They play all kinds of awesomeness and this should be a non-issue. Buy the damn ticket. Now.

the answer to your first question is : YES! YES! YES! YES!
They'll still play a couple of oldies, and probably more when you see them because I don't think a new album will be released any time soon. But I also love the live performances of the songs from their most recent album.
You can listen to some live shows here: https://archive.org/details/LowMusic?sort=-date
Some were recorded by me ;-)

Only a terminal masochist would pass on the opportunity to see Low.

according to Mono they'll tour the US West Coast together with Low in June and/or July

You absolutely MUST see Low. If you're into them at all. They're one of the best live bands around, and they're still killing it after all these years.

They've become almost like SY for me. So obviously awesome that I don't feel the need to talk about them much anymore. But if you've never seen them, fucking GO!

Especially with a powerhouse like Mono on the bill. Holy shit, I'm tempted to fly to WA and stay with my waspy relatives or hipster friends to get to that Neumo's show. Hot damn.

they recently opened for pj harvey..
i can understand the atmosphere and the attitude, but in the end - too slow paced for my taste, sorry...

Hm.

I get it. Low is certainly not for every occasion. You (I, one) can't just throw on their discography on shuffle any old time. It's definitely slow, moody, tends to be more than a little melancholy. But as a band with a "sound" -- as opposed to a band that aspires to have multiple styles -- they are simply one of the best at doing what they do.

I think there's enough variation within Low's formula to make their music reliably interesting. Maybe not an ideal choice if you're all pumped to see someone like PJ Harvey live (strange pairing, sonically speaking), but if what you want is excellent musicianship that blends classic Americana with the cutting edge of punk-informed post-rock, then Low is the long-reigning king of the scene. In the studio, they're really a force of nature. Immense thought goes into their arrangements and productions.

I don't know if you listen to their records, or if catching their live show was your first exposure, but they've been on an excellent run for many years now. My favorite album is C'mon.

I think they might work better in a live setting performing with a band like Wilco. Certainly Mono is an excellent fit. Fucking excellent. Polly Jean works on a completely different energetic wavelength, so I can see how they might disappoint if you saw them opening for her frenetic, glorious ass. :)

support acts can be really deceiving. I've seen Low a whole bunch of times, and once there was this band called Dark Dark Dark as their support. But I was soo anxious to see Low that I didn't really pay attention to what that support band was playing, all I noticed was this strange mix of instruments (including banjo, cello, accordion, piano, horn or trumpet) and the singers had a bit of unusual voices. So I sort of let it all come over me and waited for Low to come on stage, and they played a great set with an especially stunning version of Canada.
But I did record the support act, and while listening to it, I found out that they were quite good, and I listened to it again, and again and then I couldn't stop listening to them any more and wanted to buy all their albums and whenever I listen to those albums I am again amazed of how wonderful their music is. Check out their albums (esp. Wild Go and Who Needs Who) on their bandcamp. Their albums are produced by Low's sound guy btw, who has never produced any Low album as far as I know, but he really should.

Support acts for big bands such as PJ Harvey can be even more deceiving. I hate going to big halls for that reason alone. When I went to see Nick Cave a year or two ago, there was this girl as a support act, who was actually quite good (her name slipped my mind right now). But there was no chance at all that I could get a good listen to her music because the people around me were yelling to her to shut up and booing all throughout her set.

oh and there was also this guy who calls himself Death Vessel, he supported Low during their Great Destroyer tour. He was quite good, but in Amsterdam I couldn't hear anything of what he was playing (acoustic folksongs), because all the people in the nearly sold out hall were chattering all over it.

I know Death Vessel. Never seen him live, but I have at least one album, and it's pretty bland, wussy singer-songwriters stuff that tricks you into thinking it might be OK with some interesting arrangements, but ultimately kind of sucks the big one, as far as I can tell.

But yeah, supporting acts are weird. Back before Spoon was huge, I went to a show just yearning for them, and their opening act -- the Natural History -- was really minor and I almost skipped their set. Then lo and behold, they turned out to be fucking awesome in a way similar to Spoon; good old fashioned indie rock with a generous amount of groove. They played a song called "Dance Steps" and it blew me away. Probably was the best performance of the night and I went immediately to the record store downtown the next morning and bought their record, which I rocked all summer.

