Pitchfork

The Pitchfork office is located in the same building as the Logan Square Auditorium, a concert venue in Chicago. In fact, we're directly underneath the stage, one floor below. Sometimes, when loud bands soundcheck while we're working, the walls literally start shaking.

Well, we'd better take an office vacation on the afternoon of March 1, when Mogwai kick off their North American tour right above our heads. The trek is in support of their fifth album, Mr. Beast, due March 7 on Matador (it's out a day earlier on PIAS in the UK). It follows a string of January dates in Ireland, Russia, and Japan, as well as a residency at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts.

We pity the accountant's office next door:

01-07 Dublin, Ireland - Temple Bar Music Centre *
01-08 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Spring and Airbrake *
01-10 London, England - ICA ^
01-11 London, England - ICA &
01-12 London, England - ICA @
01-13 London, England - ICA *
01-14 London, England - ICA $
01-21 Moscow, Russia - Apelsin
01-24 Tokyo, Japan - Unit ~
01-25 Tokyo, Japan - Unit #
03-01 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium %
03-02 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center for the Arts %
03-03 Lexington, KY - The Dame %
03-04 Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom %
03-06 New York, NY - Avalon %
03-07 Baltimore, MD - Sonar %
03-08 Chapel Hill, NC - Cat's Cradle %
03-09 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel %
03-10 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge %
03-11 Atlanta, GA - Whirly Ball Atlanta %
03-12 Atlanta, GA - Whirly Ball Atlanta %
03-14 Houston, TX - Numbers %+
03-15 Austin, TX - Stubb's (Matador SXSW Showcase) =

^ with Errors
^ with Part Chimp vs. Alexander Tucker, DJ Keith Cameron
& with Uncle John and Whitelock, DJ Dr Kiko
@ with Gruff Rhys, DJ Dr Kiko
$ with Electric Wizard, DJ Gary Aspden
~ with Melt-Banana
# with Afrirampo
% with Growing
+ with Torche
= with Belle and Sebastian, Cat Power

Mr. Beast's first single, "Friend of the Night", will be released on January 30 on PIAS, but it's streaming right now on Mogwai's MySpace page. Ah, MySpace. Where would we be without it?

* Pitchfork Review: Mogwai: Government Commissions: BBC Sessions, 1996-2003
* Pitchfork News: Mogwai Reveal Mr. Beast Tracklist
* Matador: http://www.matadorrecords.com/