Photos by Kathryn Yu

See, now this is how you do a record release show– even if the release of the record in question is still nearly a month off. Shearwater pulled out all the stops for last night’s gig at New York City’s Florence Gould Hall at the French Institute, showing off their soon-to-alight Rook with a little help from the string quartet, trumpeters, woodwind players, and harpist featured on the album.

Even the folks behind Rook’s rather eerie cover art, Kahn & Selesnick, turned out to provide projections. Rook arrives June 3 on Matador, and Shearwater will play one more lavish album showcase in their hometown of Austin on May 29, plus plenty more shows before and after that.

Last night also saw a rare appearance from a solo Michael Gira, who’s calmed down just a wee bit since his days fronting Swans.

Shearwater

Michael Gira

Shearwater

Michael Gira

Shearwater:

05-07 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse $
05-09 Boston, MA - Paradise *
05-10 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rosa *
05-11 Toronto, Ontario - Lee’s Palace *
05-12 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle *
05-13 Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry *
05-14 Fargo, ND - Aquarium %
05-16 Seattle, WA - Neumos *
05-17 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard’s on Richards *
05-18 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge *
05-19 San Francisco, CA - The Independent *
05-20 West Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour *
05-29 Austin, TX - The Parish (performing Rook)
06-13 Atlanta, GA - Earl
06-14 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
06-15 Washington, DC - Black Cat +
06-17 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s ^
06-19 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg #
06-21 Danbury, CT - Heirloom Arts Theatre #
06-22 Montreal, Quebec - Lambi #
06-24 Chicago, IL - The Mansion #
06-27 Fort Worth, TX - Lola’s
06-28 Austin, TX - Mohawk

$ with Jennifer O’Connor
* with Clinic
% with Heavenly States, Poison Control Center
+ with Cryptacize
^ with Centro-Matic
# with Frog Eyes, Evangelicals