Jeff Mangum's Tour Kicks Off Today

Sasha Barr

Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum launches his first national tour since 1998 today. Unfortunately, none of the shows are in St. Louis -- he'll play a pair at the Athenaeum Theater in Chicago on February 6 and 7. Still, his resurrection has not gone unnoticed in these parts. In this week's feature, Mike Appelstein interviews attendees and fellow performers from NMH's three St. Louis shows and one in Columbia.

The biggest takeaway from the feature is how much of the band's legacy was formed post-mortem. Those who were there saw good shows but not levitations into the face of God. Much of the detail recounted has to do with logistics or even the other bands on the bill. Says Korry Keeker, formerly of KCOU (88.1 FM) in Columbia, "I guess I always think of him more as an awkward, ramshackle twee-hobo who had an extended passage of clarity in which he made his bizarre characters somehow universal and resonant."

Ghost: An Oral History of Neutral Milk Hotel in St. Louis

Jeff Mangum Tour 2011

Jan 18 New Haven, CT Shubert Theater On Sale Now
Jan 20 Brooklyn, NY Gilman Opera House at Brooklyn Academy of Music SOLD OUT
Jan 20 Brooklyn, NY Gilman Opera House at Brooklyn Academy of Music SOLD OUT
Jan 25 Philadelphia, PA Irvine Auditorium at University of Pennsylvania SOLD OUT
Jan 27 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre SOLD OUT
Jan 28 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre SOLD OUT
Jan 30 Chapel Hill, NC Memorial Hall at University of North Carolina SOLD OUT
Feb 01 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse SOLD OUT
Feb 04 Minneapolis, MN State Theatre NEW VENUE
Feb 06 Chicago, IL Athenaeum Theater SOLD OUT
Feb 07 Chicago, IL Athenaeum Theater SOLD OUT
Feb 08 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater SOLD OUT
Feb 10 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club SOLD OUT
Feb 11 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club SOLD OUT
Mar 07 Dublin, IRE Vicar Street SOLD OUT
Mar 09 - Mar 11 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow's Parties Curated By Jeff Mangum
Mar 13 London, UK Union Chapel SOLD OUT
Mar 14 London, UK Union Chapel SOLD OUT
Apr 10 Oakland, CA Fox Theater NEW
Apr 14 Indio, CA Coachella NEW
Apr 16 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre NEW
Apr 17 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre NEW
Apr 18 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom NEW
Apr 19 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom NEW
Apr 21 Indio, CA Coachella NEW

Note: If anyone has or can find video of any of the St. Louis shows, please let us know in the comments.