The Weakerthans Recent News

The Weakerthans Announce Special Shows

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:11:00 -0800

Celebrated indie rock poet laureates The Weakerthans will be performing a series of special shows in both San Francisco and New York this coming December. The nearly sold out concerts will commemorate the acclaimed group’s albums, Left and Leaving and Fallow, which are currently being re-released on Epitaph Records.

Each night will be dedicated to one of the band’s beloved albums. This is the first time the group’s entire catalogue has been available under a single label. Epitaph will also be introducing an assortment of new-re issued Weakerthans related merch, that revisits items from the past.

Founded in 1997 out of the Winnipeg-punk-scene, the Weakerthans have deep roots in the thriving North American indie scene. The band is revered for both their powerfully melodic folk punk sound and the vivid and inspired imagery of their lyrics.

Critical Acclaim For The Weakerthans

"This is investigative journalism with a heart of compassion, a steady back-beat and four buzzing power chords. If such a prize existed, it would be the leading candidate for this year's Punk Pulitzer." - Paste

"The band sounds richer than ever....it's not hard to imagine Death Cab for Cutie fans falling in love with this album. From "Night Windows" to "Civil Twilight" these songs are full of characters and tunes that stick. Maybe you're not eager for another melancholy song about the life of a touring musician, but on an album this engrossing, this good, you take what you can get." - New York Times

"Every Weakerthans album has moments that provoke cries of "Why aren't these guys huge?" But those are inevitably followed by moments that make it abundantly clear why they're not. And that's not a dig: The Winnipeg-based folk punks' willingness to juxtapose propulsive riffs and hooky choruses with self-consciously skewed tales of disaffected house cats and dead NHL goaltenders is what makes them endearing. – SPIN

Weakerthans Live Dates:

2011-11-30 The Independent San Francisco CA
2011-12-01 The Independent San Francisco CA
2011-12-02 The Independent San Francisco CA
2011-12-03 The Independent San Francisco CA
2011-12-07 Bowery Ballroom New York NY
2011-12-08 Bowery Ballroom New York NY
2011-12-09 Bowery Ballroom New York NY
2011-12-10 Bowery Ballroom New York NY

Thursday Premiere "No Answers" Remix, Announce North American Tour

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:11:00 -0800

New Jersey's powerful cutting edge rock band Thursday will be hitting the road for a series of absolutely riveting North American live performance. The revered and influential band will be touring in support of their latest release, the critically heralded Epitaph release No Devolución. They will be joined on the first leg of the tour by Southern metalcore outfit Maylene & The Sons of Disaster and on the second leg with Philadelphia art rockers MewithoutYou and the New Jersey trio Screaming Females.

To kick off the tour, Thursday is premiering the newly remixed track “No Answers” from this year’s No Devolución by Big Black Delta (http://www.bigblackdelta.com, bbdlp1 Out Now), the solo project of Mellowdrone vocalist / bassist Jonathan Bates. Bates has recently remixed songs for M83 and Daft Punk; and you can listen to the song here here.

On their sixth studio record, the influential band entered the studio with producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT) to create an enthralling and explosive sound merging elements of post-rock, indie rock, art rock and experimental music with Thursday’s post-hardcore roots to create a beautifully cathartic sound unlike anything before. Live the band’s set has only grown more enthralling.

“New Jersey hardcore act Thursday upstaged the headliner. Their latest Epitaph Records album No Devolución, is their best to date and finds the musicians re-teaming with producer Dave Fridmann. Its well-executed 45-minute set featured thought-provoking projections on a screen (black-and-white instructional medical and atomic bomb films, Soviet cartoons from the ’50s) and an ample sampling of the new songs, which all came off mesmerizing.” – Live Review, Orange County Register

Thursday Tour Dates:

Nov. 23 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
Nov. 25 – Toronto, ON – Opera House
Nov. 26 – Pittsburgh, PA – Altar Bar
Nov. 27 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
Nov. 28 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
Nov. 30 – Atlanta, GA – The Loft
Dec. 01 – Cincinnati, OH – 20TH Century Theatre
Dec. 02 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
Dec. 03 – Pontiac, MI – The Eagle Theater
Dec. 04 – Rochester, NY – Montage Music Hall
Dec. 26 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
Dec. 27 – Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club
Dec. 28 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
Dec. 29 – Boston, MA – Royale Boston
Dec. 30 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre Of Living Arts

