Legendary Pink Dots

Crutis if we don't get a promo in to my station soon I may email you for help, I'd like to be able to air it before their Portland show on Oct. 17th.

Hey, in five years, no one has had anything nice to say about The Golden Age? Okay, I'll say I love that record. Just pulled it out last night and threw it onto my iPod.

the periodical reapparition of this thread is weird and very Dot-esque, considering that exactly yesterday I bought a copy of "Your children will placate you" (and found it good as always).

Golden Age is fantastic. I'm pretty sure there must be another legendary pink dots thread, because i thought i mentioned that before.

interesting so see so much love for Golden Age, at the time it was a bit of a personal letdown and I don't know if my perception of the record has recovered since (although I couldn't name a bad song from it if I tried). Any Day Now was such a monster tour de force of the mostly-original lineup and then the band fractured, Golden Age is the sound of a band in flux. As such, it contains some fairly drastic experimental moves that the Dots had typically reserved for their cassettes at that time as opposed to a high profile US release. The overall sound is similarly wide ranging, which I think has served it well over the eyars.

=years.

I mean, really, releasing "Blacklist" as a contemporary single? What a weird song. That is on the CD verson, right?

they killed it in Portland last night. Last time I saw them was 12 years ago (!!) and they are perceptibly older, calmer, more assured and in control. At this point the "new guy" has been with them for like twelve years as well. Last time was loud, lots of rock-band-esque striving and pushing, and this time they were completely focused and deliberate.

Also, excellent setlist and encore of "Just A Lifetime" and "Princess Coldheart". They did "Grain Kings"!

Damn, I guess I'm missing them this time. But yeah, their ability at really great performances tour for tour is impressive -- of the bands I've seen over the years the ones that would match them would be Acid Mothers Temple and, to an extent, Stereolab.

ha, just bumped the TC Shows thread for this tour, which comes through Minneapolis on Thursday. Can't wait.

How's the new album?

much more fucked up/weird/spacy than the last one, interspersed with a few pretty tunes to break it up. I like it a lot, but I'm fairly predictable about this band.

If you can get hold of their compilation of early tracks, Under Triple Moons, it's a wonderful and disturbing thing, from the era where they had a lot of magic but were not conscious of any audience. It's as weird as anything they've done - squat confessionals on a minimum of equipment. We've been playing it every so often for at least two years. It's a great one to bung on when people are getting nervous.

seconded, that one is fantastic!

awesome, will do! I don't think I've heard anything earlier than Crushed Velvet Apocalypse.

Agreed re: Under. The sheer amount of material now is too daunting to deal with easily but that's a gem.

Been in a major phase lately. And via Idolator this Amanda Palmer/Neutral Milk Hotel musical article contained this!

But sitting with the cast on the steps outside the school, listing the plays she and Bogart put on when she was a student there (one was based on the Legendary Pink Dots' 1985 album, Asylum)

US tour dates... I'll be in Portland!

don't think the new record (on ROIR) is out yet but there are tracks on the Myspace page.

15 October 2010 Vancouver, BC Biltmore Cabaret
16 October 2010 Seattle, WA El Corazon
18 October 2010 Salt Lake City, UT Club Sound
19 October 2010 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
21 October 2010 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
22 October 2010 Chicago, IL Double Door
23 October 2010 Columbus, OH Rumba Cafe
24 October 2010 Cleveland Heights, OH Grog Shop
25 October 2010 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
26 October 2010 Toronto, ON The Mod Club Theatre
28 October 2010 Cambridge, MA Middle East Upstairs
29 October 2010 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge
30 October 2010 Washington DC DC9
1 November 2010 Philadelphia, PA The M Room
2 November 2010 Pittsburgh, PA Thunderbird Cafe
3 November 2010 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506
4 November 2010 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
5 November 2010 Orlando, FL The Plaza Theatre
6 November 2010 Tampa, FL Orpheum
9 November 2010 Dallas, TX House of Blues
10 November 2010 Austin, TX Elysium
14 November 2010 Phoenix, AZ The Rhythm Room
15 November 2010 San Diego, CA The Casbah
16 November 2010 Los Angeles, CA EchoPlex
17 November 2010 Hermosa Beach, CA Saint Rocke
18 November 2010 Costa Mesa, CA Detroit Bar
19 November 2010 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord
20 November 2010 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord
22 November 2010 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge

Playing the Detroit Bar! Excellent, I'm all over that, that'll be a great show. I should look into an OC Weekly article...

they are playing as a trio with former guitarist Erik Drost, who was on Poppy Variations and The Whispering Wall. should be interesting, I've always seen them with at least four members.

