All Them Witches Announce New Album Nothing as the Ideal out Sept. 4

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 5th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

all them witches at abbey road

All Them Witches will release their sixth long-player, Nothing as the Ideal, on Sept. 4 through New West Records. To go along with the album announcement, they’re streaming the opening song from the release, “Saturnine and Iron Jaw,” and you can find it below.

I recently had the pleasure of writing the bio for the album — still need to turn in the invoice, actually — and in talking to guitarist Ben McLeod and drummer Robby Staebler for that, it became even easier to get excited about the forthcoming collection. I’ll post that bio here at some point, and would do it now except I’m not sure if I have permission yet. So maybe later on. Still a while before September gets here anyhow.

Independent of each other, Staebler and McLeod both cited it as the work of which they’re most proud among their releases. Fair enough for any band with a new album, but the record is indeed progressive in ways they’ve never been before, their first recording as a trio allowing them to explore more direct, weighted tones, minimalist atmospheres and the use of ambient tape loops for an experimental feel throughout that ties seemingly disparate ideas together.

So, yeah, more to come. And of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t note they recorded Nothing as the Ideal at Abbey Road Studio in London. You might have heard of it, kind of a big deal. So there’s that too.

The announcement was basically the tracks and the song, and here it is:

All-Them-Witches-Nothing-as-the-Ideal

ALL THEM WITCHES – Nothing as the Ideal

We all need to stand together. Higher sense of perception. Nothing. That’s the ideal. Gentle hand of confusion. Lead me back to myself.

NEW ALBUM – NOTHING AS THE IDEAL??
OUT 9/4
PRE-ORDER NOW http://newwst.com/atwnatiFA
SONG PREMIERE

Tracklisting:
01. Saturnine & Iron Jaw
02. Enemy of My Enemy
03. Everest
04. See You Next Fall
05. The Children of Coyote Woman
06. 41
07. Lights Out
08. Rats in Ruin

Produced by ATW and Mikey Allred
Mixed / Mastered: Mikey Allred
Assistant Engineer: Neil Dawes

All Them Witches is:
Charles Michael Parks, Jr – bass, vocals
Ben McLeod – guitar, vocals
Robby Staebler – drums, vocals

http://allthemwitches.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/allthemwitches
https://www.instagram.com/allthemwitchesband/
http://www.allthemwitches.org/
https://store.newwestrecords.com/

All Them Witches, “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”

All Them Witches, “1×1” official video

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All Them Witches Recording New LP This Week at Abbey Road Studios

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 2nd, 2020 by JJ Koczan

Uh, check out the rooftop har har? What do you even say when All Them Witches put out word that they and engineer Mikey Allred will spend the week making a new album at Abbey Road Studios in London? Way to use your recording budget wisely? When’s the release date?

All of that, I guess.

The pairing of place and producer is an interesting blend. Of course All Them Witches are veterans of the studio process at this point, but the thought of recording in such a hallowed space could be daunting, so the fact that they’re working with Mikey Allred, who has been a part of what they do for at least the last five years since helming their New West Records debut, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (review here), as well as prior studio recordings, and even as guitarist Ben McLeod has emerged as a producer in his own right, has continued to work with the band up to mastering their latest offering, which was the 2019 single “1 x 1” (discussed here). As one also has to factor in that this will be their first time putting together an LP as a trio, they could hardly be in better hands in terms of someone who knows and is in touch with who they are as a band. It’s a veteran choice to bring their own dude. Kudos.

And hey, having recently posted some All Them Witches dates and speculated about soon-to-be-announced-secret-recording-plans, I’m gonna go ahead and give myself a pat on the back too.

