Turns out Iron & Wine‘s upcoming engagement with Flight of the Conchords won’t mark the debut of Sam Beam, the comedian. Rather, the tour date will be just one of many upcoming stops that Sam Bean, the musician, will be using to support Around the Well, a 2-CD/3-LP collection of rare tracks ranging from out-of-print to never-before-released.
Consisting of 23 tracks, the compilation will span Beam’s entire career as Iron & Wine, one half featuring an assortment of raw, unedited home recording, and the second capturing some more mastered, but equally rare, in studio highlights. Of particular highlight will be the inclusion of four tracks originally recorded for the film, In Good Company, along with several covers, which see Beam tackling everyone from The Flaming Lips to New Order.
As mentioned, Around the Well will be supported by eleven upcoming tour dates, ten of which will convey quite a bit of intimacy. Excluding the aforementioned show on May 17th at Red Rocks Amphitheatre with Flight of the Conchords, Iron & Wine will perform ten shows in five cities over the month of May, with each show be “wholly unique,” as fans will be able to chose the setlist. Between March 6th and 30th, fans who head over to ironandwine.com will by city and night for the songs they’d like to see performed each evening. And get this: for those who can’t attend the upcoming engagements, the shows will be made available after the tour is completed on Iron and Wine’s official live recording site Played Last Night.
Tickets (will-call only) for all shows go on sale beginning February 20th via Ticketmaster.com.
Around the Well Tracklist:
Disc 1
01. Dearest Forsaken
02. Morning
03. Loud as Hope
04. Peng! 33
05. Sacred Vision
06. Friends They Are Jewels
07. Hickory
08. Waitin’ for a Superman
09. Swans and the Swimming
10. Call Your Boys
11. Such Great Heights
Disc 2
01. Communion Cups & Someone’s Coat
02. Belated Promise Ring
03. God Made the Automobile
04. Homeward, These Shoes
05. Love Vigilantes
06. Sinning Hands
07. No Moon
08. Serpent Charmer
9. Carried Home
10. Kingdom of the Animals
11. Arms of a Thief
12. The Trapeze Swinger
Iron & Wine 2009 Tour Dates:
05/04 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
05/05 – Seattle, WA @ Triple Door
05/06 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall
05/07 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall
05/08 – Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Hall at Hollywood Forever Cemeter
05/09 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
05/12 – Chicago, IL @ Lakeshore Theatre
05/13 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s
05/16 – Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre *
05/17 – New York, NY @ Abrons Art Center
05/18 – New York, NY @ Abrons Art Center
* = w/ Flight of the Conchords