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Tag: Eric Bachmann

Eric Bachmann Would Like To Play In Your Living Room

Say what!? Yes, it’s true. Eric Bachmann (Archers of Loaf, Crooked Fingers) is looking for some cozy living rooms for October up and down the East Coast (plus a few places in Florida) where he can serenade you, your family and 40-60 other people. It’s appropriately being called his “Living Room Tour,” and he just started the August leg of it. See dates below. For this new set of October dates, he’s asking interested hosts to submit a few photos of their living room for consideration. It’s being sponsored by The Undertow Music Collective and they have all the important information on their website. The deadline is August 5, so if you have the space and would like to see Eric Bachmann performing up-close and personal (and not have to go anywhere), submit your living room today!

Here’s a video I filmed when Eric and his band were at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge back in April. Not a living room, but almost.

Regarding the August dates, tickets are obviously very limited (and some shows are already sold out) but there are still a handful for certain locations. You can buy tickets here.

Eric Bachmann’s Living Room Tour

Tue, August 2 : Nashville TN
Wed, August 3 : St. Louis MO
Thur, August 4 : Madison WI
Fri, August 5 : Milwaukee WI
Sat, August 6 : Chicago IL
Sun, August 7 : Cincinnati OH
Mon, August 8 : Knoxville TN
Tue, August 16 : Greensboro NC
Wed, August 17 : Richmond VA
Thur, August 18 : Washington DC
Fri, August 19 : Cleveland OH
Sat, August 20 : Columbus OH
Sun, August 21 : Lexington KY
Mon, August 22 : Brevard NC

October Living Room Tour – Venues T.B.A.

Wed 10/5 : Orlando FL
Thu 10/6 : Tampa FL
Fri 10/7 : Gainesville FL
Thu 10/13 : New York City Area
Fri 10/14 : New Haven or Hartford CT
Sat 10/15 : Boston MA Area
Sun 10/16 : Portland ME
Mon 10/17 : Burlington VT
Tue 10/18 : Albany NY
Wed 10/19 : New York City Area

Eric Bachmann web | facebook | twitter

The Undertow Music Collective web | facebook | twitter

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Eric Bachmann Returns To Tug at the Heartstrings, Again

photo by Jeremy M. Lange

photo by Jeremy M. Lange

It’s been 10 years since Eric Bachmann’s last “solo album,” To The Races. Included in that collection of masterful songwriting was “Man O War,” which I had the pleasure of witnessing live at a Cooked Fingers show at TT’s back in 2011. Though I respected Archers of Loaf as a seminal band of the ’90s, I was never very familiar with their deeper catalog. My appreciation for the heartfelt singing and songwriting of Eric Bachmann was solely due to his musical forays as a solo artist and with Crooked Fingers. On Bachmann’s new album (released March 25 on Merge Records), he continues his introspective and heart-tugging compositions, though perhaps from a somewhat older and even more contemplative perspective.

“Kill your idols and your fables
take your weapons off the table
it’s only mercy now, that you need in your world
lay your burdens on my shoulders
for a while until it’s over
I’m going to love you like we’re all each other have.

doo-wop-wop-wop.”

Are we seeing a more peaceful, more resigned Eric Bachmann as he approaches middle age? Not quite.

“But don’t you dare believe them
when they try to tell you everything happens for a reason
because it doesn’t mean a goddamn thing
there’s chaos in the violins
and it’s so insensitive to claim
when there are those who suffer
suffer for no reason every day.”

Here’s a man grappling with life and love and fate and the concept of destiny, not quite accepting, at least not at face value, any of it. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. In the end, and it’s pretty corny but ultimately true, love really does conquer all. And that’s despite everything not being perfect. As for those idols and fables, they help us cope with the seemingly impossible to take on board. Like those unfathomable truths of death and loss. I have a feeling he’d be the last one to say he has the answers, but he definitely has some valuable insights to share, and he does so without preaching or casting judgement, as one would with a close friend.

“Carolina,” another song from the new album, makes the heart swell with sentimental regret and longing, Bachmann’s warmly caressing vocals making the song instantly personal, before you even know what he’s singing about. It’s an extraordinary gift.

In a recent session for the A.V. Club, Bachmann performed a gorgeous acoustic version of “Dreaming” (also on the new album) with a string quartet.

Bachmann will be touring with a 5-piece band beginning on April 13 in Athens, Georgia and winding down on June 5 in San Diego. He’ll be performing in tiny clubs, which is exactly the type of place where you want to hang out and share life’s experiences with a trusted comrade.

04/13 — Athens, GA — 40 Watt
04/15 — Arlington, VA — IOTA Club & Cafe
04/16 — Carrboro, NC — Cat’s Cradle Back Room
04/17 — Asheville, NC — Mothlight
04/19 — Portsmouth, NH — The Music Hall Loft
04/20 — Pawtucket, RI — The Met Cafe
04/21 — Cambridge, MA — Lizard Lounge
04/22 — Philadelphia, PA — Johnny Brenda’s
04/23 — Brooklyn, NY — The Bell House
05/06 — Grand Rapids, MI — Pyramid Scheme
05/07 — Chicago, IL — Schubas
05/20 — Seattle, WA — Sunset Tavern
05/21 — Portland, OR — Mississippi Studios
06/03 — San Francisco, CA — The Chapel
06/04 — Los Angeles, CA — Bootleg Theater
06/05 — San Diego, CA — Soda Bar

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Seeing Out The Year That Was: My 12 Favorite Shows of 2012

A last minute addition: The Magnetic Fields at Symphony Hall for First Night (last night)

A last minute addition: The Magnetic Fields at Symphony Hall for First Night (last night)

It’s a good thing I held off posting this, because I’ve just made it an even dozen in honor of the year that just flew by, 2012. The last one? A band I had the immense pleasure of seeing for the first time, on First Night just last night at the majestic Symphony Hall. [Why do they call it “First Night”? Shouldn’t it be “Last Night”?]

I saw a total of 24 shows this year. Not a whole lot for a music blogger, but I’ll tell you—nearly all of them were spectacular. That’s damn good odds. I’ve heard some people say that 2012 was an awful year. What I’ll say, from my personal perspective, is this: 2012 was a year of massive challenges and difficulties, but the rewards, if you were prepared to step up, and I mean step up in a major way, were equally impressive. It was most definitely not a year for lightweights. But it’s all moving forward, and it’s moving forward quickly. Hold on to something sturdy, because I have a feeling 2013 is going to be just as intense. Remember, with challenge comes opportunity. Happy New Year, everyone.

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Best Shows of 2011: My Top 5 Personal Favorites

Levon Helm, Crooked Fingers, Toyah Willcox with The Humans

Levon Helm, Crooked Fingers, Toyah Willcox with The Humans

Ok, so last year I had a ‘Top 10’ list. What can I say; 2011 was kind of a struggle. But I did discover a common theme for this year’s favorites: delivering a stellar performance in the face of adversity. Whether it was a legendary performer who had overcome personal struggles to come back, absolutely blazing (Toyah Wilcox, Levon Helm, and Eric Bachmann with his band Crooked Fingers); or just a rough night (lead singer Evan Way of The Parson Red Heads being really sick but soldiering on anyway, and The Drowning Men and their ‘road trip from hell’); my soaring admiration combined with musical prowess to create these special evenings.

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