Jonathan Richman kicks off tour tonight, preps Her Beauty

Tonight, in the largest city of Oklahoma's Cleveland County, Jonathan Richman will kick off a stint of tour dates that will have him speeding around the United States like a roadrunner. Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins (pictured above) will perform 20-odd shows throughout the midwest, south and east coast that will keep the pair busy until the end of March.

But that's not all. The former Modern Lover also has a new record on the way. "Jonathan and Tommy Larkins have just completed a brand new album, Because Her Beauty is Raw and Wild. The album will be in stores in March," reads a message on Richman's label site. Normally, this is the part of the news item where we refer you to the artist's MySpace page for tracks from said forthcoming release, but as Vapor Records' site also says, the legendary songwriter "does not participate in the internet on any level." It's a shame, but then again, for the guy that once sang, "I still love the old world," it makes perfect sense.

According to recent reports, Richman's live act of late often includes songs sung in four different languages (English, French, Italian and Spanish) and a fair bit of dancing. Whether or not any of the following dates will occur at a lesbian bar, however, was unknown at press time:

February
25 - Norman, Okla. @ Da Opolis
26 - Springfield, Mo. @ The Outland
27 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The 5 Spot
28 - Nashville, Tenn. @ The 5 Spot
29 - Asheville, N.C. @ Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall

March
1 - Athens, Ga. @ 40 Watt Club *
2 - Atlanta, Ga. @ The EARL *
4 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
5 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
6 - Cambridge, Mass. @ Middle East Club Upstairs *
7 - Cambridge, Mass. @ Middle East Club Upstairs *
8 - Baltimore, Md. @ 8 X 10 *
9 - Richmond, Va. @ Rockitz *
10 - Cleveland Heights, Ohio *
11 - St. Louis, Mo. @ Off Broadway Nightclub *
12 - Chicago, Ill. @ Abbey Pub *
13 - Madison, Wis. @ Orpheum Stage Door *
14 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Cedar Cultural Center *
15 - Omaha, Neb. @ The Waiting Room *
16 - Lincoln, Neb. @ Knockerbockers *
18 - Denver, Colo. @ Lion's Lair
20 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Kilby Court

* with Vic Chesnutt

For extra credit, or while you wait for Richman to come to your town, enjoy this wonderfully grainy video of him hamming it up on campus for some UC Berkeley students in 1981: