The Dresden Dolls Ready To Play Again

The duo features Amanda Palmer on piano and vocals, and Brian Viglione on drums, guitar and bass.

In a 2006 Pollstar cover story, Palmer explained the meaning behind the band’s self-proclaimed genre “Brechtian Punk Cabaret.”

“Yeah, well that’s kind of a cheap trick,” Palmer said. “I just wrote that on our first press release because I didn’t want the press to have to come up with a name for us. I was terrified that it would involve the word ‘gothic.’”

The Dresden Dolls last toured in 2008 and last performed in January 2009 at Washington, D.C.’s 9:30 Club in honor of President Barack Obama’s Inauguration Day.

Palmer and Viglione announced the return of the Dolls with a YouTube video complete with frilly dresses, big hats and fans. Palmer claims the “dresses were Brian’s idea” and the fans were her idea.

“The time apart has done nothing but given both of us an appreciation of how incredibly special and powerful our band is,” Palmer said in a statement. “Our live musical chemistry is completely unique, almost magical, and we don’t take that for granted. I can’t wait to get on a stage with Brian again. Nobody hits the drums like that man – he’s in a class all his own. And when we play together live, we create an entire world we can’t otherwise create.”

On Oct. 31 The Dresden Dolls play Irving Plaza in New York along with some yet-to-be announced very special guests. The show marks the 10 year anniversary of the date the duo first met during an art/salon party at Palmer’s house in which she was playing her solo songs on piano.

The fall tour dates continue Nov. 12 with a gig at Tipitina’s Uptown in New Orleans as a special gulf oil spill relief benefit for BTNEP. Palmer’s blog explains that the organization “is working to preserve, protect, and restore the Barataria and Terrebonne estuaries of Louisiana.”

Additional gigs include The Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta (Nov. 13), Buster’s in Lexington, Ky. (Nov. 14), The Pageant in St. Louis (Nov. 16), Vic Theatre in Chicago (Nov. 17), Granada Theater in Dallas (Nov. 19), Fitzerald’s in Houston (Nov. 20) and La Zona Rosa in Austin, Texas (Nov. 21).

Tickets are on sale now.

Click here for Amanda Palmer’s blog.

Click here for The Dresden Dolls’ website.