The Weakerthans 'Fallow' & 'Left And Leaving' Digital Re-Issues

Tue, 03 May 2011 00:05:00 -0700

Epitaph is thrilled to be releasing two seminal albums by beloved literary minded indie rock heroes The Weakerthans. For the first time the beloved band’s catalogue has been united, as their classic albums Fallow and Left And Leaving join more recent offerings including the critically heralded Reunion Tour, of which Paste magazine said, “If such a prize existed, it would be the leading candidate for this year’s Punk Pulitzer.” Both Fallow and Left and Leaving are now available digitally from iTunes and Amazon MP3.

Fallow on iTunes

Left And Leaving on iTunes

Pre-Order The Weakerthans 'Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre'

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:02:00 -0800

The Weakerthans new live record Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre is available in stores everywhere March 23rd, but starting today you can pre-order the record from the Epitaph Store! Take a look below to see some of the exclusive bundles that are available.

Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre 2x LP/DVD & T-Shirt Bundle

This Bundle Includes:

- Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre Gatefold 2x LP with the DVD and a digital download
- The Weakerthans T-Shirt

Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre CD, Giclee Print & T-Shirt Bundle

This Bundle Includes:

- Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre on CD/DVD
- The Weakerthans T-Shirt
- 20" x 14" Giclee Print of the original painting by bassist Greg Smith that is featured on the cover of Live From The Burton Cummings Theatre. This limited, one-time, numbered edition of 300 is only available from the Weakerthans webstore or from Anti- and Epitaph for a limited time

Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre 2x LP/DVD & Giclee Print Bundle

This Bundle Includes:

- Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre Gatefold 2x LP with the DVD and a digital download
- 20" x 14" Giclee Print of the original painting by bassist Greg Smith that is featured on the cover of Live From The Burton Cummings Theatre. This limited, one-time, numbered edition of 300 is only available from the Weakerthans webstore or from Anti- and Epitaph for a limited time

There's lots more available, so click over to the Epitaph Store to check out everything that's available and make sure to follow @kingsroadmerch to stay up to date with all the latest offerings!

The Weakerthans Announce Release of Concert DVD/CD

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:02:00 -0800

Indie rock heroes The Weakerthans new DVD-CD Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre, set for release on March 23, offers a jubilant testament to the Winnipeg band's considerable creative powers as both literary minded songwriters and charismatic live performers. Founded in 1997 the band has deep roots in the thriving North American indie scene. The band is revered for both their powerfully melodic folk punk sound and the vivid and inspired imagery of the lyrics - their beloved song "Plea from a Cat Named Virtute" is told from the point of view of a depressive's wise and knowing cat. The live DVD was recorded in April of 2009 as the band toured in support of their triumphant album Reunion Tour with an expanded line-up featuring trumpet, violin and female vocals, playing songs from all four acclaimed releases in front of an adoring and enthusiastic hometown crowd.

"This is investigative journalism with a heart of compassion, a steady back-beat and four buzzing power chords. If such a prize existed, it would be the leading candidate for this year's Punk Pulitzer." - Paste

"The band sounds richer than ever....it's not hard to imagine Death Cab for Cutie fans falling in love with this album. From "Night Windows" to "Civil Twilight" these songs are full of characters and tunes that stick. Maybe you're not eager for another melancholy song about the life of a touring musician, but on an album this engrossing, this good, you take what you can get." - New York Times

Weakerthans Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre Tracklisting:

1. Everything Must Go
2. Tournament of Hearts
3. Our Retired Explorer
(Dines with Michel Foucault in Paris in 1969)
4. Night Windows
5. Reconstruction Site
6. Aside
7. Civil Twilight
8. Bigfoot
9. Plea from a Cat Named Virtute
10. The Reasons
11. Sun in an Empty Room
12. Left and Leaving
13. Wellington's Wednesdays
14. Benediction
15. Manifest
16. One Great City!
17. This is a Fire Door Never Leave Open
18. Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure

