Posted on: September 1, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Unknown Mortal Orchestra already has an insane touring schedule for the rest of 2011, today the band added even more North American dates to their tour, which will find the band headlining in October. The band is in Los Angeles this week for a pair of free shows, tonight at Bardot as part of the School Night series and Weds. they will play an in-store performance at 7pm at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park.

Bio:

Unknown Mortal Orchestra first dropped into the world in late 2010 as a bandcamp account carrying a single called “Ffunny Ffrends.”

“Ffunny Ffrends” was everything you imagined it might be – alien beatnik pop music that echoed 60s psychedelia and krautrock minimalism with just a hint of gentle weirdness that suggested its roots might equally lie in the verdant indie of the equally distant New Zealand scene.

Ruban Nielson is a New Zealand native who had transplanted to Portland, Oregon with his band Mint Chicks. UMO was a project conceived as Ruban’s escape hatch to a new musical dimension where his vision of junkshop record collector pop could be realized in a sound that recalled Captain Beefheart, Sly Stone and RZA jamming on some kids TV theme too dark to ever be broadcast.

Out of the home studio, Ruban was joined by local Portland producer Jake Portrait on bass and teenage prodigy Julien Ehrlich on drums. They have been on the road all year, sleeping in ditches and running drunkenly from venues when need be, curling ears and turning heads with their intoxicating sound all the way.

The eponymous UMO debut album was released in June on Fat Possum. Its probably something you should listen to.

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA

08/29 Los Angeles, CA Bardot / School Night *

08/31 Los Angeles, CA Origami Vinyl 7pm

09/08 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater / MFNW %
09/09 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club #
09/10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Festival $
09/11 Washington, DC Black Cat #
09/12 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church #
09/14 New York, NY Webster Hall #
09/15 Brooklyn, NY Glasslands Gallery +
09/16 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club #
09/17 Montreal, QC Cabaret Mile End #
09/18 Toronto, ON Opera House #
09/19 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre #
09/20 Bloomington, IN The Bishop #
09/21 Grinnell, IA Grinnel College Gardner Lounge
09/22 Urbana, IL Pygmalion #
09/23 Cincinnati, OH Midpoint Music Festival #
09/24 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall #
09/25 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock #
09/26 Fargo, ND The Aquarium (Dempseys Upstairs)
09/28 Seattle, WA The Crocodile #
09/29 Vancouver, BC Venue #
09/30 Portland, OR Branx #
10/01 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall #
10/02 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall #
10/03 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre #
10/04 Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom
10/05 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
10/06 El Paso, TX Lowbrow Palace #
10/07 Dallas, TX Club Dada #
10/08 Austin, TX The Mohawk #
10/09 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s #
10/10 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jack’s #
10/11 Tallahassee, FL Club Downunder #
10/12 Mobile, AL Alabama Music Box
10/13 Birmingham, AL Bottletree #
10/14 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade #
10/15 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern #

10/16 Asheville, NC The Grey Eagle

10/17 Winston-Salem, NC The Werehouse

10/18 Richmond, VA Strange Matter

10/19 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda’s

10/25 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place

10/28 Columbia, MO University of Missouri

10/29 St. Louis, MO Billiken Club

10/30 Kansas City, MO Recordbar

10/31 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge

11/05 Santa Cruz, CA 418 Project

11/06 San Diego, CA Casbah

11/07 Oakland, CA The New Parish

* = w/ The Submarines
# = w/ Toro Y Moi
% = w/ Little Dragon
$ = w/ Times New Viking
+ = w/ Woven Bones, Blouse, Man/Miracle

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