WHY? - Select Tracks From the Desert Tapes

WHY?
Modified Arts
Phoenix, AZ
Friday October 23rd 2009

WHY? - "The Vowels Pt. Two" Live in Phoenix
WHY? - "Good Friday" Live in Phoenix

WHY?
Club Congress
Tucson, AZ
Saturday October 24th 2009

WHY? - "This Blackest Purse" Live in Tucson
WHY? - "A Sky For Shoeing Horses Under" Live in Tucson

Thanks to WHY?, Snake and the venues for allowing these recordings to go down. Thanks to blood for being blood. I'm grateful for the opportunity to return to The Modified before the stage is taken out. Shared memories never die, they just fade. Phoenix isn't what it was 15 years ago but what really is? It was my first time at Hotel Congress and if you're in Tucson it's the place to crash. Serengeti (Chicago) and AU (Portland) supported both shows.

WHY? - "The Hallows" @ The Triple Rock

I'm calling this the show of the year. When all is said and done I'll probably have seen at least 80. Hey some people knit and others go to shows. Yeah it's true, I've been waiting since July but I'm trying to leave bias behind. I do have two confessions to make. 1) This was my first time seeing WHY? live. 2) I was afraid the hype was going to leave me disappointed. I was wrong. I spent over $30 at the merch table, mostly on stuff I already owned. My only request? Please play "The Fall of Mr. Fifths" when you get to the Desert.

I don't have permission to post the full set so we'll have to start with something everyone knows...

WHY? - "The Hallows" Live in Minneapolis

If you dig that all kinds of records are available here.

Dark Dark Dark (Minneapolis) supports 09/30-10/10. AU (Portland) supports through 11/11.

WHY? returning to Minneapolis...

Back in early '08 I heard whispers from a buddy in California about catching Why? at the Entry with Heiruspecs & Gospel Gossip. Looking back it was smashed in between Converge @ the Triple Rock and City on the Make @ the Bedlam. Despite having two of my favorite local bands on the bill I skipped the show and it's been something that has deeply pained me lately. Lucky for all of us Schedule Two was there to document the set.

Props to solace for the Triple Rock heads up last night. I starting digging around for dates and located them on The Tape. Check out their site for the press release and more information on the new album "Eskimo Snow" due out September 22nd on Anticon.

09/24 Cincinnati, OH Northside Tavern *
09/26 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge / Wordless Music Series +
10/01 Cambridge, MA Middle East #%
10/02 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church #%
10/03 Pittsburgh, PA Assembly Room, William Pitt Union (www.wptsradio.org) FREE SHOW #%
10/04 Ann Arbor, MI The Blind Pig #%
10/05 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge #%
10/06 Madison, WI UW Madison Terrace #%
10/07 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock #%
10/09 Denver, CO Bluebird #%
10/10 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue #%
10/13 Annacortes, WA Department of Safety &$
10/14 Seattle, WA The Vera Project &$
10/15 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom &$
10/17 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall *%$
10/20 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex *%
10/23 Phoenix, AZ Modified Arts *%
10/24 Tucson, AZ Club Congress *%
10/26 Denton, TX Hailey’s *%
10/28 Birmingham, AL Bottletree *%
10/29 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle *%
10/30 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle *%
10/31 Atlanta, GA Lenny’s %^@
11/02 Orlando, FL The Social %!
11/03 Gainesville, FL Common Grounds %!
11/04 Tallahassee, FL Club Downunder %!
11/06 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon %~
11/07 Houston, TX Walter’s On Washington %~
11/08 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/10 Lawrence, KS Jackpot Music Hall %~
11/11 St. Louis, MO Firebird %~
11/13 Bloomington, IN Rhino’s Youth Center ~

* = w/ Serengeti and Polyphonic
# = w/ Dark Dark Dark
% = w/ AU
& = w/ No Kids
$ = w/ Mount Eerie
^ = w/ Jemina Pearl
@ = w/ Islands
! = w/ James Husband
~ = w/ The Moore Brothers
+ = w/ Owen Weaver with Flexible Music