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Bethlehem Casuals warm-up for forthcoming national tour with Leeds show
Psychedelic jazz-pop oddballs Bethlehem Casuals are warming up for a spring tour with a gig in Leeds this weekend.
Thursday, 13th February 2020, 8:30 am
The Manchester-based septet, who recently revealed plans for a barking-mad new concept record, 'The Tragedy of Street Dog', now look to let it off the leash at venues nationwide and will begin with a warm-up at Leeds' Brudenell Social Club on Saturday (February 15).
Their 14-date 'Tragedy of Street Dog Tour' will then see them take their electrifying live show round the country, including further gigs in Yorkshire at Sheffield's Peddler Night Market on March 6, York's Fulford Arms on March 8, Huddersfield's Northern Quarter on March 20 and Bradford's 1 in 12 Club on March 21.
Tickets for all shows can be found at https://www.songkick.com/artists/8702093-bethlehem-casuals/calendarSpeaking about what to expect from the upcoming tour, George from Bethlehem Casuals said: "Having sharpened our live show at festivals across Europe and live on BBC Radio 6, Bethlehem Casuals are back and this time we've got a story to tell.
Bethlehem Casuals.
"With the release of our new second album 'The Tragedy of Street Dog' just around the corner, the Casuals will be bringing a cocktail of tribal rhythms, psychedelic vocals and raucous noise to your doorstep. You'd be a fool to miss it."
Released on April 17, 'The Tragedy of Street Dog' tells the story of a house-pet-gone-rogue. Set in the band's own hometown, the story follows a canine protagonist 'Street Dog' as he embarks on a quest to rediscover the music of Manchester. Along his perilous journey, Street Dog visits some of the city's infamous haunts like Temple Bar, The Oxford Road and The Hacienda, and encounters treacherous foes like 'River Rat' and 'The Oki'.
Erudite and experimental, 'The Tragedy Of Street Dog'​ sees Bethlehem Casuals' sleazy, sultry and saxy brand of oddball pop truly come into its own. Mind-bending and musically adept in equal measure, it's one heck of a ride and a record that casts a fresh and fantastical light on whether a dog's life is all that bad after all…
'The Tragedy of Street Dog' was recorded at Giant Wafer Studios, Llanbadarn Fynydd in May 2019. All tracks on the album were engineered by Saam Jafarzadeh and Ashwin Menon, with mastering by Peter Fletcher.
With an eclectic sound that infuses a world of influences, heady grooves and tribal drum circles, the Casuals' have been dubbed by some as "urban rock styled DIY world music"; but it's of course open to interpretation.
Gaining momentum with every one of their wonderfully weird releases, they recently caught the ear of BBC 6Music tastemaker Marc Riley who invited them in for a riotous live session and praised them as: "All over the place in the best kind of way."
With word getting out fast, this summer the group embarked on a summer that was perhaps a little less relaxed than their namesake would usually allow. Invited to a slew of major festivals, the band hit up the stages of Bluedot to Kendal Calling, Moovin' to Manchester Jazz, and were even invited to make their Glastonbury debut. They also found the time to host their own biannual shindig! 'Keep It Casual Fest' to a sell-out capacity.
In Autumn 2019, the Casuals put their festival-tested live chops to the test and left jaws hanging at a series of packed-out headline shows on their 'Flaccid Passion' Tour.
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