Four Years Later, Animal Collective Returns to the Stage—'Feels' Album Gets Full Live Treatment in NY and LA
This October in New York and Los Angeles, Animal Collective will play their 2005 record "Feels" from start to finish, reuniting on stage for the first time in four years. Original loops and a period minidisc player were unearthed by the band in an effort to faithfully recreate the album's vintage sound.
Animal Collective has to relearn songs they wrote 21 years ago, which means tracking down the original loop materials, effects pedals, and even a working minidisc player.
The experimental band, which rose to prominence in Brooklyn but hails from Baltimore, has announced they'll perform their 2005 album "Feels" in full this October—their first time on stage together in four years. The New York show is set for October 22 at Knockdown Center in Queens, with the LA date following on October 24 at The Fonda Theatre.
Presale tickets go on sale Thursday, September 10 at 10am local time through artist and local outlets, with general public sale starting Friday, September 11 at 10am.
In a September 8 press release, the band looked back on what led to these shows: when the 20th anniversary reissue of "Feels" came out last year, they were asked why they'd never performed the album live. "That's a good question, and honestly, we'd never really thought about it," the statement read. The members had simply grown used to their schedules not aligning, until the reissue brought the question to the surface.
The band went on to describe the preparation involved in coming back together: "We could relearn the album," the statement quoted the band as saying, "dig up the old loops, tunings, effects pedals, and even a working minidisc player to capture that original sound." The band also acknowledged that limiting the shows to just New York and LA would leave many fans unable to attend. "We genuinely wish everyone who wants to see it could, and we're sorry we can't make that happen," the statement read, adding that this reunion window is a short one, and whether it continues beyond these dates remains to be seen.
