NPR's Tiny Desk series has hosted a whole slew of artists over the years, now including the legendary and grotesque Gwar. Watch the as the band rips through four classy tracks – "Sex Cow", "I'll Be Your Monster", "Ratcatcher", and "Phantom Limb" – alongside the resurrected conducted Wilhelm Fartwrangler. It's pure art, dammit!
"As the band of intergalactic monsters strapped guitars to their battle-worn bodies, thunder and rain pounded the NPR building outside," said NPR of the show. "As if the late Oderus Urungus was pissing his blessing from Valhalla, the prophecy had finally been fulfilled: Gwar came to destroy the Tiny Desk once and for all.
"On Feb. 15, 2020, a parody news site ran the headline: 'GWAR asks NPR's Tiny Desk Staff if They're Ready to Get Their A* Ripped Open.' My text messages suddenly blew up. Is this real? No, it's literally fake. Can this be real? Little did they know I'd already been talking to one of the group's underlings since 2019 to bring the Scumdogs of the Universe to the office of seltzer and sensibility.
"For nearly four decades, Gwar has terrorized planet Earth with its gratuitously blood-soaked stage shows and grotesque satire. The interplanetary warriors have made comic books, beer, BBQ sauce and, um, adult toys. But, most importantly, Gwar has written some of the raunchiest, silliest and hookiest heavy metal songs, four of which were performed at the Tiny Desk to a giddy audience. No heads were decapitated, but Blöthar the Berserker and Pustulus Maximus did invade All Things Considered afterward to part from NPR with these immortal words: 'CDeez nutz.'"
Gwar will hit the road this July with Mudvayne, Coal Chamber, Nonpoint, and Butcher Babies. Get those dates below and get your tickets here.
7/20 West Palm Beach, FL @iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
7/21 Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
7/23 Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
7/25 Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
7/26 Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
7/28 Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
7/29 Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
7/30 Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
8/1 Syracuse, NY @ St Joseph's Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
8/2 Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake
8/4 Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
8/5 Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/6 Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
8/8 Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
8/9 Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center
8/12 Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
8/13 The Woodlands, TX @The Cynthia Woods Pavilion
8/15 Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
8/16 Phoenix, AZ @Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
8/17 Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre
8/19 Concord, CA @ Concord Pavillion
8/20 Reno,NV @ Grand Theatre
8/22 Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
8/23 Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resort Amphitheater
8/25 Salt Lake City, UT @USANA Amphitheatre
8/26 Englewood, CO @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre