Them Crooked Vultures Open for Arctic Monkeys, But What's Next?

Being in a supergroup is tricky business. You've got every member's fame in its own right, the press angling for a scoop on just why said band formed and cynical fans guessing that it might all just be for, you know, the Benjamins. But such doesn't seem the case for Them Crooked Vultures, the new supergroup—ahem, rock band—featuring Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme and the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl.

Instead of booking a bloated summer tour based solely on the collective members' fame being larger than its parts ("Hello Cleveland, we are Chickenfoot!"), Them Crooked Vultures are playing it modest.

Recently, the band opened for Arctic Monkeys at Brixton Academy in London. Now, let's not be naive: by all means, the opening slot and TCV's several "secret" performances of late, not to mention the website lacking any substantial band details, are meant to stir up a sense of mystery.

But there's a difference between, say, TCV's "What the hell is this!?"-type mystery of intrigue and Tinted Windows' "What the hell is this??"-type mystery of sheer confusion and eventual disdain.

Them Crooked Vultures are nurturing their inevitable buzz (John Paul Jones doesn't bust out the bass for just anyone, after all) by pulling a rather Radiohead-esque, less-is-more approach that keeps curious listeners curious. Skip the press, skip the soundbytes and huge, unearned tour slots and go for the public's jugular with some seriously thunderous rock 'n' roll, building the band's name from the ground up just like any act would—by bringing its music to the people. There's something to be said for that.

Austin City Limits just announced that TCV will play a Friday night slot wedged just before headliners Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kings of Leon. The band also unveiled a string of U.S. and UK dates (see below). Still, despite the fact that the music snippets released so far are promising, let's hope we don't see these three on any magazine covers any time soon. It's not like the band needs the press to get by, so why ruin the mystery?



December
10 - Plymouth, UK @ Plymouth Pavilion
11 - Portsmouth, UK @ Portsmouth Guildhall
13 - Blackpool, UK @ Empress Ballroom
14 - Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
15 - Edinburgh, UK @ Corn Exchange
17 - London, UK @ HMV Hammersmith Apollo
News: Dave Grohl/Josh Homme/John Paul Jones Supergroup Info Slowly Trickles In
News: Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, John Paul Jones in the Studio, Finally
TravelingWilburys.com

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