Pitchfork

Say what you will about the Bravery, but at least they aren't worried about being blown off the stage by clearly superior opening acts. Silly kids. The spiky-haired synth-poppers spent the summer headlining over Hard-Fi's first North American shows, they just wrapped up a West Coast tour with VHS or Beta, and starting Sunday night, they will dare to share the stage with the (International) Noise Conspiracy, the finest socialist rock-garage-punk cadre in Sweden. At least Sly Stone had the good sense (or the heroin-fueled paranoia) to boot the Wailers off his 1972 tour when Bob Marley starting showing him up every night. Jeez, even the careerists don't know how to play the game these days.

But enough shooting fashionista fish in a barrel. This is about the (International) Noise Conspiracy, who will wrap up their Bravery dates in Boston on October 13 and then join up with fellow Scandinavians Turbonegro the very next night in L.A. The tour wraps up at the Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavik, Iceland on October 22, where they'll freeze alongside Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Annie, Junior Senior, the Fiery Furnaces, the Perceptionists, Architecture in Helsinki, Babyshambles, Ratatat and many more.

That's a hard slog, but it's all in the name of love-- specifically Armed Love, the Rick Rubin-produced full-length that will finally hit U.S. punters this Tuesday, Oct 4, more than a year after its release overseas. If you haven't already, erm, found the record somewhere, you can hear the whole thing in streaming audio on the band's web site, or selections from it live on stage.

Whether you use the streaming-audio player or attend the live show, expect T(I)NC to accompany the music with militant verbal jeremiads that pin monopoly capitalism to the floor and deliver a few well-aimed kicks to its tender, fleshy parts. Because if they don't, who will? A band that's not on a major label and doesn't play Clear Channel shows? Ha, I scoff at you.

Capitalism stole my virginity:

10-02 Sauget, IL - Pop's *
10-03 Kansas City, MO - Beaumont Club *
10-04 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre *
10-05 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre *
10-06 Milwaukee, WI - The Rave *
10-08 Northfield, MN - Skoglund Athletic Center *
10-09 Decorah, IA - Regents Center *
10-11 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus *
10-12 Montreal, Quebec - Le Spectrum *
10-13 Boston, MA - Avalon Ballroom *
10-14 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon ^
10-15 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre ^
10-16 Anaheim, CA - House Of Blues ^
10-18 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore ^
10-19 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of Living Arts *
10-20 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom *
10-22 Reykjavik, Iceland - Iceland Airwaves Festival

* with the Bravery
^ with Turbonegro