Photo credit: JB Wilkins
January 22, 2025 – the Jesus Lizard kicks off the next round of their U.S. tour this May, with the seminal band visiting the West Coast on the latest leg of their Rack tour. Ahead of the trek, the foursome has released a new standalone single, “Westside” (https://tjl.lnk.to/westside), their second post-Rack track.
“’Westside’ goes along with the previous single, ‘Cost of Living,’” Duane Denison explains, “which was subconsciously influenced by Leonard Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’ and hence the name. Really.”
David Yow adds: “There is a part in ‘Westside’ where the lyrics say, ‘… give him back his arm.’ That was inspired by David Lynch’s ‘Lost Highway,’ when Robert Blake’s character says, ‘Give me back my phone.’”
The band recently wrapped up sold-out tours across the Eastern U.S. and the U.K., earning rave reviews. The Guardian called their performances a “growling, spit-flecked fusion of pummeling songs and acerbic wit,” while Mojo described the band “as titanium-tough and gimlet-sharp as ever.” WXPN simply summed it up as “absolutely feral.”
the Jesus Lizard tour dates:
May 2 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern
May 3 Los Angeles, CA The Fonda Theatre
May 5 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
May 8 Portland, OR Revolution Hall SOLD OUT
May 9 Portland, OR Revolution Hall
May 10 Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre SOLD OUT
May 11 Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre
May 17 Paris, FR Elysée Montmartre
May 18 Brussels, BE Les Nuits Botaniques
May 20 Amsterdam, NL Melkweg
May 22 Copenhagen, DK Den Grå Hal
May 23 Oslo, NO John Dee
May 24 Stockholm, SE Debaser
May 27 Berlin, DE SO36
May 28 Köln, DE Gebäude 9
May 30 Lausanne, CH Les Docks
May 31 Bologna, IT Link
June 1 Rome, IT Monk
June 2 Milan, IT Magnolia
June 5 – 7 Barcelona, ES Primavera Festival
June 12 – 15 Porto, PT Primavera Festival
Tickets for all shows are on-sale now, with ticketing links available via Ipecac.com/tours.
The release of Rack (https://tjl.lnk.to/rack) marks a new chapter for the Jesus Lizard, whose influence on music remains undeniable. With its relentless energy and razor-sharp musicianship, the 11-track album has garnered widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike. The collection has earned four star reviews from MOJO, Record Collector and The Observer as well as praise from The Associated Press (‘the Jesus Lizard’s intensity never went away”), The New York Times (“… a raucous record that recaptures the lunging momentum, stealth nuance and unhinged Yow-isms of their best work”) and Brooklyn Vegan (“…as delightfully gnarly as they have ever been, and just as lively as all of the younger bands that have come in their wake”).
Since their inception in Austin in 1987, the Jesus Lizard has thrilled audiences all over the planet. The impeccable rocket-thrust rhythm section of bassist David Wm. Sims and drummer Mac McNeilly was the perfect launchpad for guitarist Duane Denison’s jagged yet clean-toned riffing and vocalist David Yow’s mercurial vocalizations manifesting as everything from panicked citizen, reality escapee or wounded sea mammal. The Jesus Lizard’s fury has carried on through six studio albums, two live recordings and a brace of singles and EPs, with the band’s seventh album, Rack, out tomorrow via Ipecac Recordings.