Arcade Fire Announce U.S. Dates

After a few years of letting bloggers and famous admirers do the talking, it seems as though Arcade Fire has taken back the talking stick. The band recently announced the coming arrival of a new single, immediately followed by its actual release as a limited edition 12" last week. They also unveiled details of their new album, 'The Suburbs,' which will drop on August 3.

But now, the moment we've all been waiting for: On Tuesday, the band announced their first U.S. shows in three years. But wait, there's more -- Spoon will open at least four of the dates (New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and the Washington DC area). The other two shows announced at this time are Boston on August 1 and Nashville on August 9. The short run includes some pretty notable venues, including the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the Frank Gehry-designed Merriweather Post Pavilion in the Baltimore/Washington DC area and the holy grail of arenas, Madison Square Garden in New York.

The band also unveiled a pair of dates in their homeland of Canada at the intimate Theater Granada in Sherbrooke, Ontario (June 7 and 8). These dates are in addition to a slot at Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 8, international dates in July and European festivals in late August, including Leeds and Reading. The band will play additional Canadian dates sprinkled throughout the summer, including shows in Toronto and Montreal preceded by festival slots in Ottawa and Quebec in July.

We're hoping these new U.S. dates are just the tip of the iceberg. By all accounts it looks as though the spark has reignited and Arcade Fire are, once again, blazing.