Peter Himmelman will spend the spring and summer months on the road promoting his just-released album Imperfect World (Majestic/MRI). Starting on May 15 in San Francisco, the Himmel-tour will wend its way north, then east. When the tour buses…okay, van, rolls into Pittsburgh on June 1, Himmelman will enlist as his backup band the Israeli rock group, The Flying Baby.
The Flying Baby will assume its role as Himmelman’s band in Pittsburgh (June 1), Annapolis (June 2), New York (June 5) and Philadelphia (June 7.) (Full list of tour dates appears below.)
The Flying Baby is a three-piece rhythm powerhouse (bass, drums, and guitar). Highly influenced by Neil Young and other seventies greats, the three Israelis are childhood friends from a kibbutz in central Israel who cut their “American teeth” by basing themselves in San Francisco in the early ‘00s. Returning to the homeland in 2002, they recorded an album titled Inner World, which won them critical kudos in such press outlets as Haifa’s City Newspaper and Tel Aviv’s City Rat. Their second album, released earlier this year, is Pain To Give.
This past summer during a family trip to Israel, Himmelman was scheduled to do a series of solo acoustic dates. That was until he met The Flying Baby. “I was introduced to them in a bomb shelter on a sweltering summer afternoon. They had already rehearsed several of my songs and in two hours or so we sounded as though we’d played together for months.” Soon they were accompanying Himmelman on several dates in Israel, both as opening act and accompanying band. “We all felt that it was the start of something special.” After a particularly powerful show in Jerusalem, the band and crew decided to make a stop at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. “It was truly a rarified moment,” said Himmelman. “Here we were, it was 2:30 in the morning under a full moon; most of us still sweaty from the performance and we all converged at this ancient holy site. Listen, it was a far cry from Jack in the Box let me assure you”.
When not traveling with his Israeli posse, Himmelman performs with an equally impressive West Coast band. Featured are Willie Aron (Victoria Williams, the Balancing Act), guitar; Al Wolovitch, bass; and Andy Kamman, drums. Wolovitch and Kamman have been with Himmelman since their seminal Minneapolis new wave band in the late ‘70s, Sussman Lawrence.
Imperfect World was hailed by Billboard as “Himmelman's best since his 1989 disc, Synesthesia,” and South Florida Entertainment News called him “one of the most noteworthy artists making music nowadays.”
The Tour:
05/15 – San Francisco – Café du Nord
05/16 – Seattle – Tractor Tavern
05/17 – Portland, OR – Fez Ballroom
06/01 – Pittsburgh – Club Café *
06/02 – Annapolis – Ram’s Head *
06/05 – New York – Knitting Factory *
06/07 – Philadelphia – Tin Angel *
06/22 – Denver – Bluebird Theater
06/23 – Austin – Cactus Café
06/05-06 – Chicago – Schubas
06/07 – Madison – Luther’s Blues
06/10 – Minneapolis (Apple Valley) – Zoo Amphitheater
* denotes dates with Israeli band The Flying Baby backing him up
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