Shellac, the trio of Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Todd Trainer, have canceled their West Coast tour which was rescheduled from last year. The band shared the bummer news with a statement on Instagram about they were doing it: "It breaks our hearts to have to cancel again, and is frustrating in the extreme, but the Delta variant of the Covid-19 pandemic has proven especially virulent, and the potential risks of doing the tour outweigh and compromise the joy we would normally experience playing shows."
They go on to note that all three members are vaccinated and not "particularly at risk of serious illness, but the distinct possibility of having to cancel the tour while underway due to a breakthrough infection, and isolating in some remote location would be a horrible outcome. Additionally, we feel a responsibility to our audience, and if we were the cause of a congregation that subsequently made other people sick, it would weigh on our consciences terribly."
Shellac say they plan on rescheduling the tour -- "let's say a year from now" -- but offer no specifics on that yet. You can read their whole statement below.
Steve Albini further commented on the decision on Twitter, saying, "We are in this band for its joy. We enjoy playing with each other, being in each others' company, playing among everybody else and generally getting lost in the experience of each moment. These compound risks impose on or mute that joy for me, replacing it with a kind of dread. I don't want to inhabit that dread, and I think it's unfair to expect our audience to suffer it, all to experience shows that would be a simulacrum of the joy we've known for the last quarter-century, where we can't mingle, can't embrace, can't freely express what joy survives." You can read his whole statement below, too.
While Shellac said "The venues and promoters have taken this news graciously and admirably, and we appreciate their thoughtfulness," Albini noted that "one of the venues tried limiting attendance to vax/test and staff were physically threatened and harassed by freedom crazies like this tiny dick fucko," sharing video of a man harassing an elderly woman on the NYC subway:
STEVE ALBINI ON CANCELING SHELLAC'S TOUR (VIA TWITTER):
The risks of touring right now remain extreme, both in material terms and psychic ones, so this seems like the responsible thing to do during a pandemic that has proven pernicious beyond all expectations. There is some risk to us, and though we are vaccinated we all still behave defensively and keep our distance, but knowing we could be the reason people congregate and subsequently get infected weighs on us.
We are in this band for its joy. We enjoy playing with each other, being in each others' company, playing among everybody else and generally getting lost in the experience of each moment. These compound risks impose on or mute that joy for me, replacing it with a kind of dread. I don't want to inhabit that dread, and I think it's unfair to expect our audience to suffer it, all to experience shows that would be a simulacrum of the joy we've known for the last quarter-century, where we can't mingle, can't embrace, can't freely express what joy survives.
These shows were booked a year ago, replacing a similar tour canceled at that time, and canceling them a second time sucks more than twice as much. You would think twice, but no it's more. It sucks like ten times as much. I've been looking forward to it like Christmas.
I want desperately to play, to hang out with cool people and experience the camaraderie and satisfaction of sound in the presence of others. Shannon Wright was going to play with us and my god she's great, I was gonna get to see her every night. How great is that? I feel cheated.
We're going to reschedule these shows again, give it another year, and see if this bullshit is still going on. I'm sorry. This sucks.
Check out photos of Shellac at Pawtucket, RI's The Met in 2016:
