Stars have aligned – finally – and East Coast will meet West in a collision of pure, unadulterated, ecstatic rock when Brooklyn-born ENDLESS BOOGIE return to our shores in April with special guests, acclaimed Oakland-formed outfit HOWLIN RAIN.
ENDLESS BOOGIE will be coming for the 4th or 5th time (no one is sure, and, as the saying goes, if you can remember an ENDLESS BOOGIE tour you weren’t really there); HOWLIN RAIN, who are the creation of Comets On Fire main man and guitarist Ethan Miller, will be visiting for the first time.
ENDLESS BOOGIE & HOWLIN RAIN APRIL 2022
THU 14 – THE TOTE, MELBOURNE
WED 20 – MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE (YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT!)
THU 21 – THE ZOO, BRISBANE
FRI 22 – ELTHAN HOTEL, NSW
MON 25 – CROWBAR, SYDNEY
ENDLESS BOOGIE & HOWLIN RAIN ARE BOTH ALSO PLAYING BOOGIE FESTIVAL
APRIL 15-17 IN TALLAROOK, VIC
ENDLESS BOOGIE take their name from John Lee Hooker’s 1971 LP, which should give you some idea about their minimalist approach and single-minded drive. Their ethos is written clearly in their name and reflected in their practice; ENDLESS BOOGIE worship the jam and they throw themselves to the bluesy, heavy-psych abyss of beautiful spontaneity and swagger. A beautiful spontaneity that reflects their love of the likes of Can and the Stooges, and a swagger that reflects their love of Australian pioneers like Lobby Loyde and the Coloured Balls, and Sunbury-era Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs.
Formed in 1997 by a group of like-minded Matador Records employees and legendary record dealer/collector Paul “Top Dollar” Major, the band played its first show four years later opening for fellow Matador alumni and Coloured Balls fan Stephen Malkmus of Pavement. They’ve never been in a hurry; their first studio album was 2008’s Focus Level. Fifth and latest studio album proper Admonitions was a 3RRR Album of the Week in December last year.
HOWLIN RAIN’s arrival will mark the first time that Ethan Miller plays Australia since Comets on Fire lit up the Meredith sky with an unforgettable appearance at Golden Plains in 2007. HOWLIN RAIN already existed at that point; Miller formed the group in 2004. Initially an attempt to do something more rustic, the group found it hard to tone things down; the result was an electrifying sound that mixed high energy with soulful harmony. Rick Rubin signed them to American Recordings and decided to make the Great 21st Century West Coast Rock Album with them. They achieved that – their third album The Russian Wilds is both breathtakingly audacious and accomplished, but the slow, painstaking work with Rubin broke the band, and Miller eventually had to start a-fresh.
Subsequent studio albums, 2018’s The Alligator Bride and last year’s The Dharma Wheel – a six-track, 52-minute dive into a joyous fantasy realm of exaggerated present featuring Bob Dylan’s legendary violinist Scarlett Rivera – have seen the band enjoy spontaneity; Miller describes the music the group is currently making as “high energy, good-times adventure music, driving the hippie bus, shirtless and stoned, up for four days straight, and extremely fuzzy around the edges.” Always looking for that good time, HOWLIN RAIN have just released a new single featuring two Mott The Hoople covers and lead vocals from The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson.
ENDLESS BOOGIE & HOWLIN RAIN. A super wham bam thank you jam for the ages.