20th Anniversary Tour of Concrete Blonde’s Bloodletting

It’s been 20 years since Concrete Blonde put out their most-successful album to date, Bloodletting which spawned hits: “Joey”, “Tomorrow, Wendy”, “Caroline”, and “The Sky is a Poisonous Garden”. In celebration of the 20th anniversary, Concrete Blonde are touring the States (no plans for Canadian dates have been announced yet, but we are holding our collective breath), and re-releasing Bloodletting featuring 6 new tracks on July 13, 2010.

Here’s the basic history in case you were born in the 80s (or gasp, the 1990s):

Concrete Blonde formed for the first time in Los Angeles in 1982, broke up in 1995, got back together in 1997, then broke up again in 2001. It’s kinda their thing. In 1986, Michael Stipe suggested the name “Concrete Blonde” which was rumored to just be two words that sounded good together, but it was also a slang term for hair metal bands from LA like Poison. They’ve released 13 albums since 1986, including one with a Chicano punk band from LA called Concrete Blonde y Los Illegals in 1997.

For me it’s all about “Joey”, especially when it comes to karaoke. Like really really drunk, trying to impress a guy by making an ass out of yourself, then you pull this one out, everyone loves that song. Everyone.

Second favourite has to be their cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” that appeared in Pump Up the Volume the movie AND soundtrack.

It’s a great time to re-release Bloodletting. It’s a haunting album, seeped in both romance and death. Perfect for the current minimal, gothic throwback we are collectively experiencing from Vampire-obsessed youth to the massive success of bands like The XX.

Tour dates so far:

6/8: Boston, MA @ Royal Boston

6/9: Fairfield, CT @ Stage One

6/10: New York, NY @ Webster Hall

6/11: Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall

6/12: Chicago, IL @ Vic

6/13: Detroit, MI @ Majestic

6/15: Washington, DC @ 930 Club

6/16: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse

6/17: New Orleans, LA @ Republic

6/18: Dallas, TX  @ Granada

6/19: Austin, TX @ Emos

6/21: Denver, CO @ Arvada Center

6/22: Salt Lake City, UT @ Depot

6/24: Seattle, WA @ Showbox

6:25: Portland,OR @ Roseland

6/26: San Francisco, CA @ Regency

6/28: Hollywood, CA @ Henry Fonda Theater