Shaking the Habitual Tour explained

Border:yes
Artist:The Knife
Album:Shaking the Habitual
Number Of Shows:50
Last Tour:Silent Shout Tour
(2006)
This Tour:Shaking The Habitual Tour
(2013/2014)

The Shaking the Habitual Tour is a concert tour by Swedish electronic music duo The Knife in support of their album Shaking the Habitual. It is their first live appearance in seven years since the Silent Shout Tour in 2006, as well as their final tour.[1]

Background

When asked about the live shows in interviews The Knife had repeatedly been unforthcoming. Filter asked 'Can you tell us what the live show will be like?' and Karin responded 'That is a huge secret'.[2] It was, however, revealed in an interview with The Guardian that the live shows have 'been devised in collaboration with an all-female collective of choreographers and set designers'.[3] Karin also told Spin "it has to be fun, and we should enjoy the process. I think we will show some humor in our live show".[4]

On 22 April 2013, The Knife posted details about the show on their website[5] revealing that a handful of the European shows would begin with 'DEEP Aerobics' (short for "Death Electro Emo Protest Aerobics") and the shows in Stockholm with Cool Pans, "the biggest steel band in Scandinavia" and "Danceoke", organized by artist collective and feminist support group Öfa-Kollektivet.[6]

The post also identified the members of Shaking The Habitual Show Team (aka Sorkklubben):

Adena Asovic, Anna Efraimsson, Andrea Svensson, Bella Rune, Erika Niklasson, Halla Olafsdottir, Iwa Herdensjö, Jonas Nobel, Karin Dreijer, Kim Einarsson, Jesper Ekholm Strömbäck, Laura Davis, Lotje Horvers, Lucie Barinkova, Marcus Baldemar, Maryam Nikandish, Nicole Lattimore, Olof Dreijer, Rami Jawhari Jansson, Sharon ‘Bamo’ Bampton, Stina Nyberg, SUTODA, Thomas Romlöv and Zoë Poluch.[7]

Set list

Some songs are played live while others are live recordings or album tracks which the group dance to.

2013 Setlist

TitleType
A Cherry on TopLive
Raging LungLive
BirdLive Recording Playback
Without You My Life Would Be BoringLive Recording Playback
A Tooth for an EyeStudio Album Playback
One HitStudio Album Playback
NetworkingStudio Album Playback
Wrap Your Arms Around MeLive
Ready to LoseLive
Got 2 Let ULive Recording Playback
Full of FireStudio Album Playback
Stay Out HereStudio Album Playback
Silent ShoutLive

2014 Setlist

TitleType
Wrap Your Arms Around MeLive
Raging LungLive
We Share Our Mother's HealthLive
BirdLive Recording Playback
Without You My Life Would Be BoringLive Recording Playback
A Tooth for an EyeLive?
One HitStudio Album Playback
Full of FireLive
Collective Body Possum (Poem)Spoken Word
Ready to LoseLive
Pass This On (performed with Shannon Funchess)Live
Stay Out Here (performed with Shannon Funchess)Live
Silent ShoutLive
[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Critical reception

The live show has received positive to mixed reviews from critics and fans. The Independent praised and defended the show, giving it 5 out of 5 stars noting that "some people just can’t stand to have their boundaries gently nuzzled, let alone pushed" and "The Knife have caused uproar merely by... taking themselves out of centre stage".[13] The Quietus called the show "a triumph of displacement and mistaken identity" emphasising "performance's endless capacity for disruption".[14] The Guardian said "far from a joyless exercise in conceptualism, this is an absurdist sci-fi rave, complete with retro-futurist instruments, strobe lights and glow-sticks".[15]

The Evening Standard gave the show 2 stars out of 5 saying "The Knife's comeback defied expectations, and was frequently fun, but mostly it felt like the joke was on us".[16] MTV said "'challenging', unconventional' and even 'uncomfortable' are all things we have come to not only expect but demand from The Knife, but tonight's performance ultimately just failed to cut it".[17] Some fans left negative reviews on Last.fm calling it "an amateurish dance show".[18]

In an interview with The Quietus, Olof Dreijer responded to the criticism, saying "We are on stage like this – if people don't like that, it's fine" and "it's important to say that many of the things we do on stage have previously been done within the comfort zone of the queer community. We have years of drag, voguing and miming behind us – but they have been done within a group that wants that and reconfirms it. Whereas now The Knife have ended up in a bit more of a mainstream situation where there are people outside this comfort zone, who might not be socialist or feminist or queer. It's not so strange for us.[19]