Those dates — many of which are with Blackwater Holylight no less — follow their brief social media post here:

all them witches at abbey road

Pretty surreal day…We are recording our new album this week at Abbey Road Studios !! What a trip! Just us and our engineer [Mikey Allred] @darkartaudio. Let’s see what happens…

INFO/TICKETS: http://www.allthemwitches.org/tour

MAR 14 SAT Vive Latino Mexico, Mexico
FRI. APRIL 17 – BALTIMORE MD – Ottobar*
SAT. APRIL 18 – HAMDEN CT – Space Ballroom*
SUN. APRIL 19 – PROVIDENCE RI – THE MET*
TUE. APRIL 21 – PORTSMOUTH NH – 3S Artspace*
WED. APRIL 22 – NORTHAMPTON MA – Gateway City Arts*
THU. APRIL 23 – ASBURY PARK NJ – Asbury Lanes*
FRI. APRIL 24 – PITTSBURGH PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre*
SAT. APRIL 25 – ANN ARBOR MI – The Blind Pig A2*
SUN. APRIL 26 – CINCINNATI OH – The Woodward Theater*
TUE. APRIL 28 – COLUMBUS OH – Skully’s Music-Diner*
WED. APRIL 29 – LEXINGTON KY – The Burl*
FRI. MAY 1 – ATLANTA GA – Shaky Knees Music Festival*
JUL 22-26 WED FloydFest Floyd, VA
AUG 7 FRI Krach Am Bach Beelen, Germany
AUG 8 SAT Re-Generation Fest Leipzig, Germany
AUG 17 MON Mascotte Zurich, Switzerland
*w/ Blackwater Holylight

All Them Witches is:
Charles Michael Parks, Jr – bass, vocals
Ben McLeod – guitar, vocals
Robby Staebler – drums, vocals

http://allthemwitches.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/allthemwitches
https://www.instagram.com/allthemwitchesband/
http://www.allthemwitches.org/

All Them Witches, “1×1” official video

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All Them Witches and Blackwater Holylight Touring this Spring

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 25th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

Yes, All Them Witches had previously announced these dates for the Spring mostly-East Coast US tour that runs into May 1 at Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, but I feel like the fact that they’ll be joined for the run by Portland’s Blackwater Holylight makes it worth another look at the dates. April 23 in NJ, you say? Well, I’ll have gotten back from Roadburn earlier that week, but if anything’s worth a trip to Asbury Park, it’s a show like this at The Lanes, with open bowling surrounding the bandstand on either side.

It’s been many, many years since the last time I was there, and but for the aforementioned travel plans, I actually think Hamden would have fewer people even on a Saturday, so a somewhat less anxious experience, but still, I’ll take it as it comes. We’ll see how dead on my feet I am when we get there, but you bet your ass it’s going on the calendar.

All Them Witches live dates follow. Note the beginning of an August European tour already starting to take shape. I assume there will be more to come there, and honestly, they’re kind of coming up on due for a new album too, so if that emerges around September, I wouldn’t be surprised, especially given their penchant for sometimes recording in secret.

Shows with the asterisk are with Blackwater Holylight:

all them witches blackwater holylight

ALL THEM WITCHES: APRIL=TOUR

INFO/TICKETS: http://www.allthemwitches.org/tour

MAR 14 SAT Vive Latino Mexico, Mexico
FRI. APRIL 17 – BALTIMORE MD – Ottobar*
SAT. APRIL 18 – HAMDEN CT – Space Ballroom*
SUN. APRIL 19 – PROVIDENCE RI – THE MET*
TUE. APRIL 21 – PORTSMOUTH NH – 3S Artspace*
WED. APRIL 22 – NORTHAMPTON MA – Gateway City Arts*
THU. APRIL 23 – ASBURY PARK NJ – Asbury Lanes*
FRI. APRIL 24 – PITTSBURGH PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre*
SAT. APRIL 25 – ANN ARBOR MI – The Blind Pig A2*
SUN. APRIL 26 – CINCINNATI OH – The Woodward Theater*
TUE. APRIL 28 – COLUMBUS OH – Skully’s Music-Diner*
WED. APRIL 29 – LEXINGTON KY – The Burl*
FRI. MAY 1 – ATLANTA GA – Shaky Knees Music Festival*
JUL 22-26 WED FloydFest Floyd, VA
AUG 7 FRI Krach Am Bach Beelen, Germany
AUG 8 SAT Re-Generation Fest Leipzig, Germany
AUG 17 MON Mascotte Zurich, Switzerland
*w/ Blackwater Holylight

