Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Mission of Burma Announces New York City Solo Dates.
Mission of Burma, one of the "post-punk" era's most legendary bands, has announced two upcoming shows at New York City's Bowery Ballroom. Friday, January 14th and Saturday, January 15th have been confirmed. Support bands will be announced shortly.
Mission of Burma came out of retirement, after a nearly 20 year hiatus, in late 2001. Not suffering the same animus that most bands are afflicted by, Roger Miller, Clint Conley, and Peter Prescott, have picked up where they left off. Further cementing their legend, the band released a new sonic tome earlier this year, OnOffOn, to great acclaim. Their shows have been a godsend to the stale indie rock scene. The audience is comprised of old scenesters, left wanting after the 1984 retirement of the band, and indie rock kids raised on the legend of Burma. The January 2002 Irving Plaza show I attended, was nothing short of transcendent. It was everything that I had hoped for. I am a old scenester, but I missed M.O.B. in first time around. I knew that I could not miss them in their new phase. This reunion was sans Martin Swope, tape manipulator extraordinaire and has been replaced by the legendary Bob Weston. Despite Roger Miller's tenitus, the band has been playing more and more shows, but forgoing the full US or European tours, largely concentrating on dates in larger, more centrally located cities.
With more and more bands taking advantage of renewed interest in their music, many reunion tours were better left undone. Wire, Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, etc..., have been radical departures from this, as the musicians remain friends and the breakups have been due to changes in the music industry and members changes in lifestyles, marriage, etc...
Mission of Burma has defied the curse of the reunion as well. I for one, welcome them back with utter abandon.
Mission of Burma came out of retirement, after a nearly 20 year hiatus, in late 2001. Not suffering the same animus that most bands are afflicted by, Roger Miller, Clint Conley, and Peter Prescott, have picked up where they left off. Further cementing their legend, the band released a new sonic tome earlier this year, OnOffOn, to great acclaim. Their shows have been a godsend to the stale indie rock scene. The audience is comprised of old scenesters, left wanting after the 1984 retirement of the band, and indie rock kids raised on the legend of Burma. The January 2002 Irving Plaza show I attended, was nothing short of transcendent. It was everything that I had hoped for. I am a old scenester, but I missed M.O.B. in first time around. I knew that I could not miss them in their new phase. This reunion was sans Martin Swope, tape manipulator extraordinaire and has been replaced by the legendary Bob Weston. Despite Roger Miller's tenitus, the band has been playing more and more shows, but forgoing the full US or European tours, largely concentrating on dates in larger, more centrally located cities.
With more and more bands taking advantage of renewed interest in their music, many reunion tours were better left undone. Wire, Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, etc..., have been radical departures from this, as the musicians remain friends and the breakups have been due to changes in the music industry and members changes in lifestyles, marriage, etc...
Mission of Burma has defied the curse of the reunion as well. I for one, welcome them back with utter abandon.
