The Go! Team exhibits 'Proof of Youth' on tour
British band The Go! Team released its sophomore album last week and has rolled out a world tour that includes an October run of North American shows.
The six-piece group--known for its fun-time mix of '60s girls groups, '70s car-chase TV themes, '80s lady MCs and '90s guitar rock--is currently touring the UK. The Go! Team will start its US run Oct. 13 in Chicago and play primarily along the East Coast and West Coast before heading to Canada for a Halloween finale in Toronto. The band will finish out the year in Europe, Japan and Australia.
North American dates are listed below, while overseas shows can be found at The Go! Team's website.
The group's latest set, "Proof of Youth," is a departure from its Mercury Music Prize-nominated 2004 debut, "Thunder, Lightning, Strike," in that Go! Team mastermind Ian Parton played most of the instruments on the first album himself, according to the band's bio.
When Parton was asked to take his act on tour with Franz Ferdinand in the summer of 2004, he assembled the team: Sam Dook (guitar, drums, banjo), Jamie Bell (bass, noise effects), Chi Fukami Taylor (drums, vocals), Kaori Tsuchida (guitar, keys, vocals, recorder) and Ninja (vocals, shakers, recorder), along with Parton (guitar, harmonica and drums).
The Go! Team went on to score gigs at major European festivals and US tours with The Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth.
"Proof of Youth" was recorded with the team and a host of special guests, including Public Enemy's Chuck D, but the influences from the debut album carry over, according to Parton.
"The Go! Team sound is aiming to be about hybrids and slamming things next to each other that you wouldn't expect," he stated in the group's bio. "I'm really into the idea of random stuff rubbing shoulders."
While the group did use better mics and amps this time around, Parton maintained that "degrading the sound is still a big part of The Go! Team. We're always aiming to make things more chaotic and sound like it's on the edge of falling apart. The goal is genuinely for maximum excitement and to try to make something original in some way."
So far, two singles from the album have been released: "Grip Like A Vice" and "Doing It Right." Both are streaming at The Go! Team's MySpace page.
October 2007
13 - Chicago, IL - Double Door
15 - Seattle, WA - Neumo's
17 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir
19 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
20 - Pomona, CA - Glass House
21 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
25 - Boston, MA - Paradise
26 - Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
27 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
28 - Brooklyn, NY - Studio B
30 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
31 - Toronto, Ontario - Opera House
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