All Them Witches is:
Charles Michael Parks, Jr – bass, vocals
Ben McLeod – guitar, vocals
Robby Staebler – drums, vocals

http://allthemwitches.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/allthemwitches
https://www.instagram.com/allthemwitchesband/
http://www.allthemwitches.org/

https://www.facebook.com/blackwaterholylight/
instagram.com/blackwaterholylight
blackwaterholylight.bandcamp.com
ridingeasyrecs.com

All Them Witches, “1×1” official video

Blackwater Holylight, Veils of Winter (2019)

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All Them Witches Post “1×1” Video; Announce Spring US Tour

Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 25th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

all them witches 1x1

Brutal, harsh, and dark with manic flashes of color and the band themselves sped up and slowed down, thrashing about and tearing at themselves amid some sort or other form of depicted ritual in the woods, drummer Robby Staebler‘s video for All Them Witches‘ recently-unveiled single “1×1” (discussed here) does nothing if not capture the mood of the song. He, along with guitarist Ben McLeod and bassist/vocalist Charles Michael Parks, Jr., are currently on tour in Europe with Ghost and Tribulation, and they’ve newly announced a Spring run of mostly East Coast dates that will follow a festival stop in Mexico City this March. They’ve also got three hometown shows in Nashville to round out the year from Dec. 27-29. No substitute for staying busy.

The loneliness, intensity and seething feeling of “1×1” is writ large throughout the song, and I don’t feel particularly compelled to wax poetic about it, but I’ll say it’s the outright heaviest thing I’ve heard from All Them Witches since they signed to New West Records in 2015 ahead of releasing that Fall’s Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (review here), 2017’s Sleeping Through the War (review here) and 2018’s ATW (review here), but neither are they attempting to recapture the vibe of 2013’s Lightning at the Door (review here), instead incorporating the lessons they’ve learned since about crafting an atmosphere and blending that with a hard-hitting riff and amorphous melody and shouts of “I can’t wait to be defeated!” and “I can’t wait to throw this all away!” amid other proclamations. It is brutal.

And though the lyrics are easily read as a statement on touring life, or the band itself, the one constant with All Them Witches has always been change, and I’d no more expect what they do next to sound like “1×1” than I expected “1×1” to sound like it does coming off ATW. Their recorded material has always been about capturing a moment in time. So here’s one.

Enjoy:

All Them Witches, “1×1” official video

The video for our single, 1X1 premiered. It stars Emmy-award winning actress, Drea de Matteo, and was directed by our drummer, Robby Staebler.

We’ve added new Spring tour dates including two festivals: Vive Latino (Mexico City, MX) and Shaky Knees (Atlanta, GA).

Full list of dates below.

Single available now: https://geni.us/ATW1X1?track=yt

ON TOUR with Ghost and Tribulation
NOV 25 – Black Box Pangea – Kobenhavn, Denmark
NOV 28 – Hartwall Arena – Helsinki, Finland
NOV 30 – Spodek – Katowice, Poland
DEC 1 – Universum – Prague, Czech Republic
DEC 3 – BSA – Budapest, Hungary
DEC 4 – Mo?vara – Zagreb, Croatia
DEC 5 – Palabam – Mantova, Italy
DEC 6 – Halle 622 – Zürich, Switzerland
DEC 8 – Palau Sant Jordi – Barcelona, Spain
DEC 10 – Altice Arena – Lisboa, Portugal
DEC 11 – WiZink Center – Madrid, Spain
DEC 13 – Zenith Of Strasbourg – Strasbourg, France
DEC 14 – Stattbahnhof – Schweinfurt, Germany
DEC 15 – Zenith – München, Germany
DEC 17 – Rockhal – Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg
DEC 18 – Zenith Nantes Metropole – Saint-herblain, France
DEC 19 – Zénith de Toulouse – Toulouse, France
DEC 27 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
DEC 28 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
DEC 29 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN

