You might think life on the road for a touring band is all about trashing hotel rooms and licking the proverbial disco ball. This new video from Reptaliens for their track “Venetian Blinds,” off the band’s upcoming LP VALIS out on April 26th via Captured Tracks, proves those steroetypes are true, and so much more! Ok, in all seriousness, “Venetian Blinds” isn’t an indie rock update of Motley Crue’s new biopic “The Dirt”–or is it?
Culling together footage from the first leg of their 2019 US tour earlier this year, including a stop at SXSW for a slew of shows, the visuals depict the band’s genuine chemistry as well as the communal experience that is touring. However, lyrically, “Venetian Blinds” is an exploration of retreat from the requirements of the world. The band explains:
“…”Venetian Blinds” touches on a lot of themes of isolation and personal space. Bambi sings of turning off her phone and sleeping for days, and even the title alludes to the metaphor of closing the blinds to the world. However, for the video, we went in a completely different direction and chose to compile a bunch of tour footage we have collected over the last few weeks. On the road, we are never alone and all conversations, actions, and decisions exist only within the social unit. The two situations, isolation vs the permanent group mentality, cohesively exist within the world of the touring musician. We are always together but only in our own world. Best friends but strangers in strange lands. Wholly linked yet separated from the rest.”
You can find a list of Reptaliens’ upcoming tour dates, including a stop tomorrow in Boise for the Treefort Music Festival, after the YouTube embed below…
Reptaliens 2019 US Tour:
03-22 – 03-24 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Festival
04-05 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live *
04-06 – Dallas, TX – Canton Hall *
04-07 – Austin, TC – Mohawk *
04-09 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee
04-10 – San Diego, CA – Observatory *
04-23 – San Francisco – Regency Ballroom *
04-25 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom *
04-26 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret *
04-27 – Seattle, WA – Showbox *
04-29 – Salt Lake City, UT – Complex *
04-30 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theater *
05-02 – Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall *
05-03 – Detroit, MI – Majestic *
05-04 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theater *
05-05 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel *
05-07 – Worcester, MA – Palladium *
05-08 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom *
05-09 – New Haven, CT – College St. Music Hall *
05-10 – Philadelphia, PA – TLA *
05-11 – Norfolk, VA – Norva *
05-12 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live *
* with Turnstile and Turnover
