Thomas Dolby Back In North America Fronting ‘Invisible Lighthouse’ for Tour

Dolby’s a One Man Band again [plus Foley Artist Blake Layh]

After a period of several years between his Sole Inhabitant tour and his 2012 North American tour, Dolby is back on these shores again with his first film in tow. “The Invisible Lighthouse” is a unique presentation that is part documentary, multimedia installation, and rock concert. Upon hearing that a familiar lighthouse located where he spent some of his childhood was closing, he took it upon himself to document this now vanishing part of the East Anglia landscape. Dolby filmed and edited the movie himself using D.I.Y. tech that greatly appealed to his inner geek, so he added some new skills to his already impressive CV. Dolby will use music, narration, lighting and a sound designer/Foley Artist Blake Layh to make these shows unique, hybrid events not to be repeated. After the film is over, Dolby will play a second set of his music from throughout his career.

His tour is taking in a schedule of independent art cinemas and film festivals instead of the sweaty world of rock cootie* infested concert halls and clubs. Having seen Dolby twice in 2012, I was really looking forward to his tour coming within spitting distance of where I live but alas, it’s not to be. Having seen his band show twice last year, I was more than intrigued to see him performing solo [more or less] as he had on his wonderful “Sole Inhabitant” tour of 2006. This year, I’m on tour myself roughly from October through December taking in the sights and smells of a host of shows and performers that I’ve already committed to, so I’ll have to pass on this must-see event. You may have seen Dolby before, but not quite like this extravaganza promises to be.

Thomas Dolby | The Invisible Lighthouse North American Tour 2013

Dates TBA:
BOULDER, CO
SALT LAKE CITY, UT
VANCOUVER, BC
SEATTLE, WA
DENVER, CO

– 30 –

* Special thanks to Sparks for coining this most necessary phrase. If you’ve ever been in a nightclub with the lights full up, you’ll know whereof they speak.

About postpunkmonk

graphic design | software UI design | media design • record collector • satire • non-fiction

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8 Responses to Thomas Dolby Back In North America Fronting ‘Invisible Lighthouse’ for Tour

chasinvictoria says:

October 2, 2013 at 3:41 am

WOOT! He’s coming to Seattle and Vancouver! Maybe I’ll get to see him there! YES!!

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- postpunkmonk says:
  
  October 2, 2013 at 4:37 am
  
  chasinvictoria – Well, the possibility is there, yes! It’s sure to be a unique show in his history, so I’d certainly make the effort, if I were you. It’s interesting that Dolby’s own Foxx-like “retirement” is now over and he’s working with a vengeance. The pile of money he got from Nokia has allowed him to pursue his muse with intriguing projects like this, and unlike Foxx, he’s not shy about American soil. Well, having that hit doesn’t hurt.
  
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Tim says:

October 2, 2013 at 12:54 pm

I’d be interested in hearing about the content of this. I am surprised that he is actually coming to Madison, WI, at $20 the price is right. It would be a mad scramble for me as that’s my wife’s late night for work.

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- postpunkmonk says:
  
  October 2, 2013 at 1:41 pm
  
  Tim – Well, the film is a short. I’m guessing about 30-40 minutes. There is a trailer on the thomasdolby.com website for it but I don’t YouTube. After that, I would expect about 50-75 minutes of Dolby music. But that’s just my hunch. His two shows at the Orlando Film Festival are at 8:00 and 10:00 respectively, if that sheds any light. For $20 I’d definitely go. Nokia has paid him off handsomely. Take advantage of his economic security to indulge himself in less commercial creative endeavors like this.
  
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  - Tim says:
    
    October 2, 2013 at 9:31 pm
    
    I haven’t been in the Majestic for a while. I saw gobs of indie movies there when I moved to this city and it has had an interesting history. There was an effort to preserve it and just all sorts of drama, a couple of fires that some think are arson, liquor license issues (it’s kind of a combo restaurant/movie theatre/music venue), & some more stuff. Quite honestly I though that it was shut down by the city and not even open anymore! Madison used to have a really nice business district (“State Street”) but it has devolved into a food court with a ton of bars. Something like 50% of the liquor licenses for the city of Madison are for locations on State Street or within a few blocks of and (in my opinion, having managed a business there for several years) the saturation of alcohol & the attendant alcohol culture is what killed the downtown. My wife and I don’t go down there anymore unless there is an event (i.e. DOLBY!!!). We have a great farmers market there , for example, and every weekend that draws about 8-10,000 people but……….the stench of vomit and urine keep us in our neighborhood, we have a much smaller one right up the road every Sunday with lots of affordable produce, organic/no bgh, etc items and locally made products.
    
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    - postpunkmonk says:
      
      October 2, 2013 at 10:40 pm
      
      Tim – You’re preaching to the choir! I live in Asheville, NC, which had been voted Beer City USA for three years in a row recently. Is there a limit to microbreweries one can shoehorn into the downtown district? Apparently not! Beer is so saturating the city that we have had more rarified forms of John Barleycorn infiltrating the city such as [legal] white lightning distilleries and this week there is a saki bar opening. It gets tedious and as you say, it brings the culture down to a gutter level. And needless to say, I don’t drink. It does less than zero for me.
      
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chas_m says:

October 3, 2013 at 2:57 am

According to Bandsintown (a fab little app for the iOS machines, and a website for others), Mr Dolby’s Seattle gig is November 18, meaning his Vanc gig is almost certain the day before or after.

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- postpunkmonk says:
  
  October 3, 2013 at 4:52 am
  
  chas_m – And the implication for you is…? Where will you be at that point in time?
  
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