Similarly, I once went to see a regionally famous tongue-in-cheek hardcore band in a basement. They were a draw, and the place was packed. This little known entity called Susto Amore opened and played THE MOST FUCKING EXQUISITELY BEAUTIFUL spacious angular post-rock/lo-fI hybrid shit -- weird choice for a hardcore show -- and people just talked over them, but I don't even remember a single moment of the headliner's performance, so enraptured was I by this little 3-piece's mesmerizing performance.

They broke up or dissolved or something shortly thereafter.

If anyone knows how to find anything by Susto Amore, a Pacific Northwest band from the early '00s, please tell me. They haunt my dreams.

"Slowcore: A Brief Timeline" on Bandcamp, focusing on bands such as LOW, Bedhead, Codeine, Red House Painters, etc...
https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/04/2...rief-timeline/

I would have gone with "a Roxy Music-esque profusion of bass players", but hey, the guy wanted to make it (cheaply) funny. :) Thanks for the link!

"Solo Guitar", by Alan Sparhawk is now available from Silber Records' official Bandcamp:
https://silbermedia.bandcamp.com/album/solo-guitar

Alan Sparhawk crowdsurfing during a recent Black Eyed Snakes show.<3



.Gif: http://imgur.com/a/nqGVh

Photo and .gif by Aaron Reichow: https://www.facebook.com/reichowphoto/

A review and another .gif here: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/fea...d-mall-culture

lol! Nice to see that he's smiling at the start but no longer towards the end :-)

Here's the current tour schedule for Low. I didn't know yet (I think) that they are playing China next week.


DateVenueLocation Tickets
May 18Douban Music Week at TANGOBeijing, China Tickets
May 20Qian Shui Wan Cultural CentreShanghai, China Tickets
May 23Hidden AgendaHong Kong, China Tickets
Jun 12Globe Theatrew/ MONO (Japan) Los Angeles, CA Tickets
Jun 13The Fillmorew/ MONO (Japan) San Francisco, CA Tickets
Jun 15Wonder Ballroomw/ MONO (Japan) Portland, OR Tickets
Jun 16Neptune Theatrew/ MONO (Japan) Seattle, WA Tickets
Jun 17Imperial w/ MONO (Japan) Vancouver, Canada Tickets
Jun 21Sled Island FestivalCalgary, Canada Tickets
Jun 23Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz FestivalSaskatoon, Canada Tickets
Jun 24Jazz Winnipeg Festivalw/ Basic Nature Winnipeg, Canada Tickets

Will anyone on this list go to any of the Mono / Low nights?

"Gaelynn Lea: Not Afraid to Be", eight episode of the latest season of WDSE's The Playlist, devoted to Gaelynn Lea; featuring footage of recent performances by The Murder of Crows, and interviews with Alan Sparhawk:
http://www.wdse.org/shows/playlist/w...on-8-episode-8

Awesome! Thanks! I mean, I already have plenty of this stuff in other formats, but still, there's some stuff I don't have and it's a nice collection of tunes.

I've never really thought of Galaxie 500 as slowcore in the sense that Low and Bedhead are. Always considered them to be more akin to the U.S. incarnations of shoegaze — kind of like a quieter and more subdued (also whiny) Dinosaur jr. But they fit in pretty nicely with these other bands.

Also, look at this write-up!! It's amazing! Rarely do you see apostrophes and hyphens used correctly in these things. And look! A proper em dash instead of just a hyphen or double-hyphen!!! Love it!

_tunic_, Black Eyed Snakes will play on July 20th in The Netherlands:
https://www.paradiso.nl/web/Agenda-I...Bitterzoet.htm

Jesus christ bloody hell. I will be in the US then on holiday
Thanks for the note though, I wouldn't have imagined that they would ever play outside the US, actually not even outside of the Duluth area.
Strange that I hadn't noticed this myself, I normally spell out those Paradiso newsleters from top to bottom.
Oh, I must have missed an album of them as well, according to the text they released two albums so far, with each got 7+ rated reviews on Pitchfork and a new one will be released this summer

Explore Minnesota. Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker reflect about Duluth:
https://youtu.be/xM5XAy86BAI

Brilliant — a friend of mine who lives in Rochester, MN will get a kick outta this. Thanks for the link. :)

Low will be heading over to Europe again in October, at least in London and in Amsterdam. And they will play in churches with new compositions on the ORGAN !!!

