Coming to Brum in June

Flogging Molly
WEDNESDAY 4TH JUNE
'If it didn't have mandolin, accordion, fiddle and whistle, it would be punk-rock, and if it didn't have guitar, bass and drums, it would be traditional Irish music… Flogging Molly has both,' says lead singer Dave King. Get ready for one of the most unique bands around when they hit Birmingham this summer!

www.floggingmolly.com


The National
MONDAY 30TH JUNE
After their 2007 album 'Boxer' was hailed as one of the finest works of the year and featured collaborations with the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Doveman, The National return to the U.K for some intimate shows and festival appearances.

www.myspace.com/thenational


THE NATIONAL

A Skin, A Night DVD

(a film by Vincent Moon)

Plus The Virginia EP

Out May 26th

“We’re making this record, which is taking forever… We’re very much in the middle of something. We don’t know where we’ll end up… Maybe the record will be the film.” -- Bryce Dessner

On May 26th THE NATIONAL release their double disc set A Skin, A Night through Beggars Banquet. Featuring an exclusive DVD of the same title by French director Vincent Moon (aka Mathieu Saura, renowned for his 'Take Away Shows' at La Blogotheque and video work with R.E.M. & Arcade Fire), A Skin, A Night is a highly unusual documentary replete with behind-the-scenes footage of THE NATIONAL on tour and in the studio.

Completing the package, a bonus CD, The Virginia EP, features b-sides, demos, a session track, live tracks (including "Fake Empire", which recently won Song Of The Year at NYC's 2008 Plug Awards, and a sumptuous cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Mansion On The Hill") plus one new studio recording, a cover of Caroline Martin's "Without Permission".

A close friend of the Brooklyn-based band since meeting them at The National’s first live show in Paris, director Moon has made a film that challenges the viewer, unlike the average straightforward ‘rockumentary’. A Skin, A Night presents a unique meditation on the creative process as it follows the band laying down tracks for Boxer, touring and travelling during this period. The story of THE NATIONAL’S rise from the toilet circuits to selling out five nights at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom, plus two at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire, is given its historical due; but more essentially, Moon leads us on an oblique cinema-verité journey into the inner state of the band, as the film bears witness to the birth pangs of their finest studio work to date, 2007’s Boxer, the recipient of innumerable ‘album of the year’ accolades.

Prior to touring the U.S. with REM in late-May/June, THE NATIONAL will play three consecutive nights at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre (13th-15th May) and headline All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in Minehead on 17th May, before returning to Europe for a string of summer festivals, ensuring their reputation as one of the bands to watch in 2008.