The Arctic Monkeys are only a month away from the release of their third full-length, Humbug. This means two things: The English outfit is right in the middle of a big publicity push and as a result, we’re getting hit with news like Anderson Cooper on a hurricane…
First, the band has unveiled a brand new video for the album’s first single, “Crying Lightining”. Directed by Richard Ayoade, who previously worked with the band on the recently released Arctic Monkeys at the Apollo, the CGI heavy number is intended to, as frontman Alex Turner notes in this behind-the-scenes video, “fuck with people’s heads.” I’d say it does a pretty good job with that, what with the hippy hair dues and giant images of the band that mysteriously appear like the Loch Ness Monster. In fact, I’m still not sure what’s going on…
Equally cool, but much less confusing is news that the Arctic Monkeys will be debuting Humbug, almost a month early, with an online stream. On Thursday, July 30th at 9:00 pm BST (that’s 4:00 pm EST), the band will play several new selections in a special one-off performance that will be broadcast on the band’s website.
Finally, let’s not forget about those forthcoming North American tour dates, the first of which kick off later this week with a performance at All Points West. Tickets for select dates are still available via Ticketmaster.com.
Now that I’ve done my due diligence, let the anticipation set back in.
Arctic Monkeys 2009 Tour Dates:
08/01 – Liberty State Park, NJ @ All Points West
08/02 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/03 – New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
08/05 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
08/07 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
08/08 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/13 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
08/14 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
08/15 – Copenhagen, DK @ Best Day Festival
08/20 – Erfurt, DE @ Highfield Festival
08/22 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
08/28 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
08/29 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
09/14 – San Diego, CA @ SOMA
09/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
09/16 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
09/18 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
09/19 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
09/20 – Vancouver, BC @ Malkin Bowl
09/22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
09/23 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
09/25 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
09/26 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
09/28 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
09/29 – Toronto, ON @ Kool Haus
09/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
10/02 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
10/03 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
10/04 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/05 – Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
10/19 – Tokyo, JP @ Budokan
11/05 – Paris, FR @ Zenith
11/06 – Paris, FR @ Zenith