Wow, that is a change. I'm actually v. intrigued for that reason, I always enjoyed the recent sets but there was a certain familiarity over time. Something to ask after in the interview!

(Well, assuming I get one, obv.)

the new album is very mellow

"No Star Too Far" ain't that mellow but on the whole yeah... really like the reworking of golden oldie "Hauptbahnhof".

Loving the new album and, as usual, this started a major rediscovery of my (too many?) LPD albums that got me thinking about how Edward Ka-spel is clearly one of the most underrated lyric writer ever.

There's also just the sense of inspiration coming from him -- he (and the Silverman of course) are just so constantly dedicated to keeping the partnership continuing but also to continue exploring the possibilities in their chosen approach. It's almost like the only English language band I could compare them to is the Fall, and even then it's the difference between one core figure and what surrounds him and, here, a duo.

Yes, I love the way they keep going endlessly, undeterred, oblivious to every fashion, somehow still amateurish 30 years after their inception, so single-mindedly devouted to their unseizable muse.
I hope someday a magazine like The Wire will dedicate them some attention, but I guess they're too pop, too weird, too peculiar.

Well said - really, the only difference between now and 1980 is the quality/sophistication of their gear (and a few different band members). Their entire aesthetic has barely changed at all.

Anyone seen this tour yet? Press photos have four members, I'm wondering who the 4th person is...

Also any setlist spoilers are welcome.

I saw them in Atlanta but they were just a trio!

highlight: killer version of "Cubic Caesar"

still pissed i couldnt make this show. stupid me.

hmm maybe the venue I am going to is just using old stock photos?

I don't even remember that song! Gotta look it up.

(xp)

it's the closing track on Plutonium Blonde

Still hoping to be there tomorrow night, should be good...

ty Crutis

and there is a live version as a bonus track on the vinyl of the new LP!

which I plan on buying from them on Monday.

they were on WFMU a few weeks back. Interviewed and performed some songs. Should be in the FMU archives.

Show tonight killed. Was wondering how they'd do without Van Hoorn and while it's a different beast on the one hand on the other it's still Ka-Spel and the Silverman (and guitarist Ed in this case) and it ruled.

Erik rather than Ed. Still, why not Ed?

I'm diving into Ka-Spel's solo catalogue.
Scarlet Cross from The Blue Room is a great little vampire pop song.

"Press photos have four members, I'm wondering who the 4th person is..."

I think it's Raymond, their sound engineer/factotum guy.

Hahah for a second I thought that quote was a lyric. I can hear him singing it!

Saw my first Legendary Pink Dots live experience in SF last night: set was over two hours and started off with me thinking "oh too bad they play well but they're old and don't have much presence on stage...I clearly missed their prime", and then about mid-set it was "huh these guys haven't played a bad song yet and some of this stuff is getting increasingly psychedelic and disturbing", and after the last encore song it was "I feel like someone may have slipped acid in my ginger ale earlier"....

I have no idea as to their set list (wish I did), because they're frankly one of those bands I've filed over the years under "I'd support you if I could afford it", ala Sun City Girls and Death in June, so I only have like four of their albums, but the live show has committed me to foregoing newer stuff in favor of mining their back catalog a bit. For what it's worth, I saw a totally Satanic psychedelic black metal band from Sweden not four nights prior that didn't do a single thing more disturbing than LPD's encore closer "Lent", and this delivered with the stage lights on from a jowly and rounding 56 year old Brit who looks exactly like his Wikipedia page, which ain't exactly goat skulls, blood, and corpse paint. Legendary Pink Dots live were fucking awesome.

