The Weakerthans Recent News

The Weakerthans Announce Special Shows

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:11:00 -0800

Celebrated indie rock poet laureates The Weakerthans will be performing a series of special shows in both San Francisco and New York this coming December. The nearly sold out concerts will commemorate the acclaimed group’s albums, Left and Leaving and Fallow, which are currently being re-released on Epitaph Records.

Each night will be dedicated to one of the band’s beloved albums. This is the first time the group’s entire catalogue has been available under a single label. Epitaph will also be introducing an assortment of new-re issued Weakerthans related merch, that revisits items from the past.

Founded in 1997 out of the Winnipeg-punk-scene, the Weakerthans have deep roots in the thriving North American indie scene. The band is revered for both their powerfully melodic folk punk sound and the vivid and inspired imagery of their lyrics.

Critical Acclaim For The Weakerthans

"This is investigative journalism with a heart of compassion, a steady back-beat and four buzzing power chords. If such a prize existed, it would be the leading candidate for this year's Punk Pulitzer." - Paste

"The band sounds richer than ever....it's not hard to imagine Death Cab for Cutie fans falling in love with this album. From "Night Windows" to "Civil Twilight" these songs are full of characters and tunes that stick. Maybe you're not eager for another melancholy song about the life of a touring musician, but on an album this engrossing, this good, you take what you can get." - New York Times

"Every Weakerthans album has moments that provoke cries of "Why aren't these guys huge?" But those are inevitably followed by moments that make it abundantly clear why they're not. And that's not a dig: The Winnipeg-based folk punks' willingness to juxtapose propulsive riffs and hooky choruses with self-consciously skewed tales of disaffected house cats and dead NHL goaltenders is what makes them endearing. – SPIN

Weakerthans Live Dates:

2011-11-30 The Independent San Francisco CA
2011-12-01 The Independent San Francisco CA
2011-12-02 The Independent San Francisco CA
2011-12-03 The Independent San Francisco CA
2011-12-07 Bowery Ballroom New York NY
2011-12-08 Bowery Ballroom New York NY
2011-12-09 Bowery Ballroom New York NY
2011-12-10 Bowery Ballroom New York NY

The Weakerthans 'Fallow' & 'Left And Leaving' Digital Re-Issues

Tue, 03 May 2011 00:05:00 -0700

Anti-Records is thrilled to be releasing two seminal albums by beloved literary minded indie rock heroes The Weakerthans. For the first time the beloved band’s catalogue has been united, as their classic albums Fallow and Left And Leaving join more recent Anti offerings including the critically heralded Reunion Tour, of which Paste magazine said, “If such a prize existed, it would be the leading candidate for this year’s Punk Pulitzer.” Both Fallow and Left and Leaving are now available digitally from iTunes and Amazon MP3.

Fallow on iTunes

Left And Leaving on iTunes

'The Falcon Lake Incident' - The Weakerthans With Jim Bryson

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 00:11:00 -0800

While technically Jim Bryson’s 4th album, the ANTI Store is offering The Falcon Lake Incident for the obvious fact that The Weakerthans are the backing band, from John K. Samson’s backing vocals all the way down.

Recorded in sub-zero temperatures at Falcon Lake, on the border of The Weakerthans home in Manitoba and Bryson’s home of Ontario, this showcases Bryson’s beloved folk as the centerpiece that is backed by The Weakerthans. You get the feeling that more records need to be created by five incredibly talented guys locked together in a cabin in the middle of a Canadian winter.

This is the only place where The Falcon Lake Incident is being offered for the US and is available on CD and 180 gram vinyl.

Get the CD here!

Get the vinyl here!

Anti Records 2010 Spring Compilation Available Now

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:04:00 -0700

Think of this as a mix tape, like one of those cassettes you sweated over in college to slip to that special someone in your Mass Communications class. That batch of songs that was uniquely you, that would open your murky soul to the broad light of day, and let all see how complex and tortured you really were. These 15 songs unveil the murky soul of ANTI- Records to an unsuspecting and largely unprepared public (just like that college mixtape), and it turns out to be darker and danker than anyone suspected.

Take Roky Erickson, an artist who has done his own share of soul searching, recording with Okkervil River, and his contribution "Goodbye Sweet Dreams" - a haunted cry from the heart, with Roky repeating the lines over and over like some obsessed anti-hero from Dostoevsky. Then there's Bettye LaVette's searing reading of the Rolling Stones' "Salt of the Earth," peering in at the grimy window of the "stay-at-home voter" and the rest of the downtrodden, in lyrics that sound more current today than they did in 1969. New signing Lost In the Trees, musical savants from North Carolina, wrap the saddest story you've ever heard in aching melody and surging strings, everything you'd hope for in a song titled "All Alone In an Empty House." And house dissident Sage Francis offers "Slow Man," with music written for Sage by Calexico - a meditation on the artist's belief that "there's no shame in being a dinosaur with an analog heart, a strained spirit and a photo-book filled with senior moments."

