Hello all from beautiful Seattle. (i think it's beautiful, we got here and it was already very dark outside so i'm going on my previous encounters with it)

We are still playing Los Angeles this upcoming week, on Tuesday November 10th BUT now it is going to be at the Echoplex.  I'm pretty sure that tickets are significantly cheaper at this venue, so it should work out reeeeeeeeeeeal nice.

we have been enjoying the tour so far and are looking forward to the next couple weeks on the road to these towns with their venues and their electricity.

see you soon perhaps,
ba

Fall 2009 Tour Dates: (note - there will be more announced soon, so stay tuned)

We somehow made it back to the USA.  The tour was great.  Want to read about it/see pictures of it/make a difference?

We're out there people.  Travelling.  Plugging in instruments.  Singing things. 

Europeans, we would like to meet up.

In the mean time, new posts are up at www.bishopallen.com

I'm not quite sure, but somehow we've made it back to New York.  When you are travelling in the van down a long stretch of highway in Austria or staying at a locked-in dorm room situation in Geneva, Switzerland, certain thoughts cross your mind.  Thoughts like "Are those bed bugs?" and also "Am I ever going to see New York again?".  Well the answer to the former seems to have been "no" and the answer to the latter is "yes, and it will be perfect weather and the city will welcome you home with arms as wide-stretched as new york is capable of opening them".

The Europe tour was great and we were all very surprised and grateful to find almost every single show full of supportive and fun crowds.  You never know what you're gonna get when heading to a city you don't play very often, let alone a country, so it was a surreal experience to see people that might not even speak a ton of English singing along to the words   It was great getting to talk to people, and i'm sure certain misconceptions and stereotypes i had about certain parts of the world are forever changed.   I was worried that we would tour-tank by the end, but the shows were so consistently fun that it really, overall, was a pretty easy trek.

Special thanks go out to everybody except for the dog at the Windmill in Brixton that urinated on the patrons below.  Bad dog, Bad dog!


Here are some pics of some of the crowds. I have about 1200 pictures to sift through for the last couple months of non-stop touring and once we get them arranged you will find photos here and at the official Flickr page we are setting up. The goal is to have them nicely organized, with more of a travelogue vibe to them. Little stories to go along with the photos and things like that. If you are reading this blog and are thinking "I only like words, not pictures! Why should i care about this?" well, hmmm, at least you should enjoy the fact that this explanation of our plans with the photos required me to use more words? Right?










Okay, I'm gonna go walk around Central Park and see a movie or something.  No, not Star Trek, something that relaxes me.

Thanks again for being alive.  be nice.  stay off the roof.
keith

Hey guys. I just wanted to post ticket links for the UK and last set of European shows, because, well, a lot of them are close to selling out and...I dunno...I'm supposed to?

Anyhow, here they are:

May 2 // Wein // Wuk
May 3 // Munchen // Feierwerk
May 5 // Ribeauville // a photo studio
May 6 // Manchester // Cafe Saki
May 7 // London// Barden's Boudoir
May 8 // Cardiff// CLWB
May 9 // Reading // Plan B @ Oakford
May 10 // London // Windmill

All right!

Hello myspace.commies,

It's hard to believe, but since that last post ("Harp Ye, Harp Ye") was written, much has changed.  In case you haven't heard, Bishop Allen have left the United States and, in a hope to gain more listeners all over the world, established ourselves as a European-based rock band.  In the last week we have morphed from an up-and-coming Netherlands blog band, to a Belgium indiepop supergroup and are currently testing the waters as a full-fledged German krautpoprock band.  So far, so good.  (Note:  We are secretly planning a return to our roots as a Brooklyn-based indie rock band sometime in mid-May)

Yes, we are about a week into our 20-something date European tour with our friend Andy/Electric Owls.  It has been a lot of fun.  This is the first time I have traveled to Europe with the band, and here are some things I have noticed in Europe:
- Most of the people I have met have been very nice and generous.  The venues are wonderful hosts.  They have free foods, chocolates and coca colas that we get to eat and drink.
-  A lot of caucasian males have dreadlocks.
-  The drives from city to city are very short in comparison to the United States.  Less van time = more sleep and wandering time.  Wonderful.
-  Toilets and bathrooms in general can be pretty strange/counterintuitive/confusing.
-  The Autobahn is fun
-  The van that we have is a European sprinter van with the word Fahrtwind on the side of it.  Laugh it up, people.
-  There isn't a lot of fireworks or excitement when you go from one country to another one.  Going from The Netherlands to Belgium to Germany was about as exciting as going from one town to another.  Buuuuut, still cool to have been in four countries in under a week.
-  Europeans often times speak in languages that are not English.

