The Octopus Project’s Fall US Tour

By Josh Lambert

Burlington VT - 9/26- @ Higher Ground
w/ Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, DJ Wiz, Blockhead, DJ Signify
This show was significant in two ways - it was our first in the state of Vermont and our last on tour with Aesop Rock. To commemorate the occasion, Aesop suggested that we all come up onstage at the end of his set and improvise. Which we did, and it was weird. And really loud. All of us Octos (guitar, bass, theremin, synths) plus Blockhead and Signify (samples and scratches) going nuts while Big Wiz handled beats and Aesop and Rob Sonic freestyled over the whole mess. Objectively, it was probably terrible, but it was really really fun and a great way to mark the end of our trip with those guys. Touring with another band is like summer camp - you’re both away from home, go through all these weird adventures together, and then you have to say goodbye. What better way to cement a new friendship than playing incoherent noise in front of several hundred people?

New York, NY - 10/18 - @ Highline Ballroom - CMJ!
w/ Islands, ...Trail of Dead, Enon, Yo Majesty
The day started off with a photoshoot in Brooklyn, and although fun, we were completely exhausted from being out on the road so long/only sleeping a couple of hours the night before. Our publicist, Marcela, completely saved the day, however, by just being awesome. We got to the club pretty early to sound check and were immediately greeted by our buddies in Trail of Dead, Enon and our booking agent, Christian. What a great feeling! It was a much needed shot in the arm. Trail of Dead played probably the best show I’ve ever seen by them - and I’ve seen them 50 times or so. It was fantastic to get to hear all of Enon’s new songs as well as some old favs. Definitely one of my favorite bands. We were up after them. I think due to the general feeling of excitement/euphoria (as well as only having 30 minutes to play), we were totally on! Some nights just seem to click in all the right ways, and this was one of those nights. It was one of those rare perfect shows.

Norman, OK - 10/31 - @ The Opolis - Halloween!
w/ DJ John Mooneyham, Busdriver
It’s always a treat to see pals on the road, and doubly a treat when you get to throw a big party with them! Our friends in the Starlight Mints (Andy and Marian) own the Opolis in Norman and invited us to play there for Halloween this year. Norman may be a small town, but those folks know how to party! Everyone was dressed to the nines and ready to get down. The evening kicked off with John Mooneyham spinning the craziest/best DJ set I’ve heard in a long time. Next up was the outrageous Busdriver - who managed to work in some freestyle about us and Andy and Marian. It was off-the-charts awesome! We got onstage around midnight and had easily one of the most fun shows of the tour. In the middle of our show we held a costume contest in which we declared a guy dressed up as the Brawny man as the winner. He looked pretty amazing! Unfortunately, we couldn’t vote for Opolis staff, but honestly I think Marian had the best outfit overall, dressed as a headless bartender and stayed in costume all night.


www.theoctopusproject.com