We’re at the Belfast Free Range Music Festival this Saturday, with a cadre of awesome bands. The whole day promises to be baller and, just when it’ll seem like it’s over, we can head over to the Hillytown after-party, where Mango Floss, our sister band (featuring Peter on drums and our roommate Sarah on vox) will be playing, while we all drink responsibly.

Then it’s on to May, which is looking a little less busy than April, but not really. I’ll announce more dates later on (and put them on the tour page), but here’s the first and perhaps most important one: MAY 3RD at CLUB METRONOME in BURLINGTON, VT with Canadian pop stars WINTERSLEEP. They really are stars by most standards (They won a Juno, played Letterman, opened for Paul McCartney etc) and they’re also good, so you should definitely come if you live in or around VT.

That’s what’s up!

Oh, and vote for us in the Portland Phoenix Poll, if you haven’t. Or even if you have.

Our next mini-tour is just around the corner. If you’re in Portland, you should take a good hard look at the poster above, take in what it says and, you know, come to the show. Here’s a feature on Hillytown about us: http://hillytown.com/news/video/the-milkmans-union-interview-exclusive-video/

Here are the upcoming dates:

4/21 Divan Orange, Montreal, QC w/ The Wind-up Radio Sessions + Grand Splendid

4/22 The Monkey House, Winooski, VT w/ Milagres + Husband&Wife

4/23 One Longfellow Square, Portland, ME w/ Milagres + Husband&Wife

4/25 TT The Bear’s Place Inc, Cambridge, MA w/ Milagres + Husband&Wife

Some other odds and ends: The Portland Phoenix Poll is running through May and you should vote for us as Portland’s Best Indie Act.

Also, Kegan Zema wrote a very nice review of the “Telos EP”, which is streaming on our Bandcamp. You can read the review here. Just scroll to the bottom.

That’s all!

H.

Across the pewter plate, I saw the sun erased,

but her bosom seemed to hold the light.

An airy confidence arose,

And I spoke fluidly of nothing

I felt the spell enter from below;

the ginny numbing and arousing

of the sickly senses:

the little white worm of nauseous want

Now, in the darkness of the house

I am heart-opened and callow

I soak like a body

in a bath of neutering milk.

We are very happy to announce this upcoming mini-tour with Milagres (Kill Rock Stars) and Husband&Wife (Crossroads of America):

4/22 The Monkey House, Winooski, VT
4/23 One Longfellow Square, Portland, ME
4/24 Flywheel Arts Collective, Easthampton, MA
4/25 TT The Bear’s Place Inc, Cambridge, MA

Hillytown.com presents the show at One Longfellow. Here’s the poster: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgp3kc6zwH1qe1hyy.jpg

We play UMaine Augusta on the 26th and the Belfast Free Range Music Festival on the 30th.

VOTE FOR US IN THE PORTLAND PHOENIX’S “BEST OF PORTLAND” POLL!!!

RIGHT HURR: http://portland.thephoenix.com/BMP/Portland/Vote/IndieAct/#TOPCONTENT

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. click the bullet next to our name.
2. click ‘submit my vote.’
3. click ‘cast my ballot.’
4. enter your name/email and you’re done.

The tour went swimmingly. From the star treatment we received at Club Helsinki in Hudson, NY to the packed rooms in Brooklyn and DC, from the incredible weather and cherry blossoms in the capitol to the bleak beauty of the blinking Jersey sklyline, it was a grrrreat time and we look forward to our next jaunt into this country of ours. 

Thanks to Alex’s parents, who graciously put us up on the first and last nights of the tour and to their dog, Phinda, who is very soulful. 

That’s all for this post. We’re playing a lot of shows in the next month+, but I’ll let those have their own post some time next week. 

Okay so the Portland-area stint is over and was awesome in every way. We managed to play with every one of our favorite local acts within a span of four days. Butcher Boy, Wesley Hartley and The Traveling Trees, Jacob Augustine, Brenda and Metal Feathers are all incredible in such different ways. The only sad part of the whole venture was that Jeremy and Jerusha of South China were unable to play in Portsmouth with us due to illness. 

On to the next chapter. We leave for tour tomorrow (Sunday, March 13) for a show at the Elevens in Northampton, MA. Then we play Club Helsinki in Hudson, NY (where I, Henry, was born) on Monday. Then Bruar Falls in Brooklyn on Tuesday and the Velvet Lounge in DC on Wednesday. Then the Kearney Irish in Kearney, NJ with The Embracers and then back to Portland for a show with our good bros Mango Floss and Time Travelers at the Apohadion. And that’s the next piece of our endless tour. 

After all this, we will be adding some final overdubs to a country ballad (featuring Aly Spaltro), which will hopefully be included on Burst and Bloom’s Spring compilation. :D

In anticipation of our many upcoming Portland-area shows (listed below), we are offering a pay-what-you-like “February Sampler” through bandcamp. Three unreleased tracks. One recording that will be released again in the future, a live take of the title track of our upcoming “Golden Room EP” and a solo demo of a brand new song. Doooo it.

http://themilkmansunion.bandcamp.com/

We recently talked with our friend and great supporter Robin Ivy of WCYY and she told us that she was surprised at how many people in Portland still haven’t heard of us. Well, we aim to remedy this in the only way we know how: about 4,000 local shows. Here they are: 

February 23rd at The Oak + The Ax in Biddeford, ME with The Loom and The Wailing Wall

February 25th at Bayside Bowl in Portland with Visions (Boston)

February 28th at The Red Door in Portsmouth, NH with South China

March 3rd at Empire Dine and Dance in Portland with Wesley Hartley and The Traveling Trees and Jacob Augustine

March 4th at the Apohadion in Portland with Brenda and Metal Feathers

March 5th at Colby College in Waterville, ME

Word!

Also, check out our Tour page for shows beyond these dates: http://themilkmansunion.com/tour They keep rolling in and the page will be updated accordingly.