Metropolitan, Speedwell Launch East Coast Tour
Catherine Lewis reports:
Washington DC's Metropolitan and Speedwell are taking their immediate surroundings by storm this November,
in support of two new releases: Metropolitan's Down For You Is Up (Crank Automotive) and Speedwell's
My Life Is a Series of Vacations EP (Ignition). The two-week tour starts out with a night at DC's
month-long arts event Art-O-Matic (which recently took over an abandoned building in DC, allowing artists
and musicians free reign to showcase their work), then travels slightly south, including a show in
Mississippi with GoGoGo Airheart.
For a band that's been around since 1996, Speedwell have amassed little more than a laundry list of "opened
for ____" credits. The band is planning a full-length for 2003, and lead singer Meredith Bragg is
contributing a solo cover for Ignition's upcoming Shudder to Think tribute.
"Garage rock" trio Metropolitan is promoting their second album, Down for You is Up, which was
recorded last year at Inner Ear Studios by Chad Clark (Fugazi, Smart Went Crazy). Loyal Pitchfork readers
might recall their recently completed mini-tour included a coveted Fashion Show gig, which, according to
guitarist John Masters, "had several models grinding up against one another in a drunken frenzy." With
crazy shit like that going down, Iggy's legacy could be in jeopardy! Check the dates for this Battle Of
The Crossover Bands:
11-08 Washington, DC - Art-O-Matic w/ Charming
11-09 Charlottesville, VA - University of Virginia
11-10 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 w/ Disband
11-12 Jackson, MS - Martin's Lounge w/ GoGoGo Airheart
11-13 Gainesville, FL - Ark Warehouse
11-14 Raleigh, NC - King's Barcade w/ the AM
11-15 Seneca, SC - WSBF Hunting Lodge
11-16 Greensboro, NC - CornDale House w/ Disband
11-17 Blacksburg, VA - T.B.A. w/ the Fatales
11-22 Richmond, VA - 929 Cafe (Metropolitan only)
11-23 Williamsburg, VA - Meridian (Metropolitan only) w/ the Cassettes
.: Pitchfork News: D.C.'s
Metropolitan Rock East Coast, Fashion Show
.: Metropolitan:
http://www.metropolitansound.com
.: Speedwell:
http://www.speedwellrockmusic.com
.: Crank Automotive:
http://www.ignitiononline.co.uk/label
.: Art-O-Matic: http://www.artomatic.org
.: Originally published: 07 November 2002
.: Items mentioned above on Amazon.com:
Down For You Is Up (Metropolitan, 2002);
My Life Is a Series of Vacations (Speedwell, 2002).
