Experimental indie pioneers Animal Collective are set to return to the stage to perform their acclaimed 2005 record, Feels, in its entirety. These upcoming dates mark the band's first collective live appearance in four years.
The group has scheduled two intimate performances: they will appear at the Knockdown Center in Queens on October 22, followed by a show at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on October 24. Fans looking to secure tickets can access artist and local pre-sales starting September 10 at 10 a.m. local time, with general ticket sales opening the following day, September 11, at 10 a.m. local time.
This live revival follows the 20th-anniversary reissue of Feels, which arrived last year. In an official statement, the band addressed why they hadn't previously toured the project. “When we celebrated the Feels 20th Anniversary edition last year, people often asked, ‘Why aren’t you performing it live?’ It was a good question, and honestly, one we just hadn’t asked ourselves. We were so used to our schedules not lining up that we didn’t consider it. But yeah, why didn’t we? The celebration felt incomplete to you all, and to us too.”
The band detailed the logistical effort required to bring this material back to the stage, noting that they had to track down vintage equipment and original loops to replicate the sound of the era. “‘We can relearn this album,’ we said. ‘We can find old loops, tunings, pedals, and a working minidisc player to grab old sounds. Then maybe if a small window of time opens up… Now it has, and we’re going to play the album in full (as well as some extras from the time) in NYC and LA this October. A 21st birthday party.’”
Regarding the limited nature of the run, the members expressed regret that they could not reach more cities. “We know only playing two shows in the two biggest cities in the states leaves a lot of you without an option to come out. We sincerely wish everyone who wants to see these shows could do so, and we’re sorry we can’t make that happen for you. As we said above, we only have a short window to get together right now. We’ll see how it goes and how the future shapes up down the road.”
Feels remains a landmark release in the band's discography, representing a pivotal moment in the Baltimore-born group’s ascent within the experimental rock scene. Reflecting on the album’s unique production, producer Scott Colburn noted in a 2005 interview, “There’s a pop song in every one of those tracks — it’s just embedded and surrounded by this blanket of fucked-up sounds.”
