As announced back in January, the D.C. post-hardcore band Jawbox will set out on their first tour in more than 20 years this summer. Consisting of 16 shows in June and July, the group’s An Impartial Overview run will see them visiting 12 U.S. cities, some for two nights. Ahead of the tour, Jawbox have released a mini doc made up of intimate practice footage.
Shot and edited by Seth Hurwitz, the black-and-white footage shows the band joking around, running through songs and discussing their arrangements in the basement of singer-guitarist J. Robbins’ Baltimore home.
The clip starts with Robbins suggesting that the band should just play little snippets of their songs at the shows, in keeping with the tour’s name. Drummer Zach Barocas cracks up at the suggestion.
The actual rehearsal footage shows bits and pieces of songs including “LS/MFT,” “Motorist” and “Savory” (“As featured on Beavis and Butt-Head,“ Robbins quips), all from 1994’s For Your Own Special Sweetheart; and “Iodine,” from 1997’s Jawbox. A whiteboard also lists a slew of other songs from throughout their catalog.
At one point, Robbins and bassist Kim Coletta discuss how a part of one song sounds like Joe Jackson’s 1982 New Wave hit “Steppin’ Out.” In a different section, Barocas explains that he only remembers the specific lyrics he sang along with while playing. As the video winds down, guitarist-vocalist Bill Barbot goes over a portion of the Sweetheart song “Breathe,” and the band plays a section of the track before the clip ends.
“In the last five years, every year we’ve been like, should we play shows?” bassist Kim Coletta told Rolling Stone in January. “And every year, it’s easy to put up some impediments to playing shows. … It was kind of like, this year made sense finally.”
No formal plans have been announced following the summer tour, but the band members have indicated that they’re open to playing more shows and possibly recording new music. An Impartial Overview kicks off in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 14th.
Jawbox Tour Dates
June 14, 15 – Cambridge, MA @ Sinclair
June 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
June 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
June 28, 29 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
July 9 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
July 10 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
July 12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
July 13, 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater
July 19 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
July 20 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
July 26 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
July 27, 28 – Chicago, IL @ Metro