SVIIB are currently on tour in Europe promoting their debut album ‘Alpinisms’ and head to SXSW next week.  April and May will see the band on tour with Bat For Lashes and White Lies respectively, with another UK headline tour mid-May. 

Mon 23rd Feb @ Whelens, Dublin

"We flew in overnight from New York, arrived Sunday morning.  Stayed in a part of Dublin called Swords Village, which apparently isn't a usual hang-out in the Dublin area.  When we told people we were staying there, they were looking at us as if we were crazy. It's safe to say we held it down in Swords Village. Growing up in southwest Oklahoma, I guess it really isn't so hard to keep me entertained.

As for the gig, Crayonsmith supported us and they were good.  They ended up loaning us loads of stuff, as half our equipment arrived off the plane all broken.  It's nice to meet other musicians who are so generous, especially knowing that it's a rarity. Some people are pretty uptight about that sort of thing...

Anyway, Dublin is a ridiculously expensive city.  3 Guinness + 3 Irish Stew = 60 Euros.  No joke.

Tues 24th Feb @ Captain’s Rest, Glasgow

Three hours sleep in Dublin, then on the Stenaline ferry to Glasgow.  Can’t remember much about the journey, we were completely unconscious.

The show was at a place called The Captain's Rest, which is a small pub with a microscopic basement where bands play.  People were telling us that some really big bands have played shows there recently, which is incredible considering how ridiculously small the place is.  Lucky for us it was completely rammed with Glasgonians standing on top of each other to see us play, and the sound was nice and LOUD, which helps.  Audiences over here are really incredible.  It's amazing how you can tell if an audience is actually listening to the music being played, and they really do over here.  

I met a guy after who said he only ever listens to one tape, and we had two songs on it.  He showed me his walkman, and the tape looked quite old; it was that sort of beige plastic color that cheap blanks used to come in.  I was honored to make it on his singular tape, being that space was clearly limited on that thing.  I wonder what else was on it?

Wed 25th Feb @ The Cockpit, Leeds

Pessimism had us convinced that no one was gonna show up to see us in Leeds, so we hid in the dressing room until about 10 minutes before the show.  When we left to bring our guitars on stage, we were surprised to see a full room.  So, thanks for that, Leeds.  Our friends from Brooklyn, Apache Beat and Kyte, an English band, are on this tour with us.  They're a sweet bunch of people, for sure.  

After the show, we drove two hours to another Travelodge.  I used to hate them, but I think I'm starting to like my nights in these places.  Is that strange?

Thurs 26th Feb @ Cargo, London

Woke up and set off around 6am.  I used to go to bed at 6am.  What happened?  First stop was a 6music session for the undeniably dapper George Lamb. Nice style! Beautiful suit, silk turtle neck– he’s a very well-put together individual, especially considering he’s on radio.  He asked us lots of important questions, like what sort of sandwiches we like to make.  Alley panicked and said "sardine", which was interesting.  Alley's more of a refried beans on toast kind of lady.

The Cargo show in the evening was so good, I was really happy with it, although it seemed like it might've been really quiet.  A few people shouted for the engineer to turn it up, and I had to agree.  I'd been telling him to blast it all thru soundcheck, but I guess he never did.  And yet another really packed room.

We used to think the people just standing there were bored, because there is always a few people dancing like crazy shaman, but now we realize they're just taking it all in, which is nice.  I think I do the same thing at shows.  I've completely forgotten my body and dropped my drink at a few amazing shows.  I remember Spiritualized in particular having that effect a few times, and I hope that we could have the same effect.

After Cargo we set out to find a bar to have another drink in, but the only place we could find open near the venue was a strip club.  Some guy leaving the place took one look at us and said “You don’t want to go in there, I’d go to Brown’s instead”.  So we went to Browns, thinking it’d be a bar, but it turned out to be another strip club… needless to say, we went home. Late-night London’s a big mystery to us, so if anyone wants to let us know somewhere good to go after a gig, please get in touch.

Friday 27th Feb @ Night & Day, Manchester

This was the most amazing show of the tour, for sure.  It started off difficult and for reasons too long to go in to we turned up late when doors were opening at Night and Day. Didn’t even manage to soundcheck.  We went on stage apologizing, feeling really awkward at first.  That said, the audience was easily the best of the tour.  I broke a string in the first song, so did the entire set with only five.  SVIIB PUNX!!!  

