Japandroids at The Vic
photo by James Richards IV

Japandroids covered The Saints with Craig Finn, made a playlist of influences ++ pics from Chicago

Vancouver rockers Japandroids are on tour now in support of their great new album Near To The Wild Heart Of Life. Opening the tour is fellow Replacements lover (and Hold Steady frontman) Craig Finn, whose got a new solo album, We All Want The Same Thing, dropping in March. We caught the tour at Chicago’s Vic Theatre on 2/15.

Like they’ve been doing at most stops on this tour, Japandroids played almost the entire new album, most of Celebration Rock, and some Post-Nothing faves too (“Young Hearts Spark Fire,” “Wet Hair,” “I Quit Girls.”) They also ended the show with a cover of Australian punk legends The Saints‘ 1977 classic “(I’m) Stranded,” joined by Craig Finn. You can watch a video of Japandroids and Craig playing that song together in Toronto, below. Pictures of the Chicago show are in the gallery above. Setlist below.

The Japandroids/Craig Finn tour hits NYC this Thursday (2/23) at Terminal 5. Tickets for that show are still available. Updated dates are listed below.

Japandroids also recently made a playlist for Rolling Stone with the music that influenced NTTWHOL. It’s got Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt, Emmylou Harris, Tom Waits, Gil Scott-Heron, Patti Smith, Marianne Faithfull, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Game Theory, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Nick Cave and more. Listen below.

Japandroids – Chicago Setlist (via)
Near to the Wild Heart of Life
Fire’s Highway
North East South West
Wet Hair
True Love and a Free Life of Free Will
Evil’s Sway
In a Body Like a Grave
Arc of Bar
The Nights of Wine and Roses
Continuous Thunder
Midnight to Morning
No Known Drink or Drug
Younger Us
I Quit Girls
Young Hearts Spark Fire
The House That Heaven Built
(I’m) Stranded (The Saints cover) (with Craig Finn)

Japandroids — 2017 Tour Dates
2/20 – Boston, MA – Royale*
2/23 – New York, NY – Terminal 5*
2/24 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer*
2/25 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer*
2/27 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
2/28 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club*
3/01 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle*
3/03 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse*
3/04 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn*
3/05 – St Louis, MO – The Ready Room*
3/07 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre*
3/09 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theatre*
3/10 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theatre*
3/11 – San Diego, CA – Music Box*
3/13 – Santa Ana, CA -Observatory*
3/14 – San Francisco, CA – Fillmore*
3/17 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall*
3/18 – Seattle, WA – Neptune*
3/20 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom*
4/18 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Pumpehuset
4/19 – Hamburg, Germany – Uebel & Gefährlich
4/20 – Cologne, Germany – Gebaude 9
4/22 – Berlin, Germany – Columbia Theater
4/23 -Frankfurt, Germany – Zoom
4/24 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
4/26 – Paris, France – La Maroquinerie
4/27 – Brussels, Belgium – The Rotonde / Botanique
4/28 – Birmingham, UK – o2 Institute Birmingham
4/30 – Glasgow, UK – The Garage
5/01 – Leeds, UK – Stylus
5/02 – Nottingham, UK – Rescue Rooms
5/04 – Manchester, UK – Gorilla
5/05 – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
5/06 – London, UK – o2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
6/01-04 – Barcelona, SP – Primavera Sound
6/08-10 – Porto, PT – Primavera Sound

* with Craig Finn

photos by James Richards IV