SPRING 2020 DATES
MARCH 14 – Vive Latino – Mexico City, MX
MARCH 15 – Vive Latino – Mexico City, MX
APRIL 17 – Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
APRIL 18 – Space Ballroom – Hamden, CT
APRIL 19 – The Met – Pawtucket, RI
APRIL 21 – 3S Artspace – Portsmouth, NH
APRIL 22 – Gateway City Arts – Holyoke, MA
APRIL 23 – Asbury Lanes – Asbury Park, NJ
APRIL 24 – Mr. Smalls Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA
APRIL 25 – Blind Pig – Ann Arbor, MI
APRIL 26 – Woodward Theatre – Cincinnati, OH
APRIL 28 – Skully’s – Columbus, OH
APRIL 29 – The Burl – Lexington, KY
MAY 1 – Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, GA
MAY 2 – Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, GA
MAY 3 – Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, GA

All Them Witches is:
Charles Michael Parks, Jr – bass, vocals
Ben McLeod – guitar, vocals
Robby Staebler – drums, vocals

All Them Witches on Thee Facebooks

All Them Witches on Bandcamp

All Them Witches on Instagram

New West Records website

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All Them Witches Post New Single “1×1”; European Tour Starts Nov. 16

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 1st, 2019 by JJ Koczan

Well, hello there, new All Them Witches single. Wasn’t really expecting you until I guess two days ago when I stumbled on the social medias notification of your impending arrival. The Nashville three-piece are headed to Europe in a couple weeks to tour alongside Ghost and Tribulation, in what would seem to be a pretty big deal for all involved parties. It’s All Them Witches‘ second Euro run of the year, and unless I’m mistaken they were there for festivals and then some too — yup, they did Hellfest — so it’s not uncovered ground even if these are inevitably bigger venues and different circumstances. People like that Ghost band. They’re, like, a thing that people like.

Fair enough. As it happens, All Them Witches, as a band and in my experience of them as people, are a thing I like, so the new single “1×1” is among the most welcome news I’ve had in a while. The track would seem to take a somewhat grim lyrical view — if one imagines the lyrics to be about the touring experience also covered on their most recent album, 2018’s ATW (review here), it’s something of a surprise they’re hitting the road at all; hopefully that’s not the case — but one way or the other, it’s the heaviest tone I’ve heard from the band in at least the last half-decade, and bassist Charles Michael Parks, Jr. continues to grow ever more commanding as a singer. He shines here in subtle layers of harmonized vocal flourish — note that Parks, guitarist Ben McLeod and drummer/cover artist Robby Staebler are all credited with vocals — that, to All Them Witches fans, should be nothing less than a joy to behold, whatever the lyrical subject matter accompanying. In company with McLeod‘s all-in prog guitar solo, short but effective, and Staebler‘s recognizably fluid roll, they are an ever-changing, ever-growing unit who nonetheless remain uniquely their own.

If you’re still reading this and haven’t torn yourself from the verbiage to click play, hey, thanks. Otherwise, five of the best minutes of your day await you at the bottom of this post, and you might want to grab a download while you can, because All Them Witches have a habit of putting these things out on Bandcamp and then removing them and never talking about them again. Like a secret. Shhh.

Recording info and tour dates and such:

all them witches 1x1

1X1 by All Them Witches

Produced by All Them Witches Koo Koo

Recorded by Ben McLeod at The Church, Woodbury, TN
Assistant Engineering by Elad Shappiro
Mixed by Ben McLeod

Mastered by Mikey Allred at Dark Art Audio in Nashville, TN

All Them Witches w/ Ghost & Tribulation:
Sat 16 November – Nottingham (UK) – Motorpoint Arena
Sun 17 November – Cardiff (UK) – Motorpoint Arena
Mon 18 November – Glasgow (UK) – SSE Hydro
Wed 20 November – Dublin (Ireland) – 3Arena
Fri 22 November – London (UK) – Wembley SSE Arena
Sat 23 November – Leeds (UK) – Arena
Sat 30 November – Katowice (Poland) – Spodek
Sun 01 December – Prague (Czech Republic) – Universum
Tue 03 December – Budapest (Hungary) – BSA
Thu 05 December – Mantova (Italy) – PalaBam
Fri 06 December – Zurich (Switzerland) – Halle 622
Sun 08 December – Barcelona (Spain) – St. Jordi
Tue 10 December – Lisbon (Portugal) – Sala Tejo
Wed 11 December – Madrid (Spain) – Vistalegre
Fri 13 December – Strasbourg (France) – Zenith
Tue 17 December – Luxembourg (Luxembourg) – Rockhal
Wed 18 December – Nantes (France) – Zenith
Thu 19 December – Toulouse (France) – Zenith