We don’t do encores normally, but after we finished the set and went downstairs to the dressing room, the crowd stomping on the floor sounded really scary to us thru the ceiling.  The promoter came down to talk to us and said nobody was leaving, so we did another one.  Claudia had completely lost her voice at this point, and I asked if anybody knew the song and wanted to try singing it.  No takers, which is probably for the best, right?

Strangely, after the show, somebody called the bar and asked for me.  Even stranger, the bartender came and got me and said I had a phone call.  What? So weird.  Of course, I had to take it.  It turns out it was somebody telling me about an after-party.  Why didn't I ever think of that?  How many times when I was younger could I have just called up some club when Blur or Sonic Youth was playing and asked the band out for a drink?  

Sunday 1st March  @ Audio, Brighton

We saw Nick Cave on the pier in the afternoon!  This was cosmic, for sure,  because the first time I came to London, when I was 18 or 19, I saw Nick Cave at Camden Market. Nice Trajectory, Mr. Cave.

Back to Sunday. We were doing a photoshoot for an Italian magazine, and we saw Nick Cave again.  If anybody reads this that was there, I can assure you that it was not our idea for the photographer to try and shoot him from a distance paparazzi style, and I sincerely apologize for any awkwardness caused by this.

As for the gig, well Nick Cave didn’t show up.  Although I was in a Fish and Chip-induced coma from dinner, the show felt great. We managed to get a fairly decent sound out of the PA at Audio, which is no easy task.   It was a slightly sad night too as it was the last night of the UK tour and we had to say good bye to Apache Beat and Kyte.  One of those weird end of tour moments when you say bye to everybody over and over again after exchanging email addresses.  I wish I was better at keeping in touch with people...

We always make an attempt to chat with some people after our shows.  I remember one woman in particular, who said she hadn’t been to a gig for a while, but was so excited about our show.  She mentioned that she used to love Sisters of Mercy when she was younger, which is interesting because we’re just starting to realize that there’s a pretty strong Goth contingency coming to our shows.  Coincidentally, we're also starting to realize that we might be Goths, too, since a few days ago it came to light that all three of us know the words to a few Peter Murphy songs.  And here I was thinking that we knew each other so well...

Anyways, that was a lot to think about as we exited Brighton, on our way to Paris to start the next stage of our European tour.  Goodbye Costa.  Goodbye Travelodge. Goodbye Boots.

School of Seven Bells live dates:
 
12 Mar Flex,Vienna, Austria
13 Mar Atomic Café, Munich, Germany
14 Mar La Casa, Milan, Italy

SXSW:
18 Mar Buffalo Billiards (KCRW Night Showcase) - Midnight
19 Mar Mohawk (Rhapsody Daytime Party) - 1:30pm
20 Mar Emo's (Pitchfork/Windish Agency Party) - 3pm
20 Mar Radio Room (Mojo presents Ghostly International/Full Time Hobby Showcase) - 10pm
21 Mar Urban Outfitters - 5pm
 
Bat For Lashes support dates
7 Apr The Ritz, Manchester
8 Apr Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow, Scotland
9 Apr Stage 2, Northumbria University, Newcastle
11 Apr Metropolitan University, Leeds
12 Apr Birmingham Town Hall
13 Apr The Regal, Oxford
15 Apr Anson Rooms, Bristol
16 Apr Brighton Corn Exchange, Brighton
17 Apr Sheperds Bush Empire, London
19 Apr Shepherds Bush Empire,  London
 
23 Apr The Gaelic , Sydney
24 Apr The Zoo, Brisbane
24 Apr The Zoo, Brisbane
25 Apr The Corner , Melbourne
 
White Lies support dates
3 May Leeds Metropolitan University
4 May Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow
5 May Manchester Academy, Manchester
7 May Heaven, London
8 May Heaven, London
 
10 May All Tomorrow’s Parties, Minehead
12 May Arts Centre, Norwich
13 May Harley, Sheffield
14 May ULU, London
15 May The Rainbow, Birmingham