THE WEAKERTHANS TOUR WEST COAST IN JULY, LIVE ITUNES SESSIONS AVAILABLE 6/30

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:06:00 -0700

Canada’s favorite indie poet laureates The Weakerthans have announced a string of tour dates that start at the Vancouver Folk Festival on July 17th and travel down the west coast of the US before ending in British Columbia on the 26th. Fresh off the Rolling Tundra Review, an exhaustive Canadian tour with the Constantines that spanned almost two months, The Weakerthans promise to be in fine form.

On June 30th, the band will be releasing a live iTunes session that was recorded at Metal Works in Mississauga Ontario and includes three tracks of their most recent release Night Windows and two off of 1999’s Fallow.

The Weakerthans on tour:

7/17 Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Folk Festival

7/18 Seattle, WA @ Neumo's

7/20 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place

7/21 San Louis Obispo, CA @ The Downtown Brew

7/22 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy

7/23 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall

7/24 Eugene, OR @ WOW

7/25 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre

7/26 Nelson, BC @ Spirit Bar

The Weakerthans iTunes Session:

1. Night Windows

2. Anchorless

3. Civil Twilight

4. Fallow

5. Reunion Tour

THE WEAKERTHANS ANNOUNCE TOUR DATES & ITUNES SESSION

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:06:00 -0700

The Weakerthans will be performing throughout the US this summer and fall. Full tour dates are being announced as they are confirmed. While they're at it, they'll be playing a few Canadian dates as well.

The Weakerthans will be also releasing their recent iTunes recording session, tracked while on the Rolling Tundra Revue Canadian Tour at Metal Works in Mississauga, ON. Keep an eye on your iTunes home page for this June 30th release!

The Weakerthans Tour Dates

7/17 Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Folk Festival

7/18 Seattle, WA @ Neumo's

7/20 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place

7/21 San Louis Obispo @ The Downtown Brew

7/22 Los Angeles,CA @ The Roxy

7/23 Sanfrancisco @ Great American Music Hall

7/24 Eugene, OR @ WOW

7/25 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre

7/26 Nelson, BC @ Spirit Bar

9/15 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah

9/16 Boston @ Paradise

9/17 Brooklyn, NY @ Williamsburg Music Hall

9/18 NYC, NY @ Bowery Ball Room

9/19 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

9/20 Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live

9/23 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club

9/24 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick

9/25 Chicago,IL @ Bottom Lounge

9/26 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock

9/27 Madison, WS @ High Noon

9/28 Waterloo, ON @ Starlight Lounge

The Weakerthans Announce Rolling Tundra Review 2009 with Constantines

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:12:00 -0800

The Weakerthans are pleased to announce The Rolling Tundra Revue 2009 Canadian National Tour.

Featuring Toronto's Constantines the tour will seek to build on the work the two bands have done on the road together. This extensive tour will take them from St John's Newfoundland across the entire country to Victoria BC then North to end in the city of Whitehorse, Yukon. Over the course of the tour the bands will be performing almost 30 concerts in 21 different cities. Expanding on the highly successful Inaugural Rolling Tundra Revue Tour of 2005 they have included St John's and Whitehorse to give Canadian audiences this unprecedented occurrence, rarely do artists of their stature take on a tour of this scope focusing on Canada alone.

Constantines have just released their 4th album Kensington Heights in partnership with a new label, Arts and Crafts and are expanding their audiences and continue to refine their artistic version of working man's Rock'n Roll.

The two critically acclaimed recording artists have previously joined forces on several concert tours. On the shows each act tries to raise the level of their performance to match or better the others. Joining them nightly will be a vast array of local and regional Canadian talent.

So many bands look for success and validation in the US, but a tour of this scale shows that it can be found here, in Canada.