Tickets for our 3 NIGHT STAND in Nashville at EXIT/IN are ON SALE NOW!

Dec 27 – https://bit.ly/2To3Qo6
Dec 28 – https://bit.ly/2YSu07z
Dec 29 – https://bit.ly/2YxYjRw

All Them Witches is:
Charles Michael Parks, Jr – bass, vocals
Ben McLeod – guitar, vocals
Robby Staebler – drums, vocals

http://allthemwitches.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/allthemwitches
https://www.instagram.com/allthemwitchesband/
http://www.allthemwitches.org/

All Them Witches, “1×1”

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All Them Witches European Tour Starts April 11

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 8th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

all them witches (photo by JJ Koczan)

Having recently had occasion to see All Them Witches on stage in their trio incarnation (review here), I can only advise it. They’re pretty clearly feeling out the dynamic as a three-piece, but in so doing they’re able to bring a new sense of purpose to their jams, and to use space in their sound in a way they never have before. It’s interesting on a creative level and, even better, it kicks ass to see. I said when they had four members that each of them were necessary for what they were doing, and that was true. Their workaround seem to be in developing a new approach to how they function as a band, and it’s one that suits them, the rawer edge of guitar, bass, drums and vocals allowing them to dig into organic atmospheres as they never have before. I don’t know if they’ll stay that way or what will happen, but then it seems all the more reason to catch them now.

They play Desertfest in Berlin and London on this tour and numerous club shows, some of which are already sold out. Looks like a good tour, and it starts in just a couple days. Dig it:

all them witches europe tour 2019

All Them Witches – European Tour 2019

Thu 11 Apr Helsinki FINLAND – On the Rocks
Sat 13 Apr Oslo NORWAY – Rockefeller / John DEE / Sentrum Scene
Sun 14 Apr Stockholm SWEDEN – Debaser
Mon 15 Apr Copenhagen DENMARK – Hotel Cecil – SOLD OUT!
Wed 17 Apr Leffinge BELGIUM – Muziekclub De Zwerver
Thu 18 Apr Sint-Niklaas BELGIUM – Concertzaal De Casino
Fri 19 Apr Hasselt BELGIUM – Muziekodroom
Sat 20 Apr – Schinjndel NETHERLANDS – Paaspop
Mon 22 Apr Paris FRANCE – La Maroquinerie – SOLD OUT!
Wed 24 Apr Madrid SPAIN – SALA CARACOL MADRID
Thu 25 Apr Barcelona SPAIN – Razzmatazz
Fri 26 Apr Nimes FRANCE – Paloma / SMAC de Nîmes Métropole
Sat 27 Apr Milan ITALY – Bloom
Mon 29 Apr Vienna AUSTRIA – ARENA WIEN
Tue 30 Apr Prague CZ – Rock Café Prague
Wed 01 May Poznan POLAND _ Klub u Bazyla
Thu 02 May Warsaw POLAND – Klub Hydrozagadka
Fri 03 May Berlin GERMANY – DesertFest Berlin
Sat 04 May Nijmegen NETHERLANDS – Sonic Whip
Sun 05 May London UK – Desertfest London
Mon 06 May Brighton UK – The Haunt Brighton – SOLD OUT!
Wed 08 May Manchester UK – Band on the Wall – SOLD OUT!
Thu 09 May Cardiff UK – Clwb Ifor Bach – SOLD OUT!

http://allthemwitches.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/allthemwitches
https://www.instagram.com/allthemwitchesband/
https://twitter.com/allthemwitches
http://www.allthemwitches.org/

All Them Witches, ATW (2018)

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Live Review: All Them Witches in Boston, MA, 03.20.19

Posted in Reviews on March 22nd, 2019 by JJ Koczan

All Them Witches (Photo by JJ Koczan)

The sun was setting quickly as I parked in the lot across from The Sinclair in Cambridge, surrounded by swank Harvard tourist traps and the restaurants that rightfully gouge the parents of the privileged and talented. It was the vernal equinox; the first day of Spring, and at night, a supermoon would loom large over a navy blue sky that might otherwise be black. Amid all this natural phenomena, Nashville’s All Them Witches were headlining a two-band bill, and though I walked in only minutes after doors opened, I still couldn’t get a spot in front of the middle of the stage to take pictures. A band about whom their fans feel strongly. So be it.

I was early, well in time to catch openers Plague Vendor, whose frontman gangly-jellylegged and James Brown‘ed and DavidBowie-via-NickCave‘d as the band behind him held down solid harder-hitting post-punk vibes, some groovy rockers, songs about getting drunk on highways, sex, the like. Stuff the kids do. They were aerobic, and not entirely my speed, but they put on a good show, said frontman at one point grabbing the Red Sox hat off a dude in the front row — and, much to his credit, confirming quickly that it was okay he did so — and wearing it down over his eyes as he wound up as though to pitch the start of the next verse. It was a nice move, and he gave the hat back after.

Crowd ate it up. I got silently cynical about the music industry, but whatever. If I was into fun, I’d probably have been all over it. You know how it goes.

They finished — may they never go bald; may they never get fat — and the room had a moment to breathe before All Them Witches went on with “War Pigs” as their intro. I don’t want to say it like I’m Jonny Investigativereporter or something, but I was curious to seem them. I’ll admit that. I’ve been fortunate enough to encounter All Them Witches live a couple times since they started touring, and since late last year when the band announced they’d parted ways with keyboardist Jonathan Draper, who was brought in ahead of their 2018 album, ATW (review here), and would remain a trio for the foreseeable future, I wanted to know how it would affect their sound. With five records, they certainly have enough material to draw from that they don’t have to focus on stuff that featured the work of Draper or the Fender Rhodes of Allan Van Cleave, whom Draper replaced, but it was a chance to see the band on a decent-size stage as they took on this task of renewing their approach. I wanted to see how they did it.

Well, bassist/vocalist Charles Michael Parks, Jr., guitarist Ben McLeod and drummer Robby Staebler hit the stage, went into “Funeral for a Great Drunken Bird” from 2013’s Lightning at the Door (review here), “3-5-7” from 2017’s  Sleeping Through the War (review here) and the brooding single “Diamond” from ATW, and I swear to you — this is completely honest; not exaggeration, not hyperbole, not a convenience of a narrative I’m trying to build — I forgot all about it. It wasn’t until after they were through “1st vs. 2nd” from the new album and “Dirt Preachers” from 2015’s Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (review here), “Fishbelly 86 Onions” and its subdued fellow ATW track “Harvest Feast” — which Parks introduced by saying, “This is a blues song. Time to get blue,” that I even remembered to think about it. In the meantime, ParksMcLeod and Staebler jammed their way into wide open psych-blues spaces and gave the answer to the question: they’re moving forward. That’s all there was to it.

They had no trouble at all stating their case to the room. One imagines that owning the larger stage as they did was something they mastered while on tour last summer with Mastodon and Primus playing amphitheaters and the like, but either way, whether it was Parks‘ grungey charisma leaning into the mic or the dry wit of his stage banter, the manner in which Staebler seemed to throw his whole body into the groove as he always has, but this time all the more looming for being on a riser, or McLeod seeming to step somewhat reluctantly — he’s usually pretty quiet on stage — forward in carrying forth the atmospherics of a song like “Warhorse” from the newest LP, or for that matter in the jam of “Harvest Feast” just before. His presence was quiet but not lacking energy, as, with his hair largely in front of his face, he helped guide the way through the subtly progressive aspects of the material.