Sounds about right. And you nailed a lot of the appeal right there -- all the threat and sense of collapse is strictly audio, not visual, but that's honed to an incredible point. Glad you liked it!

A sort of review of the show I did for Foxy Digitalis:

http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=3577

"the live show has committed me to foregoing newer stuff in favor of mining their back catalog a bit"

good luck! :)
(and maybe I'm just a bit too committed fan, but I think they have dozens of songs as good as "lent" in their catalogue).

Be forewarned, their back catalog is scarily deep. I've got dozens of albums by them and I don't think I even have a quarter of it, if you count all the chemical playschools, live stuff and solo albums.

Not many votes in the albums poll, but it's good for basic recommendations:

Legendary Pink Dots poll

I also highly recommend all the Chemical Playschools and the Under Triple Moons comp of early stuff, Malachai, Brighter Now, Crushed Velvet Apocalypse, and Curse.

For Edward Ka-Spel oh hey look I started a thread:

This is the Edward Ka-Spel thread

12 hours to go before I am in Portland, damn I am excited about seeing a two hour set.

That was lovely... really liked hearing "Third Secret", "New Tomorrow", and especially "Choke". New/old guitarist was doing lots of stuff I dug, dense barbed sound with teeth and claws but still restrained within the overall mix, bubbling menacingly underneath it all.

so there is a new album? only just found out about this from the Spotify thread - it's called The Gethsemane Option. anyone heard it? I bought the next-most-recent release Taos Hum off of their Bandcamp and really liked it. also that new Silverman is great, the Brainwashed review was possibly the stupidest thing I have ever read on that site.

I didn't actually play it despite seeing it on my spotify feed. I dont really know anything about them. My industrial days were like 20 years ago and I never checked em out.

I honestly have no idea what you would think of them, but they are definitely worth a listen. they don't really have much in common with stereotypical industrial bands.

The more guitar-y bands I have no use for now except I'll still check out the young gods and FLA, so if it steers clear of that then i'd prob dig em

I've only got Maria Dimension, Asylum and Any Day Now, but nothing I've heard sounds industrial, or at least not consistently. They are a weird mixture of things. I'm really daunted by their discography and not sure how far I'll take it because I really love some of their songs.

Xmas special up now

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/the-legendary-pink-dots-christmas-special-2024

Always key!

Randall Frazier

Join us on Sunday as we speak to @subcon about our new album and upcoming European tour. www.patreon.com/cEvinKey

new album out now

Chemical Playschool Volumes 23 & 24 arrived today. I can't get past sides 1 and 2; have listened 3 times already. I've not heard everything they have done the last few years but this is easily my favourite of what I've heard. Roll on sides 3 and 4!

Wow, here's a dig into the past. Two bonus tracks too!

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/apparition-2025-expanded-remaster

interestingly, that is the only previous release (before this year) that does not feature Phil/Silverman!

Yeah I was looking over the credit list and going "?"

new Tear Garden album coming in October

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv8TTeUHVpU

killer set at VOD-Fest, Randall is fully integrated

finally got to talk to them and tell them how much joy they have given me for the last 39 years

How awesome!

Last night's show -- first time I've seen the Silverman-less version -- was a treat. Ka-Spel just remains so weirdly and perfectly compelling.

new stuff is out today too!

https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/chemical-playschool-volume-25-2
https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/the-legendary-pink-dots-halloween-special-2025

another thread of missing stirmonster, can't believe he was posting here like his usual enthusiastic self less than 6 months ago...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iibpewIA_ik

Just so wrong.

hey fans, don't sleep on this excellent side-project release/collab with Twilight Circus (former LPD bassist/drummer Ryan)

https://edwardka-spel.bandcamp.com/album/800-saints-in-a-day

Oh you best believe I got that out of the gate.

In 'pigs are flying' news, there's actually going to be a Tear Garden tour! Knock me over with a feather!

https://legendarypinkdots.org/c63-tour/the-tear-garden-us-tour-2026/

wow!

very cool, I will miss this but I bet the Portland goth hotline is already in overdrive