The Return Of Babes In Toyland

Formed in 1987 the trio originally featured Kat Bjelland on lead vocals/guitar and Lori Barbero on drums along with Michelle Leon playing bass.  Leon eventually moved on and was replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992.   Now, nearly two decades after the band’s last full-fledged U.S. tour,  Bjelland, Barbero and Herman are bringing their trademark in-you-face punk back to the people.  This week finds the group overseas playing London’s O2 Shepherds Bush Empire tonight, followed by other gigs in the U.K and Europe, including Barcelona’s Primavera Sound May 29 and the Beaches Brew Festival in Ravenna, Italy, June 3.

Babes In Toyland hasn’t been completely absent from American stages in 2015.  The band played a couple of Southern California shows in February, including a gig at West Hollywood’s Roxy Theatre that Rolling Stone described as “blistering return to the stage.”  Rage Against The Machine and part-time E Street Band guitarist Tom Morello introduced the band to a very appreciative crowd, saying he first fell in love with the group when the trio played the 1993 Lollapalooza tour.

“In his introduction, Morello aptly called them ‘the princesses of punk, the matriarchs of metal and the goddesses of grunge – riot girls that are now riot moms,’” reported Rolling Stone’s Wendy Fonaro.  “Where they once served as role models for a new generation of female musicians who would pick up instruments and teach themselves to play, the gleeful passion for their return show proved once again that comebacks – if done right – can be more than nostalgia trips.”

Although Babes In Toyland’s June 21 gig at “Rock The Garden” at Minneapolis’ Walker Arts Center has been on the books for some time, it wasn’t until today that the band revealed an actual tour across the land.  Here’s the routing:

Aug. 27 – St. Louis, Mo., Firebird
Aug. 28 – Kansas City, Mo., The Riot Room
Sept. 1 – Salt Lake City, Utah, Urban Lounge
Sept. 3 – Portland, Ore., Mississippi Studios
Sept. 4 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Biltmore Cabaret
Sept. 5 – Seattle, Wash., Seattle (Center Bumbershoot Festival)
Sept. 15 – Covington, Ky., Madison Theater
Sept. 17 – New York, N.Y., Irving Plaza
Sept. 19 – Montreal, Quebec, Rialto Theatre (POP Montréal Int’l Music Festival) 

Presales begin this week with general onsales starting May 29.  Visit BabesInToyland.com for more details.