THE THE ANNOUNCE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN CONCERTS IN 18 YEARS

Above: THE THE (L-R): Barrie Cadogan, DC Collard, Matt Johnson, Earl Harvin, James Eller
Photo Credit: John Claridge

THE THE
ANNOUNCES FULL BAND LINEUP
FOR UPCOMING TOUR “THE 2018 COMEBACK SPECIAL”

FIRST NORTH AMERICAN CONCERTS IN 18 YEARS
TAKING PLACE THIS SEPTEMBER

THE THE, one of the most intriguing bands ever to emerge from England, have announced the full band lineup for their first live shows in 16 years, with their first North American concerts in 18 years set for this September.

Alongside singer and songwriter Matt Johnson, the line-up features a member from each of the three previous THE THE world tours: James Eller on bass (representing the ‘Versus The World’ tour), DC Collard on keyboards (representing the ‘Lonely Planet’ tour) and Earl Harvin on drums (representing the ‘Naked’ tour).

They are joined by ‘new’ member Barrie Cadogan on guitar, who has played with his own band Little Barrie as well as Primal Scream, Edwyn Collins, Thee Hypnotics, Damo Suzuki, Spiritualized and The Chemical Brothers among others.

Talking about the line-up and forthcoming shows, Johnson said, “For this tour I wanted to strip down many of the songs and actually reduce the sonic palette. We won’t be using any samplers, click-tracks, sequencers or synthesizers. It’s just five musicians performing reinterpretations of my catalogue. The songs are not supposed to be reproductions of the album versions and many of them don’t sound like they do on the old recordings.”

The “2018 Comeback Special” will also include artistic contributions from a variety of longtime THE THE collaborators, including show designer Kate Wilkins, who worked on the ‘Naked’ tour in 2000, and audiovisual collage artist Vicki Bennett (aka People Like Us), who has created the kaleidoscopic video installation for the tour.

The start of June this year sees a flurry of activity for the recently reactivated THE THE, not only with a trilogy of sold-out London concerts at The Royal Albert Hall, Brixton Academy and The Troxy, but also the release of their new authorized biography Long Shadows, High Hopes: The Life and Times of Matt Johnson & THE THE by Neil Fraser (out June 7 by Omnibus Press), written with the full cooperation of Johnson who allowed unhindered access to his personal archives, and further screenings of The Inertia Variations documentary at the ICA in London.

THE THE will launch their North American tour September 14 in Boston at the Orpheum Theatre. The nine-date headlining tour will make two stops in the New York area (September 16 at Brooklyn Steel and September 17 at the Beacon Theatre) and then head to Toronto, Detroit and Chicago before reaching Los Angeles for two shows (September 24 at the Ford Theatre and September 25 at the Hollywood Palladium) and wrapping September 27 in San Francisco. Agnes Obel will appear on all dates as a special guest, except the September 16 show at Brooklyn Steel where Elsyian Fields will open and the September 17 gig at the Beacon Theater where XORDOX (aka JG Thirlwell/Foetus), a frequent THE THE collaborator, will open.

Catch THE THE in North America in the following cities:

DATE CITY VENUE
Fri 9/14 Boston, MA Orpheum
Sun 9/16 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Steel
Mon 9/17 New York, NY Beacon Theatre
Wed 9/19 Toronto, ON Sony Center for the Arts
Fri 9/21 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Music Hall–SOLD OUT
Sat 9/22 Chicago, IL Riviera Theater–SOLD OUT
Mon 9/24 Los Angeles, CA John Anson Ford Theater–SOLD OUT
Tue 9/25 Los Angeles, CA Palladium
Thu 9/27 San Francisco, CA Masonic Auditorium

For more information on THE THE, visit:
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