I don’t think All Them Witches would’ve chosen to be a three-piece if you’d asked a few years ago, but they can make it work, and more importantly, keep progressing in this form should they so desire. They made highlights of “Charles William” and “When God Comes Back” from Lightning at the Door, playing them back to back before turning on the disco ball for Sleeping Through the War‘s “Alabaster” because, as Parks noted, “It’s a dance song.” And so it was. Perhaps not in the same sense of the heavier parts of “When God Comes Back” — which was one of several moments that actually had people moshing; any excuse to throw a punch in this town — but a dance song nonetheless and one that not only showcased the range of the band’s work, but the dynamic nature in which they’ve learned to pull it all off live.

The regular set capped with “Swallowed by the Sea,” again from Lightning at the Door, and they left the stage, only to come back out for “Blood and Sand/Milk and Endless Waters” from Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, which was as fitting an end as anything as they took the song and ran with it in a jam as they had with “Harvest Feast” earlier. There’s no question that the lineup shift has changed them, and maybe this tour is how they’re getting their feet under them in this form, or maybe that’s a multi-tour process as they continue to grow, but the terrifying truth of All Them Witches is just that: Growth. In the time since their 2012 debut, Our Mother Electricity (review here), their progression has never stopped, and though certain aspects of their approach are defined in terms of how they play or perform, they’ve never really settled in terms of sound. Their next record will be different, but honestly, it was going to be different anyway. Which two All Them Witches records sound the same?

Maybe they’ll add a fourth member, maybe not. The question was no longer on my mind as I made my way out of The Sinclair and back to the parking lot across the street to pay the robot and make my way home under that night-blue sky that seemed all the more appropriate given what I’d just witnessed.

Thanks for reading. More pics after the jump.

Read more »

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GIVEAWAY: Win Tickets to All Them Witches’ March Tour

Posted in Features on February 28th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

all them witches

[To enter giveaway: Leave a comment on this post with the name of the city where you want to see the show. Make sure your email is in the form provided so I can contact you if you win.]

So here’s the deal: All Them Witches start a tour tomorrow of the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard, ranging as far as Minneapolis and Milwaukee, Burlington and Montreal, and Atlanta and Durham. It’s 23 days of total roadtime, as the now-trio continue to support last year’s ATW (review here). I’ve been given the chance to give away a pair of tickets to any of the shows on this tour — they’re all listed below, but obviously, as the tour starts March 1 — aka tomorrow — it’s gotta be done on the quick.

Thus, a rush. If you can go see All Them Witches sometime in the next three-plus weeks, just leave a comment on this post and let me know what city. If you win, I’ll email you and let you know. I’m going to pick a winner as soon as possible this weekend, but if you’re in Atlanta or Charlotte, North Carolina, it might be tricky. I’m not saying don’t enter, but I’m not saying cancel grandpa’s birthday on account of the surefire evening plans either.

Pretty simple deal, all told. Here are the tour dates:

All Them Witches w/ Plague Vendor:
Mar 1 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Mar 2 – Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre
Mar 5 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
Mar 6 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi
Mar 7 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Mar 8 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Back Room at Colectivo Coffee
Mar 9 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe
Mar 10 – Madison, WI @ High Noon
Mar 12 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Stache
Mar 13 – Ferndale, MI @ Magic Bag
Mar 14 – Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop
Mar 15 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
Mar 16 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Mar 17 – Montreal, QC @ L’Astral
Mar 19 – South Burlington, VT @ Showcase Lounge
Mar 20 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Mar 21 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Mar 22 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
Mar 23 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
Mar 24 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall

As ever, I keep no emails, I sell no emails. I have no interest in or knowledge of such things. The only reason I want your email address is to tell you if you win. Thanks for reading and for your support. Good luck to all who enter.

[To enter giveaway: Leave a comment on this post with the name of the city where you want to see the show. Make sure your email is in the form provided so I can contact you if you win.]

http://allthemwitches.bandcamp.com/
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http://www.allthemwitches.org/

All Them Witches, ATW (2018)

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