Tour dates

Date[20] CityCountryVenueOpenerDJ Set
April 26, 2013BremenGermanyPier 2Deep Aerobics
April 27, 2013HamburgDocks
April 29, 2013MilanItalyAlcatraz
April 30, 2013ZürichSwitzerlandKomplex 457
May 1, 2013MunichGermanyMuffathalle
May 2, 2013CologneE-Werk
May 4, 2013ParisFranceCité de la MusiquePlanningtorock
May 5, 2013BrusselsBelgiumAncienne Belgique
May 6, 2013AmsterdamNetherlandsParadisoShinedoe
May 8, 2013LondonUnited KingdomRoundhouseDeep AerobicsHannah Holland
May 9, 2013
May 11, 2013BerlinGermanyColumbiahallerRoxymore
May 12, 2013CopenhagenDenmarkVegaDeep AerobicsPernille Krog Mogensen
May 13, 2013
May 15, 2013OsloNorwaySentrum Scene
May 16, 2013StockholmSwedenHangaren SubtopiaCool Pans & DanceokeLemieux
May 17, 2013Lemieux & Jin Mustafa
May 24, 2013BarcelonaSpainPrimavera Sound
June 14, 2013AarhusDenmarkNorthside Festival
July 19, 2013GräfenhainichenGermanyMelt! FestivalDeep Aerobics
August 7, 2013HelsinkiFinlandFlow Festival
August 9, 2013GothenburgSwedenWay Out WestDeep Aerobics
August 10, 2013OsloNorwayØyafestivalen
August 15, 2013Paredes de CouraPortugalFestival Vodafone Paredes de Coura
August 17, 2013KiewitBelgiumPukkelpopDeep Aerobics in support of Pussy Riot[21]
August 18, 2013BiddinghuizenNetherlandsLowlands
August 30, 2013ZürichSwitzerlandZürich Openair
September 1, 2013StradballyIrelandElectric PicnicDeep Aerobics
September 6, 2013WarsawPolandSelector Festival
September 7, 2013WhiteleyUnited KingdomBestival
October 31, 2013ParisFrancePitchfork Music Festival
April 9, 2014PomonaUnited StatesPomona Fox TheaterDeep Aerobics
April 11, 2014IndioCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
April 15, 2014OaklandFox Oakland TheatreDeep Aerobics
April 16, 2014
April 18, 2014IndioCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
April 21, 2014DenverFillmore AuditoriumDeep Aerobics
April 23, 2014ChicagoAragon Ballroom
April 25, 2014TorontoCanadaKool Haus
April 26, 2014MontrealMétropolis
April 28, 2014BostonUnited StatesHouse of Blues
April 30, 2014New York CityTerminal 5
May 1, 2014
October 30, 2014StockholmSwedenAnnexet
October 31, 2014
November 1, 2014GothenburgFilm Studios
November 3, 2014BerlinGermanyArena
November 5, 2014ManchesterUnited KingdomManchester Academy
November 6, 2014LondonBrixton AcademyDJ Maryam
November 8, 2014ReykjavíkIcelandIceland Airwaves

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WE ARE DOING OUR LAST TOUR! . The Knife . 2014-08-21 . 2014-08-26.
  2. Web site: Exclusives – Shooting Daggers: The Knife Break Their Silence . FILTER Magazine . 2013-04-03 . 2013-07-25.
  3. News: Sam Richards . The Knife: 'Music history is written by privileged white men' | Music . The Guardian . March 23, 2013. 2013-07-25 . London.
  4. Web site: Bleeding Edge: The Knife Talk 'Shaking the Habitual' | SPIN | Q & A . SPIN . 2013-04-05 . 2013-07-25.
  5. Web site: Shaking The Habitual Show . The Knife . 2013-04-22 . 2013-07-25.
  6. Web site: The Knife's Live Shows Are Going to Be Weird as Hell | SPIN | Newswire . SPIN . 2013-04-22 . 2013-07-25.
  7. Web site: The Show And The People . Theknife.net . 2013-07-25.
  8. Web site: The Knife Concert Setlist at Pier 2, Bremen on April 26, 2013 . setlist.fm . 2014-07-15.
  9. Web site: The Knife Concert Setlist at Komplex Klub, Zurich on April 30, 2013 . setlist.fm . 2014-07-15.
  10. Web site: The Knife Concert Setlist at Cité de la Musique, Paris on May 4, 2013 . setlist.fm . 2014-07-15.
  11. Web site: The Knife Concert Setlist at Roundhouse, London on May 8, 2013 . setlist.fm . 2014-07-15.
  12. Web site: The Knife Concert Setlist at Columbiahalle, Berlin on May 11, 2013 . setlist.fm . 2014-07-15.
  13. News: Emily Mackay . Music review: The Knife, Roundhouse, London – Reviews – Music . https://web.archive.org/web/20130608020400/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/music-review-the-knife-roundhouse-london-8608733.html . dead . June 8, 2013 . The Independent . 2013-05-09 . 2013-07-25.
  14. Web site: Features | Three Songs No Flash | Spreading The Privilege: The Knife Live In London . The Quietus . 2013-07-25.
  15. News: Killian Fox . The Knife – review | Music | The Observer . Guardian . May 12, 2013. 2013-07-25 . London.
  16. Web site: David Smyth . The Knife, Roundhouse – music review – Music – Going Out – London Evening Standard . Standard.co.uk . 2013-05-09 . 2013-07-25.
  17. Web site: The Knife Live Review | The Knife | News . https://archive.today/20130707050720/http://www.mtv.co.uk/news/the-knife/381752-the-knife-live-review . dead . July 7, 2013 . Mtv.co.uk . 2013-05-10 . 2013-07-25.
  18. Web site: The Knife's 2013 tour labelled 'an amateurish dance show' by fans . Gigwise . 2013-04-30 . 2013-07-25.
  19. Web site: Features | A Quietus Interview | 'Everything Is Choreography': The Knife Interviewed . The Quietus . 2013-07-25.
  20. Web site: General sale ticket update . The Knife . 2014-01-18 . 2014-07-15.
  21. Web site: supporting Pussy Riot at Pukkelpop 17th August 2013 . The Knife . 2014-07-15.