After ten years together the momentum only continues to build and The Weakerthans launch this tour on the heels of their highly successful fourth album Reunion Tour. The 2007 Anti release has garnered critical accolades and enjoyed a fruitful year of awards from the XM Satellite Radio Award, the WCMA's as well as the SOCAN Echo prize for songwriting. Reunion Tour also made the heralded short list for the 2008 Polaris Prize. With these awards, and their history of craft and dedication The Weakerthans have affirmed their place in the pantheon of Canadian rock bands and songwriters. Their songs and reputation as a band have brought them from the margins to stand with their peers in the Canadian music industry.

The Weakerthans are sincerely looking forward to the Rolling Tundra Revue 2009 tour as a continuation of this success.

DATES:
March 19 - St. Johns - Club One
March 20 - Halifax - The Palace
March 22 - Sackville - George's Roadhouse
March 23 - Fredericton - UNB Ballroom
March 25 - Quebec City - Le Cercle
March 26 - Montreal - Le National
March 28 - Ottawa - Bronson Centre
April 1 - Toronto - The Phoenix
April 3 - London - Music Hall
April 4 - Guelph - River Run Centre
April 17 - Winnipeg - Burton Cummings Theatre
April 21 - Regina - Riddell Centre
April 22 - Saskatoon - Odeon Events Centre
April 23 - Edmonton - Winspear Centre
April 25 - Calgary - MacEwan Hall
April 26 - Banff - Wild Bill's
April 27 - Kelowna - Kelowna Community Theatre
April 30 - Victoria - Element
May 1 - Vancouver - The Commodore
May 2 - Vancouver - The Commodore
May 4 - Whitehorse- Yukon Arts Centre

New Weakerthans Video!

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:06:00 -0700

The Weakerthans just launched their video for "Tournament of Hearts" paying homage to everyone's favorite sport, curling! Go to youtube.com to check it out.

Reunion Tour, in stores now!

The Weakerthans announce more summer dates, video, and European release single!

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:05:00 -0700

As previously reported, The Weakerthans head across the pond at the end of May. Check the concerts page for dates in the UK, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. On various dates they'll be joined by pals Dawn Landes, Christine Fellows, and Felix Gebhard.

Then it's back to North America for a full slate of festivals all summer long. They'll hit the stages at the Ottawa Bluesfest, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Vancouver Island MusicFest, Lollapalooza, Osheaga Music and Arts Festival, Regina Folk Festival, and Toronto V Fest, with more festival appearances announced throughout May. Check the concerts section regularly to find out when they'll be hitting a stage near you.

In other news, we're getting excited for the June release of The Weakerthans' Tournament of Hearts video and a European single (including a live version of Relative Surplus Value).

Concerts Listings:

May
30 Fri: Neustrelitz, DE - Immergut Festival
31 Sat: Nijmegen, NL - Doornroosje

June
01 Sun: Birmingham , UK - Barfly
02 Mon: London, UK - Scala
03 Tue: Manchester , UK - Academy 3
04 Wed: Bristol, UK - Carling Academy 2
06 Fri: Utrecht, NL - Tivoli de Helling
07 Sat: Dasseldorf , DE - Zakk
08 Sun: Paris, F - Batofar
09 Mon: Frankfurt, DE - Batschkapp
10 Tue: Saarbracken , DE - Roxy
11 Wed: Narnberg, DE - Hirsch
13 Fri: Freiburg , DE - Jazzhaus
14 Sat: Interlaken, CH - Greenfield
15 Sun: Wien, A - Novarock
17 Tue: Stockholm, SE - Kagelbanan
18 Wed: Copenhagen , DK - Loppen
19 Thu: Osla, NO - Garage
20 Fri: Dresden , DE - Scheune
21 Sat: Scheeael , DE - Hurricane
22 Sun: Neuhaus Ob Eck, DE - Southside

July
06 Sun: Ottawa, ON - Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest
10 Thu: Winnipeg, MB - Winnipeg Folk Festival
12 Sat: Courtenay, BC - Vancouver Island MusicFest

August
04 Mon: Montreal, QC - Osheaga Music and Arts Festival
05 Tue: Burnaby, BC, Deer Lake Park - opening for Feist
08 Fri: Regina, SK - Regina Folk Festival