MA
05-06 Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
05-07 Metronome, Burlington, VT
05-08 Metronome, Burlington, VT
05-09 Bennington College, Bennington, VT
05-16 Orangerie ‘Nuits Botanique’, Brussels, Belgium
05-17 Melkweg Old Room, Amsterdam, Netherlands
05-18 Doornroosje, Nijmegen, Netherlands
05-19 Nouveau Casino ‘Custom’, Paris, France
05-20 ICA, London, UK
05-22 Captains Rest, Glasgow, UK
05-23 Ruby Lounge, Manchester, UK
05-24 Fiddlers, Bristol, UK
05-25 Teatro Cervantes w/ Wilco, Malaga, Spain
05-26 Teatro Calderon w/ Wilco, Madrid, Spain
05-27 Congress Palace w/ Wilco, Grenada, Spain
05-29 La Cartuja Monastery w/ Wilco, Seville, Spain
05-31 Locomotiv, Bologna, Italy
06-01 Hana-bi, Ravenna, Italy
06-02 Interzona, Verona, Italy
06-03 Casa 139, Milan, Italy
06-04 Spazio 211, Torino, Italy
06-05 Init, Rome, Italy
07-23 10KL Festival, Detroit Lakes, MN
07-25 Calgary Folk Festival, Calgary, AB
07-26 Calgary Folk Festival, Calgary, AB
08-02 All Points West Festival, Liberty State Park, NJ
09-12 ATP NY, Monticello, NY