These four songs aren't available elsewhere; they are glimpses at farm-fresh, still-in-the-crate, upcoming releases. And the rest of the tracks are all from brand new or recent releases, from our larger stable of ANTI- heroes . How can we do it, you ask? We can get away with the low price of $2.99 because these celebrated artists and this benevolent record company have agreed not to make a profit on this venture. We (and they) feel it's more important that these samples of musical joy be heard. Just don't bring any of this up around our accountants.

Get it on iTunes today!

1. Dr. Dog - "Stranger" from the album Shame, Shame
2. Tom Waits - "Fannin Street" from the album Glitter & Doom Live
3. Mose Allison - "My Brain" from the album The Way Of The World
4. Bettye LaVette - "Salt Of The Earth" from the album Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook
5. Roky Erickson - "Goodbye Sweet Dreams" from the album True Love Cast Out All Evil
6. Lost In The Trees - "All Alone in an Empty House" from the album All Alone in an Empty House
7. Sage Francis - "Slow Man" from the album Li(f)e
8. Galactic - "Heart Of Steel" from the album YA-KA-MAY
9. The Swell Season - "Feeling The Pull" from the album Strict Joy
10. The Weakerthans - "Benediction" from the album Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre
11. Alec Ounsworth - "Holy, Holy, Holy Moses (song for New Orleans)" from the album Mo Beauty
12. Islands - "Tender Torture" from the album Vapours
13. Dead Man's Bones - "Pa Pa Power" from the album Dead Man's Bones
14. Rain Machine - "Give Blood" from the album Rain Machine
15. Joe Henry - "Death To The Storm" from the album Blood From Stars

The Weakerthans 'Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre' Out Now

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:03:00 -0700

Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre, the latest release from The Weakerthans is out now and available in stores everywhere! Head out to your local record store to grab a copy, or click to Amazon or The Weakerthans Store to order today. You can also grab the MP3 album from Shockhound for just $6.99 (for a limited time).

Join the Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre listening party and stream the entire record over at Spinner!

The Weakerthans 'Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre' Pre-Order

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:02:00 -0800

The Weakerthans new live record Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre is available in stores everywhere March 23rd, but starting today you can pre-order the record from the ANTI Store! Take a look below to see some of the exclusive bundles that are available.

Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre 2x LP/DVD & T-Shirt Bundle

This Bundle Includes:

- Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre Gatefold 2x LP with the DVD and a digital download
- The Weakerthans T-Shirt

Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre CD, Giclee Print & T-Shirt Bundle

This Bundle Includes:

- Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre on CD/DVD
- The Weakerthans T-Shirt
- 20" x 14" Giclee Print of the original painting by bassist Greg Smith that is featured on the cover of Live From The Burton Cummings Theatre. This limited, one-time, numbered edition of 300 is only available from the Weakerthans webstore or from Anti- and Epitaph for a limited time

Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre 2x LP/DVD & Giclee Print Bundle

This Bundle Includes:

- Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre Gatefold 2x LP with the DVD and a digital download
- 20" x 14" Giclee Print of the original painting by bassist Greg Smith that is featured on the cover of Live From The Burton Cummings Theatre. This limited, one-time, numbered edition of 300 is only available from the Weakerthans webstore or from Anti- and Epitaph for a limited time

There's lots more available, so click over to the ANTI Store to check out everything that's available and make sure to follow @kingsroadmerch to stay up to date with all the latest offerings!

The Weakerthans Announce Release of Concert DVD/CD

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:02:00 -0800

Indie rock heroes The Weakerthans new DVD-CD Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre, set for release on March 23, offers a jubilant testament to the Winnipeg band's considerable creative powers as both literary minded songwriters and charismatic live performers. Founded in 1997 the band has deep roots in the thriving North American indie scene. The band is revered for both their powerfully melodic folk punk sound and the vivid and inspired imagery of the lyrics - their beloved song "Plea from a Cat Named Virtute" is told from the point of view of a depressive's wise and knowing cat. The live DVD was recorded in April of 2009 as the band toured in support of their triumphant album Reunion Tour with an expanded line-up featuring trumpet, violin and female vocals, playing songs from all four acclaimed releases in front of an adoring and enthusiastic hometown crowd.

