Page Hamilton has seen a lot. He’s Helmet’s only remaining original member, and despite hitting the half-century mark in May, he’s still grinding away. His band has been around for over 30 years and has more former members than you can count on two hands, but the title track on their newest album, Seeing Eye Dog, is as heavy and propulsive as anything on Strap It On, which they first released in 1989.
In fact, Hamilton told Art Michalski in May that Seeing Eye Dog was a “very Helmet sounding record” with lyrics that come from his “perspective of life.” While he may be your dad’s age, don’t expect this 50-year-old to be spouting off about an oil spill or heath care. “I’ve had songs that politics have reared their ugly head on,” he said, “but I try not to have my political views on the album. I like to question things, but I don’t want to get up on a soapbox and preach through my songs.”
The new album – due to hit shelves in September – is the band’s seventh and its first for the Work Song imprint, which is run by Hamilton’s manager. Hamilton says Helmet landed on the label as a result of getting “pretty fucked over by” Warcon Records, which released 2006’s Monochrome. “All the problems made me really skeptical about the music industry,” said Hamilton, “we were barely hanging on as a band after the debacle, and I really had no interest in starting my own label, so this opportunity was the right deal.” As a result of the current contract, Hamilton owns the rights to all of the masters for Seeing Eye Dog and said being on Work Song is “about as close to self-releasing and promoting an album as you can get.”
Several versions of the release will be available, but fanatics can take part in the $99 super-deluxe package that is signed by Hamilton and comes with a golden laminate tour pass that allows the purchaser to meet the band and get into each and every one of their U.S. shows. Their stateside tour crisscrosses the U.S. from September to November before hopping the Atlantic to spend the rest of 2010 in Europe, and those without a golden ticket can obtain their own regular, paper tickets on the band’s website or Ticketmaster.com. Tickets are available now, and tour dates (including their month-long European soiree) are listed below.
Helmet 2010 Tour Dates
09/08 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
09/10 – Oakland, CA @ Uptown Theatre
09/11 – San Jose, CA @ The Blank Club
09/13 – Portland, OR @ Dante’s
09/15 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox
09/16 – Vancouver, BC @ The Venue
09/18 – Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room
09/19 – Calgary, AB @ Dicken’s Pub
09/21 – Casper, WY @ Downtown Grill & Venue
09/23 – Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
09/24 – Anaheim, CA @ The Galaxy
09/25 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
09/26 – Redondo Beach, CA @ The Brixton
10/08 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
10/09 – Fort Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre
10/10 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
10/12 – Chicago, IL @ Double Door
10/13 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabodys
10/15 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s Music Center
10/16 – Detroit, MI @ Smalls
10/17 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
10/19 – Montreal, QC @ Studio
10/20 – Boston, MA @ The Middle East
10/22 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
10/23 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
10/24 – West Chester, PA @ The Note
10/30 – Austin, TX @ Red 7
10/31 – Dallas, TX @ The Loft
11/02 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
11/03 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
11/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ Key Club
11/17 – Arnhem, NL @ Luxor
11/18 – Den Bosch, NL @ W2
11/19 – Bielefeld, DE @ Germany Forum
11/20 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust
11/22 – Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall
11/23 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega Jr.
11/24 – Berlin, DE @ So36
11/26 – Munich, DE @ Feierwerk
11/27 – Vienna, AT @ Szene
11/28 – Budapest, HU @ Dürer Kert
11/29 – Basel, CH @ Sommercasino
11/30 – Zurich, CH @ Abart
12/01 – Amalgame, CH @ Yverdon
12/03 – Ravenna, IT @ Bronson
12/04 – Turin, IT @ Spazio
12/05 – Annecy Le Brise, FR @ Glace
12/06 – Strasbourg, FR @ La Laiterie
12/08 – Stuttgart, DE @ Roehre
12/09 – Cologne, DE @ Werkstatt
12/10 – Paris, FR @ Elysee Montmarte
12/11 – Orleans, FR @ Astro Lab
12/12 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix
12/14 – Ghent, BE @ Vooruit
12/15 – London, UK @ La Scala
12/16 – Manchester, UK @ Club Academy
12/17 – Glasgow, UK @ Cathouse
