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- Benjamin Booker at Gasparilla Music Festival 2014
We always knew there was something special about singer, songwriter and guitarist Benjamin Booker. Hell, we gave Booker & Norton 'Best New Band' honors in last year's Best of the Bay issue, only a few months before the twosome re-located to New Orleans, started recording a full-length album with producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray For The Riff Raff), and made the executive decision to lose 'Norton' from the name (but not the lineup) and give all name recognition duties (and songwriting credits?) to Benjamin Booker. And not too long after returning to town to play the third annual Gasparilla Music Festival, he inked an official deal with ATO (USA) / Rough Trade (Europe) and is due to release said album this fall.
In the meantime, Booker along with Norton on drums and a third player, Alex Spoto, will be performing on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight...
Those of us Bay area folks lucky enough to have experienced the soulful driving rock and greasy punk-garage blues in a live setting — Booker howling or crooning his husky-voiced serenades, strumming or thrashing guitar, Norton pounding and crashing or tapping and grooving rhythms — count ourselves lucky. And now the rest of the country will be introduced to Booker's particular brand of subdued yet dynamic magnetism when he hits Letterman; tune in (or set your DVR to record) and support a native getting some national shine.
In the meantime, check out "Violent Shivers" below; the song will be included with another, "Spoon Out My Eyeballs," on a 7" release due out May 9. Finally, if you're looking for a reason to skip town for a few days and really want to show Booker some love, he opens some dates for Jack White (yes that Jack White) this summer. Full tour itinerary after the video...
Benjamin Booker 2014 Tour Dates
5/2 ** — New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theater
5/3 ** — New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theater
5/11 — Atlanta, GA Shaky Knees Festival Masquerade Music Park & Old 4th Ward Park
5/13 — Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
5/14 — Ottobar, Baltimore, MD
5/18 — Brighton, UK @ The Green Door Store
5/20 — London, UK @ Old Blue Last
5/21 — Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen
5/24 — Paris, France, Mécanique Ondulatoire
5/27 — Hamburg, Germany, Molotow Exil w/Amazing Snakeheads
5/29 — Holland Park, Amsterdam, Paradiso
6/14 ^ — Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
6/17 ^ — New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
6/18 ^ — Boston, MA @ Sinclair
6/24 ^ — Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
7/18-20 — Louisville, KY Forecastle Festival Louisville Waterfront Park
7/20 ^^ — St. Louis, MO @ Fox Theatre
7/21 ^^ — Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom
7/23 ^^ — Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
7/24 ^^ — Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
7/26 — Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI
7/27 ^^ — Station AE Outdoors, Pittsburgh, PA
7/28 ^^ — Detroit, MI @ The Fox Theatre
7/30 ^^ — Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre
7/31 ^^ — Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
8/2 — Chicago, IL Lollapalooza Grant Park
**supporting Drive-By Truckers
^ supporting Courtney Barnett
^^ supporting Jack White