Highlights of the tour so far:
The best hotel we have stayed in so far, in my opinion, was in Amsterdam at the Backstage Hotel.  Really nice rooms, good view, easy walk to the venue (the amazing Paradiso), fresh fruit in the morning, etc.
The best venue so far, in my opinion, was in Groningen.  The venue, Vera, has an awesome history to it, the staff is very helpful, there is a great apartment attached to it where bands stay, good vibes in the room.
The best walk I have had so far, in my opinion, was in Ghent, Belgium.  Castles, cathedrals, cool streets, good cafe, on a rainy day was very peaceful.
The best song written on tour so far, in my opinion, was in Utrecht, Netherlands.  Our friend Andy from Electric Owls(with some help from Michael) wrote a new song about a red camera that is amazing.  Just wait til you hear it.
The best hostel we have stayed in so far, in my opinion, was in Hamburg.  Though, to be fair, it's the only hostel we have stayed in.  Late night drunks stumbling into your room!  Hard to beat. (unless you stay in a room where late night drunk don't stumble into your room, i suppose)
The best friends at any show so far, in my opinion, was in Berlin.  My friends Charles and Caitlin came and it was nice.  Berlin is as good as people make it out to be.
The best show so far, in my opinion, was last night's show in Cologne (Koln)at King Georg.  It was a great, tiny venue.  No stage.  Super hot, fun, sweaty.  It felt like we were playing a house party in the best way.
The best dinner we have had at a venue so far, in my opinion, was tonight in Gleis 22 (where I am typing this) the venue in Munster.  The lovely people at the venue gave us great salad, bread, pizza, soup.  Delicious

Those are the highlights, now here are some pics of some of the lowlifes.









Will post more pics soon.  Have a lot of good ones of the beautiful cities, people and buildings.  Seriously, Europe is a great place to be if you enjoy seeing beautiful nouns (which are capitalized in German).

We are all very excited to be here and are looking forward to the next few weeks of shows.  Onward march.
-keith

Hey computer users,

We are in the home of our friend Todd's parent's house.  It's a nice house. It's got wireless internet, plenty of couches, and two awesome dogs.  One of them looks like the Minnesota Timberwolves mascot, so I'm quite content right now

I am now going to use the blog to make a request.  I don't know what the odds of anybody out there being in a position to deliver, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right? Bishop Allen has always been into road-trip group crossword sessions.  Keeps the brain firing at a healthy pace.  Well on this tour we have been taken by a new puzzle: the cryptics in the back of issues of Harpers Magazine. Soooo, we have the two most recent issues of the mag, but are wondering if you happen to have any back issues of Harpers that you wouldn't mind donating to our band?  If you're coming to a show, or just wouldn't mind sending us some in the mail, I'm sure we could offer you something in return.  Let us know if you're going to bring us any to our upcoming shows and we will try to have a thank you note or a piece of pizza for you.  Anyways, I know its a long shot and I'm sure if I read an entry like this my first thought would be "Nerdy" and my second thought would be "Moochers", but I'm trying to be a less judgemental person in 2009.  Pay it forward.

Hope you're doing well.  hard to believe that there are only a few more shows left on this US tour.  It's been a great one and if you came to any of the shows, you should know how much we enjoyed your company.  Seriously, you're great.  A true champion.

Tomorrow is our last night with the Miniature Tigers, which is a huge bummer, but on a positive note I think Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band will meet back up with us, so people of Chicago, i know we've played in your city a few times in the last few months, but i guarantee that this will be the best show yet.  Especially if you bring us old issues of Harpers so we can solve the puzzles!

In conclusion, I actually had a nightmare about a cat last night,
Keith