There's the London show at Union Chapel, and an Amsterdam show at Westerkerk

Quote from Union Chapel site:


and I'll see Black Eyed Snakes on Thursday (if work hasn't shit the fan even more by then)

Some of Low's records from the Kranky years are now available from the band's official Bandcamp:
https://lowtheband.bandcamp.com/

Sub Pop podcast interviews Alan Sparhawk:
http://subpop.fm/

Gaelynn Lea has a GoFundMe page for her new album, it's a pity though that there's no option for just the new album on CD and the 7", because I already have all the other albums

Candid little interview to Mimi Parker by The Trap Set with Joe Wong (a weekly podcast that explores the lifes and minds of drummers). Mimi is faced with questions sent out by the podcast listeners about her influences as a drummer (country music at her parents' house might be the root of her playing), how The Garrington transitioned from the Black-Eyed Snakes to Low... The concept of personal responsibility, her favorite stand-up comedians, and how she beat up Thyroid Cancer are also some of the topics discussed.
http://www.thetrapset.net/bns-mimi-p...our-questions/


Also, apparently a new Low song called "Jiggin" has made it into Spotify and word's out it is a bit of a departure from the Low aesthetic we are used to?

Low - 2017-10-13 - Roundhouse, London, UK
Uploader says: "Opening for Slowdive". Really? Come on!

Low - 2017-10-14 - Union Chapel, London, UK
Uploader: "Part of Organ Reframed. The lineup is Alan and Mimi on vocals and Steve on organ. There is no guitar, bass, or drums".

I will repeat my comment that I posted on Dime:

and then I went to see them do the exact same thing at the Westerkerk in Amsterdam two days later (which was two days ago). I assume they played the exact same set. Steve was invisible as he was playing the big church organ. Mim and Al were only singing, Al did fiddle with some effects here and there. But no drums and guitars on any of the songs.
It was beautifully done, Steve did such a great job!

any vinyl freaks out there?
http://thelimitedpress.com/low-the-g...cs-ltd-to-300/

very tempting indeed :)

Looks fantastic. I'll bandcamp-it once it's available. :)

The fourth edition of Drone Not Drones (with LEE!) is now available at Bandcamp:

https://drone-not-drones.bandcamp.co...nneapolis-2017

I wonder what happened with the second edition (2015). Some drone dog ate the tapes?

Sweet!

So, it’s almost 2018. Feels like there should be a new proper Low LP on the way soon. I haven’t read through all the recent posts in this thread, but can someone give me a quick yay or nay?

Yaay! So happy about this. I will purchase on release day (All proceeds from Bandcamp sales go to Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières).
There is also a little teaser video on Drone Not Drones' official Vimeo, with a sonic excerpt of Alan Sparhawk's performance, and wonderful black and white animations (care to figure out which one is Lee?):
https://vimeo.com/246936656

I think I read on twitter a while ago that no other recordings of past editions of Drone Not Drones were ever released on Bandcamp due to the source material being faulty.

LOW have indeed mentioned vaguely on twitter that a new record is planned for next year. A new Black Eyed Snakes record, too.

Awesome and awesome! Thanks.

I was under the impression that the "priority" was the organ-and-vocals-only performance(s)... Low only knows! :)

Also keep in mind that Gaelynn Lea's next album (which can be pre-ordered through a Go Fund Me campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/gaelynnlea), should include a collaboration with Alan Sparhawk on at least two tracks...

Here's a podcast with background information about "Drone Not Drones" straight from the horse's mouth:
https://soundcloud.com/minneculture/drone-not-drones

Latest release by Zak Sally's The Hand:
https://the-hand.bandcamp.com/album/the-hand-vol-4

Video recording of Black-eyed Snakes at the Square Lake Film & Music Festival 2017:
https://youtu.be/mx6eV4JyC08