YARD DOGS ROAD SHOW NEW EUROPEAN TOUR 2008

YARD DOGS ROAD SHOW (USA)

Exclusive Booking for Europe (New European Tour after the 2007 sucess)

TOUR: June 2008

The Subtle and the Absurd

The Yard Dogs Road Show is a hobo cabaret, a living patchwork of vaudeville and rock and roll. In the enchanting land of stage show entertainment theirs is both pleasant and formidable terrain. They require a sensitivity to the subtle and the absurd. They lead the modern hobohemian on a visual and sonic journey through part of history that may or may not have existed - followed by an ambitious return to the emotional challenges of our punch-drunk contemporary world. It's a true story on stage: sword swallowers, dancing dolls, fire eaters and sunset hobo poetry - all animated by the live sounds of the Yard Dogs cartoon heavy band. Yard Dogs Road Show is pure visual and sonic voodoo.

Born from the saloon vaudeville that toured the Wild West in the late 1800's and slammed into the underworld of modern American road culture. The Yard Dogs create a timeless space for the union of ancient theatrical alchemy and modern pop culture.

The Before Now and How Did

There is some speculation as to the origin of all this. Not for the want of mystery but for the difficulty in translating an experience that was navigated by the overly-romantic and sleep deprived. Shows came and went leaving very little time to fully comprehend what was going on. Some say the carnival-inspired performance art of the Yard Dogs Road Show began as a three piece jug band performing in road houses and dance halls and at informal gatherings, including Oregon's modern day acid tests with Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters. Some say they traveled in a 1967 Ford Galaxy 500 and the evolution of their show revealed itself in the flames of a campfire on Dog Creek Road: dancing dolls with feather fans, an hombre in silver sunglasses eating fire, a dreamy guitar boy with golden locks, a bearded swami capable of conjuring the supernatural . Others say this story is complete hogwash and it was actually the brainchild of a unemployed "cowboy" and his faithful muse - transient artists with an incredible talent for brainstorming impossible ideas while under the influence of poppy tea and wishful thinking. By chance these conversations were overheard by an ambitious young poet who decided to actualize them for the sake of all impossible dreams everywhere. When the three finally immerged from their stupor they realized that they were in show business. An almost homeless lifestyle sprinkled with moments of outstanding glory and recognition. But mostly uncertain days. The only thing they could rely on was the fact that there would always be glitter under their fingernails and confetti in their bed. Truly a life of horseshit and confetti.

Either way, that was eight years ago, and the unlikely troupe of gypsies has been performing on stages ever since.

The Bread and Butter

In an historical sense we are a family run show. We endeavor to operate a values based entertainment business that sustains itself on pure democracy and creative collaboration. The Yard Dogs are a naturally occurring phenomenon - favored by those seeking an unsullied entertainment experience. We are continually working towards a refinement of showmanship and musicianship while simultaneously finding creative ways to embrace our community and the forever present unexpected.

The Untold and Who Knows

We have many plans that require many miles. Some say the show will settle down, maybe in your town - in a small theater or even under canvas - just long enough to flatten the grass and feed the baby. Whatever the future holds we want you to be there, dressed in your finest masquerade. Now is the time to alter the course of our journey and we hope that you will be there to witness the charade.

The Yard Dogs



American Press:

"The Yard Dogs offer much more than entertainment. They peddle adventure and soulful abandon ... a wild electrifying sense of freedom ... written by the light of campfires with the hand of wine, music, lust and dust." SF Weekly


"Their flamboyant, gritty-edged fusion of circus, cabaret, saloon act, blues and rock 'n' roll is a splendid, grubbily glamorous extravaganza. Like a carnival ride, the Yard Dogs spin madly from ecstatic moment to ecstatic moment" Performer Magazine


"We only SUPER like it when it's superior. And there ain't nothing talentless-tities about the classy, swinging ballyhoo that is the Yard Dogs Road Show." Baltimore City Paper





AVAILABLE BOOKING DATES FOR EUROPE: JUNE 2008



Feel free to ask us for any complementary information, or if you want us to send you the DVD of the show and a press kit.

AVAILABLE AT WOMEX ALSO:
PROMO DVD FROM 2007 SHOWS AT PORTUGAL

• article submitted by: Ricardo Simões, Smog - Produções Culturais