Ladies and gentlemen, on Sunday, September 8, the 9:30 Club will be floating in space. Long-running UK rockers Spiritualized will be in the house, bringing you the psychedelic gospel according to Jason Pierce.
Ladies and gentlemen, on Sunday, September 8, the 9:30 Club will be floating in space. Long-running UK rockers Spiritualized will be in the house, bringing you the psychedelic gospel according to Jason Pierce. The band’s frontman, chief songwriter, and only constant member, Pierce has been blowing minds with gorgeous walls of guitar feedback since his days as a member of pioneering experimental indie group Spacemen 3. Spiritualized was formed over two decades ago, when relations between Pierce and fellow Spacemen 3 guitarist Pete “Sonic Boom” Kember broke down, and the man sometimes known as J. Spaceman has been mixing experimental feedback drones with influences from 60s garage rock, Motown girl groups, and gospel choirs ever since. The latest album by Spiritualized, Sweet Heart Sweet Light, was released in spring 2012, and was almost titled Huh? in reference to the soporific effects of prescription medication for liver disease that Pierce was taking at the time. Despite what you might expect from that anecdote, the album’s songs were not fuzzy and dulled-out but rocked with an urgency not seen from Spiritualized in a long time. This is a far more uplifting sound than the band had on 2008’s Songs In A & E (a pun based on the fact that British emergency rooms are called Accident & Emergency). Now that the mental haze has cleared, Pierce and company are prepared to rock Washington DC on September 8, and all you psychedelic space warriors owe it to yourselves to be there.
WHAT: Spiritualized Launches Into Space At 9:30 Club
WHO: Spiritualized, Guy Blakeslee
WHERE: 9:30 Club, 815 V St NW, Washington DC
WHEN: Sunday, September 8, Doors open at 7 PM
ADMISSION: $25–advance tickets available HERE
Best of all, you could go see this show for free! You know the drill by now (I hope). Punchtab is below, you’ve got until 5 PM on Monday to enter, so hit it up!
Although Sweet Heart, Sweet Light has been out for over a year, Spiritualized just released a new video for album track “I Am What I Am” earlier this month. Starring Rory Culkin, the video is a bleak travelogue taking in the sights around a dead-end rural town, culminating in a surprising and incredibly grim ending. Don’t expect the video to cheer you up, by any means, but it is a riveting piece of filmmaking, soundtracked by one of the best songs on Sweet Heart, Sweet Light, so it’s well worth your time.
