Having spent the last few years touring the world, including dates in Japan with psych legend Steve Hillage, multiple headline European tours and festivals, America’s Cruise to the Edge festival, a South America headline tour and a headline performance at Tomorrow Festival in China, the band have won the hearts of both traditional and modern Gong fanbases. During this live journey, Gong have delved further into the truly psychedelic, exploratory and mind-expanding side of the music. The ever metamorphosing entity that is GONG launches, as ever, into unknown – and unknowing – territory with a new tour for 2020, destined to be talked about, discussed, and argued over, up and down the land. Gong’s musically diverse world includes shades of psychedelia, space rock, jazz, avant-garde, krautrock and surreal soundscapes and the quintet will be bringing their unique soundscapes to 19 towns and cities in November 2020. Kavus (lead vocals and guitars) says this about the tour: “Having ended 2019 by actually levitating The Paradiso in Amsterdam, 2020 will see the radiant vehicle of Gong play shows in Brazil and Japan, visit Chile for the first time and perform in fields across Europe, before returning to the UK for a headline tour. November 2020 will be the most extensive UK tour of this Gong chapter thus far. We will be performing an immersive, expanded and transformative set which promises, at the very least, to affect the complete dissolution of ego and sense of self.” GONG – ‘This Is The Moment… And Now Is The Time’ tour, NOVEMBER 2020 Tue 3 NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms Wed 4 BURY St. EDMUNDS The Apex Thu 5 READING Sub 89 Fri 6 HARPENDEN Public Halls Sat 7 BIRMINGHAM Hare & Hounds Sun 8 WIGAN Old Courts Tue 10 MANCHESTER Gorilla Wed 11 GLASGOW Oran Mor Thu 12 NEWCASTLE Cluny Fri 13 YORK Crescent Sat 14 HEBDEN BRIDGE Trades Club Wed 18 SOUTHAMPTON 1865 Thu 19 COLCHESTER Arts Centre Fri 20 NORWICH Arts Centre Sat 21 STROUD Sub Rooms Sun 22 BRISTOL Thekla Mon 23 CARDIFF Earl Haig Tue 24 EXETER Phoenix Wed 25 BRIGHTON Chalk Buy tickets for the tour HERE From its beginnings in a French commune in 1967, through the Virgin Records years, mismanagement, court cases, break-ups and rejoinings, deaths and rebirths – there has always been a continuous thread of beautiful, dangerous and extraordinary music. The current holders of the flame have come together over the last eight years; sinuous bass player Dave Sturt joined just as the album 2032 was shown to the world; Ian East (Sax, Flute) was the next to blow in through the portal; Fabio Golfetti brought his guitars from Brazil (after working with Daevid Allen for many years); Kavus Torabi (lead vox and guitars) ‘appeared to Daevid in a vision’; Cheb Nettles (drums) ‘just sort of turned up’. In 2015, Daevid Allen passed away. His influence and legacy were honoured on the band’s subsequent album, Rejoice! I’m Dead! (2016). Over the past year GONG has performed with Steve Hillage Band (himself a former member of the 1970s GONG line-up) and released the critically acclaimed album The Universe Also Collapses (2019). Signed-up members of the precariat, GONG have never played it safe. GONG IS Cheb Nettles – Drums Dave Sturt – Bass Fabio Golfetti – Guitars Ian East -Saxaphone, Flute Kavus Torabi – Lead Vocals, Guitars GONG ONLINE https://www.gongband.com/ https://www.facebook.com/officialgong/ |