Post by Alex Mulligan on Dec 31, 2015 4:52:59 GMT
Waxahatchee had played a handful of shows here and there in 2011, but this massive 8 week tour was the first time Katie truly took Waxahatchee on the road. The tour was quite taxing on her, as she embarked without a band or accompaniment for the first time. The tour ended up being so hard that she actually cut it short, cancelling 5 shows in Florida in late March. It's unclear if she actually played all the proposed dates up to the New Orleans show on March 19th, as some of her writings suggest she wasn't sure if she was going to end it even earlier, and the last documented stop is the March 14th show in Arlington, TX. What is clear is that Katie often found herself depressed and uncomfortable playing these intimate, acoustic songs in front of strangers in small spaces without the comfort and support of her close friends. This wasn't P.S. Eliot or Bad Banana, where she had her sister along for the tour, and a band to back her up and veil the room under a sheet of noise. This tour ended up being a learning experience for Katie, as she would basically duplicate it in the Summer, but with Swearin' in toe.
As far as documentation goes, very few complete shows circulate from this tour. Of the massive 44 shows on this tour, only 2 complete shows currently circulate, and one hand written setlist. The setlist, written on Katie's own hand, is for the January 20th show in Greenville, SC. It's rather standard, mostly highlighting the American Weekend album she was touring for, but of note is the inclusion of "Swan Dive" and "Game of Pricks." Katie has stated that "Swan Dive" was the last song written for Cerulean Salt, so it is clear that by January 2012, all songs appearing on Cerulean Salt were fair game for Waxahatchee shows going forward. The earliest circulating "Swan Dive", from February 18th, 2012 of this tour, shows that it was played at a much faster tempo then we would see on Cerulean Salt. Perhaps this January version was even more chaotic, but that remains to be seen. "Game of Pricks", a Guided By Voices cover, would appear on quite a few shows, making it the resident cover song of the Winter 2012 tour. It appears on the complete March 4th show in Isla Vista, California, as well as the incomplete March 2nd and March 5th shows in CA. From what little we know of the songs played, "Game of Pricks" and "Swan Dive" appear to be staples of this tour. "Tangled Envisioning", also off Cerulean Salt, makes a few appearances as well. The February 18th show is also the earliest known performance, and it later appears at the February 23rd show in Washington, and the March 4th show in California. It appears "Swan Dive" and "Tangled Envisioning" were the two Cerulean Salt songs Katie was really practicing on this tour, as they appear multiple times, while no other Cerulean Salt songs appear currently. Of note is the unique performance of "Magic City Wholesale" on the February 23rd show. This is only the second known performance of the song, and the only known performance in 2012. It wouldn't appear again until the 2013 European Summer tour with Tegan and Sara, which was a full band electric performance. This is a rare acoustic performance, and the last known acoustic performance.
Overall, this tour is still quite a mystery, as little in terms of music is available from it. Unfortunately, not much can be expected to surface as Waxahatchee was still in its infancy, playing a tour with very little fanfare and promotion.
Quick Facts:
- "Swan Dive" and "Tangeled Envisioning" are setlist staples, despite being unreleased at the time
- "Game of Pricks", a Guided By Voices cover, appears frequently
- "Magic City Wholesale", a rarely played song appears. Perhaps other rarely played songs of this era, such as "Be Good", "Rose, 1956" or "Luminary Blake" were played?
As far as documentation goes, very few complete shows circulate from this tour. Of the massive 44 shows on this tour, only 2 complete shows currently circulate, and one hand written setlist. The setlist, written on Katie's own hand, is for the January 20th show in Greenville, SC. It's rather standard, mostly highlighting the American Weekend album she was touring for, but of note is the inclusion of "Swan Dive" and "Game of Pricks." Katie has stated that "Swan Dive" was the last song written for Cerulean Salt, so it is clear that by January 2012, all songs appearing on Cerulean Salt were fair game for Waxahatchee shows going forward. The earliest circulating "Swan Dive", from February 18th, 2012 of this tour, shows that it was played at a much faster tempo then we would see on Cerulean Salt. Perhaps this January version was even more chaotic, but that remains to be seen. "Game of Pricks", a Guided By Voices cover, would appear on quite a few shows, making it the resident cover song of the Winter 2012 tour. It appears on the complete March 4th show in Isla Vista, California, as well as the incomplete March 2nd and March 5th shows in CA. From what little we know of the songs played, "Game of Pricks" and "Swan Dive" appear to be staples of this tour. "Tangled Envisioning", also off Cerulean Salt, makes a few appearances as well. The February 18th show is also the earliest known performance, and it later appears at the February 23rd show in Washington, and the March 4th show in California. It appears "Swan Dive" and "Tangled Envisioning" were the two Cerulean Salt songs Katie was really practicing on this tour, as they appear multiple times, while no other Cerulean Salt songs appear currently. Of note is the unique performance of "Magic City Wholesale" on the February 23rd show. This is only the second known performance of the song, and the only known performance in 2012. It wouldn't appear again until the 2013 European Summer tour with Tegan and Sara, which was a full band electric performance. This is a rare acoustic performance, and the last known acoustic performance.
Overall, this tour is still quite a mystery, as little in terms of music is available from it. Unfortunately, not much can be expected to surface as Waxahatchee was still in its infancy, playing a tour with very little fanfare and promotion.
Quick Facts:
- "Swan Dive" and "Tangeled Envisioning" are setlist staples, despite being unreleased at the time
- "Game of Pricks", a Guided By Voices cover, appears frequently
- "Magic City Wholesale", a rarely played song appears. Perhaps other rarely played songs of this era, such as "Be Good", "Rose, 1956" or "Luminary Blake" were played?