Saturn must be in a once-in-a-lifetime alignment with Mars or something, because Jeff Mangum—the Santa Claus-Jesus-Bigfoot hybrid of acoustic indie rock—has made himself manifest and announced that he will, in fact, be going on tour. The frontman of Neutral Milk Hotel will begin his trek on Jan. 9 in Buffalo, New York, making his way around the country via performances at a number of noticeably smaller venues.
While Mangum has been notorious for his reclusiveness (the press release for the tour emphatically clarifies that he "does not do interviews and photos are prohibited at the shows"), he has been performing fairly consistently ever since resurfacing in summer 2011. And although a post on the Neutral Milk Hotel website reportedly called the tour the performer's "last U.S. acoustic tour," the site has presumably been revised since, because the "last" part has now been removed. So, there may yet be hope that Mangum plans on sticking around for a lot longer—but don't say anything, just in case that would jinx it.
Portions of the proceeds from Mangun's tour will be donated to Children of the Blue Sky, a charity that places orphaned Mongolian children with foster families. Dates are below.
Jan. 9—Asbury Hall at Babeville—Buffalo, New York
Jan. 10—Carnegie Music Hall—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan. 11—Ohio City Masonic Temple—Cleveland, Ohio
Jan. 12—Redford Theatre—Detroit, Michigan
Jan. 14—Southern Theatre—Columbus, Ohio
Jan. 15—Buskirk-Chumley—Bloomington, Indiana
Jan. 16—Sheldon Concert Hall—St. Louis, Missouri
Jan. 18—Liberty Hall—Lawrence, Kansas
Jan. 19—ACM at UCO – Performance Lab—Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Jan. 20—Majestic Theater—Dallas Texas
Jan. 21—Theater at the Wortham Center—Houston, Texas
Jan. 23—One Eyed Jacks—New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan. 24—The Moon—Tallahassee, Florida
Jan. 25—Florida Theater—Gainesville, Florida
Jan. 26—The Beacham—Orlando, Florida
Jan. 28—Sky City—Augusta, Georgia
Jan. 29—Charleston Music Hall—Charleston, South Carolina
Jan. 30—Brooklyn Arts Center at St. Andrews—Wilmington, North Carolina
Jan. 31—Neighborhood Theatre—Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb. 1—Bijou Theatre—Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb. 2—The Grey Eagle—Asheville, North Carolina
Feb. 4—Jefferson Theater—Charlottesville, Virginia
Feb. 5—Dupont Theatre—Wilmington, Delaware
Feb. 6—Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center—York, Pennsylvania
Feb. 8—The Great Hall in Union Station—Hartford, Connecticut
Feb. 9—State Theater—Portland, Maine
Feb. 10—Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel—Providence, Rhode Island
Feb. 13—State Theatre—Ithaca, New York
Feb. 14—Hamilton College Chapel—Clinton, New York
Feb. 15—Barvadon Opera House—Poughkeepsie, New York
Feb. 16—MASS MoCA—North Adams, Massachusetts