After five long years, The The are back on the road for a UK tour – and they’re dusting off songs they haven’t played in 30 years.
On Wednesday (August 21), The The kicked off the ‘Ensouled’ tour at Cambridge Junction in an effort to promote their upcoming album ‘Ensoulment’, due for release on September 6.
Per Setlist.fm, the show featured the band, led by Matt Johnson, perform songs that they’ve left dormant since the 1990s – the nine-minute ‘GIANT’ from their breakout debut album ‘Soul Mining’, which was last played in 1990, ‘The Sinking Feeling’ from the same album and ‘August & September’ from third album ‘Mind Bomb’, both last played in 1993, and ‘Icing Up’, a Johnson deep cut from his 1981 debut album that was later reissued as a The The project in 1993.
They also debuted two songs from ‘Ensoulment’: ‘Cognitive Dissident’ and ‘Linoleum Smooth to the Stockinged Foot’. See the setlist below along with fan footage captured at the event.
The setlist for The The’s Cambridge Junction show is:
‘Cognitive Dissident’
‘Infected’
‘Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)’
‘The Sinking Feeling’
‘Heartland’
‘The Whisperers’
‘Love Is Stronger Than Death’
‘August & September’
‘Slow Emotion Replay’
‘This Is the Day’
‘Icing Up’
‘Dogs of Lust’
‘Sweet Bird of Truth’
‘Lonely Planet’
Encore:
‘Linoleum Smooth to the Stockinged Foot’
‘Uncertain Smile’
‘GIANT’
‘Ensoulment’ is the band’s first album since 2000’s ‘NakedSelf’, and the ‘Ensouled’ tour marks the band’s first live shows since returning to the road in 2018.
The album features previously unpublished artwork by Andrew Johnson, Matt’s older brother who passed away in 2016. Andrew, also known as Andy Dog, was responsible for several of the band’s album covers, including ‘Soul Mining’ and sophomore effort ‘Infected’.
‘Ensoulment’ album track ‘We Can’t Stop What’s Coming’ was dedicated to Andrew. “It was not an easy song to write,” Matt said in a press statement. “That was the first time I’d sung in many years. I enjoyed it but found it very emotional.”
After this week’s four-date run in the UK, The The will continue the tour in the country and the US. See tour dates below and buy tickets for UK dates here and US dates here.
The The’s 2024 tour dates are:
September
25 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
27 – The Civic at The Halls, Wolverhampton
28 – Alexandra Palace, London
30 – The Apollo, Manchester
OCTOBER
1 Oct – Brixton Academy, London [NEW]
11 – Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
12 – Durham Performing Arts – Durham, NC
14 – The Anthem – Washington, DC
15 – The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA
17 – Beacon Theatre – New York, NY
19 – Orpheum Theatre – Boston, MA
20 – MTELUS – Montreal, QC
22 – Massey Hall – Toronto, ON
23 – Masonic Cathedral Theatre – Detroit, MI
25 – The Salt Shed – Chicago, IL
26 – Palace Theatre – St. Paul, MN
29 – Mission Ballroom – Denver, CO
30 – Eccles Theater – Salt Lake City, UT
NOVEMBER
2 – Paramount Theatre – Seattle, WA
3 – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR
4 – Orpheum Theatre – Vancouver, BC
7 – Fox Theater – Oakland, CA
8 – Shrine Auditorium – Los Angeles, CA
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