BRING BACK THE DUDES : Spring 2013 US Tour featuring the So So Glos

Hello friends. It is our pleasure this afternoon to reveal to you the Spring 2013 Bring Back the Dudes Tour, featuring Titus Andronicus and the So So Glos. It is well known that these two bands are as thick as thieves, having shared the stage some 48 times up to this point, continuing to share a practice space, working side by side for the good of the scene at Shea Stadium, and experimenting with a variety of co-habitation arrangements (each So So Glo has, at one point in time or another, been my roommate). Some of you may even remember Autumn 2009, when TA and the SSGs teamed up for the original Bring On the Dudes Tour, which left a trail of havoc and mayhem from sea to shining sea. Since then, we have been inundated with a constant stream of requests for a reunion. Today, we can finally say that the Dudes are coming back. You can view the dates in the above graphic, courtesy of So So Glos drummer/art director Zach Staggers, or in plain old text form below.

BRING BACK THE DUDES TOUR 2013

4-28 - Hamden, CT - The Space
4-29 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs
4-30 - Montreal, QC - Lambi
5-1 - Ottawa, ON - Mavericks
5-2 - Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
5-3 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
5-4 - Chicago, IL - Metro
5-5 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
5-8 - Dallas, TX - Three Links
5-9 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
5-10 - Houston, TX - Walter's
5-11 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia
5-12 - Oxford, MS - TBA
5-13 - Nashville, TN - Stone Fox
5-14 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
5-15 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theater Rooftop
5-16 - Charlotte, NC - Milestone
5-17 - Durham, NC - Motorco
5-18 - Richmond, VA - Strange Matter
5-19 - Washington, DC - Black Cat

I should mention that, as always, Titus Andronicus will be looking for places to stay after these shows, and if you can provide one for us, we're happy to have you and yr friends come to the show for free as our guests. Are you interested in this? If so, e-mail TitusAndronicusTheBand@gmail.com, with yr name, phone number, and whatever you can tell us about accommodations (couch stats, etc). If you have a place big enough to fit us and our So So buddies, well, that's doubly great. Think about it, ok?

Let's take some time now and look back on our shared history with the Glos. During the original Bring Back the Dudes Tour, the two bands teamed up for a grand finale cover of Billy Bragg's deathless punk classic, "To Have and to Have Not." Watch the superband form like Voltron in this video, shot in Montreal by noted So So Glos videographer Chris Elia.



We repeated this ritual every night of the tour, and as time went on, I like to think we got a little better at doing the song. Judge for yrself with the below video, filmed in Phoenix some three weeks later.



We later realized that we had been performing the song in the throat-shredding key of C Major, even though the original is in the much less demanding G Major. Two years later, we corrected our mistake at a benefit for Occupy Wall Street and the National Lawyer's Guild at Shea Stadium, while getting an assist from Ted Leo, who probably would have done a great job in either key. Relive that moment with the video below, again courtesy of Mr. Chris Elia.



Looking for similar audio content with slightly higher fidelity? Looking through the archives today, I came across this recording of the same lineup practicing the song at soundcheck earlier that day. Enjoy!



One last memory from the original Bring On the Dudes - during the last days of the trip, the So So Glos were gracious enough to allow me to join them on stage for their song "Throw Yr Hands Up," during the instrumental break of which I rapped. Here's that dubious choice being made at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ on the penultimate night of the tour. The audio quality is not so great, but maybe that is for the best.



Yr starting to really get into these So So Glos, huh? Well, on this tour, they're going to be supporting their new record Blowout, coming April 23rd on Shea Stadium Records, so it would be wise to get familiar with the first single, "Son of an American." In the official music video, the decades-long history of the band is brought to vivid life through the exhuming of ancient VHS footage documenting the brothers' first musical adventures, interspersed with highlights of more recent activity. Check it out!



Though Titus Andronicus the So So Glos have shared many stages, collaborations in the studio have been more rare. One notable example would be the mixtape version of "Upon Viewing Oregon's Landscape with the Flood of Detritus," to which the So So Glos lead singer Alex Levine contributed backing vocals. Revisit this oft-forgotten gem below, and listen for Alex's signature vocal stylings.



During the recording of that song, I sat down with Alex for a friendly chat about punk and our aspirations for the then-infant 2012. Some seriously grandiose delusions were thrown about like so much confetti. It was an exciting time. Come along with us on this flight of fancy.



Still haven't gotten enough of that song? Well, here's something you haven't heard before - the original demo, recorded at Shea Stadium in the late autumn of 2011, also featuring Alex Levine on backing vocals.



Now, what better way to wrap up this trip down memory lane than with the song that captures such wistful and nostalgic feelings like no other? Here are Titus Andronicus and the So So Glos teaming up to form the earliest incarnation of the Shea Stadium All Stars, thinkin' 'bout the old times and gettin' busy on Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days."



Well, there you have it. Years of friendship, ready to be relived and expanded upon with a tour for the ages. If we're coming to yr town, we implore you to get involved! You wanted them, now you've got them - welcome back, Dudes.

That's all for today, but please continue to watch this space, as in the very near future, we are going to have more exciting information for you about the Record Store Day 12", the "Hot Deuce" music video, and all sorts of other cool stuff. Stay tuned!

Yr friend,
Patrick