"This is investigative journalism with a heart of compassion, a steady back-beat and four buzzing power chords. If such a prize existed, it would be the leading candidate for this year's Punk Pulitzer." - Paste

"The band sounds richer than ever....it's not hard to imagine Death Cab for Cutie fans falling in love with this album. From "Night Windows" to "Civil Twilight" these songs are full of characters and tunes that stick. Maybe you're not eager for another melancholy song about the life of a touring musician, but on an album this engrossing, this good, you take what you can get." - New York Times

Weakerthans Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre Tracklisting:

1. Everything Must Go
2. Tournament of Hearts
3. Our Retired Explorer
(Dines with Michel Foucault in Paris in 1969)
4. Night Windows
5. Reconstruction Site
6. Aside
7. Civil Twilight
8. Bigfoot
9. Plea from a Cat Named Virtute
10. The Reasons
11. Sun in an Empty Room
12. Left and Leaving
13. Wellington's Wednesdays
14. Benediction
15. Manifest
16. One Great City!
17. This is a Fire Door Never Leave Open
18. Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure

THE WEAKERTHANS TOUR WEST COAST IN JULY, LIVE ITUNES SESSIONS AVAILABLE 6/30

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:06:00 -0700

Canada’s favorite indie poet laureates The Weakerthans have announced a string of tour dates that start at the Vancouver Folk Festival on July 17th and travel down the west coast of the US before ending in British Columbia on the 26th. Fresh off the Rolling Tundra Review, an exhaustive Canadian tour with the Constantines that spanned almost two months, The Weakerthans promise to be in fine form.

On June 30th, the band will be releasing a live iTunes session that was recorded at Metal Works in Mississauga Ontario and includes three tracks of their most recent release Night Windows and two off of 1999’s Fallow.

The Weakerthans on tour:
7/17 Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Folk Festival
7/18 Seattle, WA @ Neumo's
7/20 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
7/21 San Louis Obispo, CA @ The Downtown Brew
7/22 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
7/23 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
7/24 Eugene, OR @ WOW
7/25 Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre
7/26 Nelson, BC @ Spirit Bar

The Weakerthans iTunes Session:
1. Night Windows
2. Anchorless
3. Civil Twilight
4. Fallow
5. Reunion Tour

The Weakerthans Announce Rolling Tundra Review 2009 with Constantines

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:12:00 -0800

The Weakerthans and Constantines
Rolling Tundra Revue 2009
Canadian Tour

The Weakerthans are pleased to announce The Rolling Tundra Revue 2009 Canadian National Tour.

Featuring Toronto's Constantines the tour will seek to build on the work the two bands have done on the road together. This extensive tour will take them from St John's Newfoundland across the entire country to Victoria BC then North to end in the city of Whitehorse, Yukon. Over the course of the tour the bands will be performing almost 30 concerts in 21 different cities. Expanding on the highly successful Inaugural Rolling Tundra Revue Tour of 2005 they have included St John's and Whitehorse to give Canadian audiences this unprecedented occurrence, rarely do artists of their stature take on a tour of this scope focusing on Canada alone.

Constantines have just released their 4th album Kensington Heights in partnership with a new label, Arts and Crafts and are expanding their audiences and continue to refine their artistic version of working man's Rock'n Roll.

The two critically acclaimed recording artists have previously joined forces on several concert tours. On the shows each act tries to raise the level of their performance to match or better the others. Joining them nightly will be a vast array of local and regional Canadian talent.

So many bands look for success and validation in the US, but a tour of this scale shows that it can be found here, in Canada.

After ten years together the momentum only continues to build and The Weakerthans launch this tour on the heels of their highly successful fourth album Reunion Tour. The 2007 Anti release has garnered critical accolades and enjoyed a fruitful year of awards from the XM Satellite Radio Award, the WCMA's as well as the SOCAN Echo prize for songwriting. Reunion Tour also made the heralded short list for the 2008 Polaris Prize. With these awards, and their history of craft and dedication The Weakerthans have affirmed their place in the pantheon of Canadian rock bands and songwriters. Their songs and reputation as a band have brought them from the margins to stand with their peers in the Canadian music industry.

The Weakerthans are sincerely looking forward to the Rolling Tundra Revue 2009 tour as a continuation of this success.

DATES:
March 19 - St. Johns - Club One
March 20 - Halifax - The Palace
March 22 - Sackville - George's Roadhouse
March 23 - Fredericton - UNB Ballroom
March 25 - Quebec City - Le Cercle
March 26 - Montreal - Le National
March 28 - Ottawa - Bronson Centre
April 1 - Toronto - The Phoenix
April 3 - London - Music Hall
April 4 - Guelph - River Run Centre
April 17 - Winnipeg - Burton Cummings Theatre
April 21 - Regina - Riddell Centre
April 22 - Saskatoon - Odeon Events Centre
April 23 - Edmonton - Winspear Centre
April 25 - Calgary - MacEwan Hall
April 26 - Banff - Wild Bill's
April 27 - Kelowna - Kelowna Community Theatre
April 30 - Victoria - Element
May 1 - Vancouver - The Commodore
May 2 - Vancouver - The Commodore
May 4 - Whitehorse- Yukon Arts Centre

ANTI at South By Southwest

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:03:00 -0700

Check out the following live performances captured at our SXSW showcase.

Billy Bragg - I Keep Faith

DeVotchKa - Along the Way

The Weakerthans - Night Windows

Man Man - Doo Right

Tim Fite - More Clothes

Islands - The Arm