The Shaking the Habitual Tour is a concert tour by Swedish electronic music duo The Knife in support of their album Shaking the Habitual. It is their first live appearance in seven years since the Silent Shout Tour in 2006, as well as their final tour.
Background When asked about the live shows in interviews The Knife had repeatedly been unforthcoming. Filter asked 'Can you tell us what the live show will be like?' and Karin responded 'That is a huge secret'. It was, however, revealed in an interview with The Guardian that the live shows have 'been devised in collaboration with an all-female collective of choreographers and set designers'. Karin also told Spin "it has to be fun, and we should enjoy the process. I think we will show some humor in our live show".
On 22 April 2013, The Knife posted details about the show on their website revealing that a handful of the European shows would begin with 'DEEP Aerobics' (short for "Death Electro Emo Protest Aerobics") and the shows in Stockholm with Cool Pans, "the biggest steel band in Scandinavia" and "Danceoke", organized by artist collective and feminist support group Öfa-Kollektivet.
The post also identified the members of Shaking The Habitual Show Team (aka Sorkklubben):
Adena Asovic, Anna Efraimsson, Andrea Svensson, Bella Rune, Erika Niklasson, Halla Olafsdottir, Iwa Herdensjö, Jonas Nobel, Karin Dreijer, Kim Einarsson, Jesper Ekholm Strömbäck, Laura Davis, Lotje Horvers, Lucie Barinkova, Marcus Baldemar, Maryam Nikandish, Nicole Lattimore, Olof Dreijer, Rami Jawhari Jansson, Sharon ‘Bamo’ Bampton, Stina Nyberg, SUTODA, Thomas Romlöv and Zoë Poluch.
Set list
Some songs are played live while others are live recordings or album tracks which the group dance to.
2013 Setlist TitleTypeA Cherry on TopLiveRaging LungLiveBirdLive Recording PlaybackWithout You My Life Would Be BoringLive Recording PlaybackA Tooth for an EyeStudio Album PlaybackOne HitStudio Album PlaybackNetworkingStudio Album PlaybackWrap Your Arms Around MeLiveReady to LoseLiveGot 2 Let ULive Recording PlaybackFull of FireStudio Album PlaybackStay Out HereStudio Album PlaybackSilent ShoutLive
2014 Setlist TitleTypeWrap Your Arms Around MeLiveRaging LungLiveWe Share Our Mother's HealthLiveBirdLive Recording PlaybackWithout You My Life Would Be BoringLive Recording PlaybackA Tooth for an EyeLive?One HitStudio Album PlaybackFull of FireLiveCollective Body Possum (Poem)Spoken WordReady to LoseLivePass This On (performed with Shannon Funchess)LiveStay Out Here (performed with Shannon Funchess)LiveSilent ShoutLive
Critical reception The live show has received positive to mixed reviews from critics and fans. The Independent praised and defended the show, giving it 5 out of 5 stars noting that "some people just can’t stand to have their boundaries gently nuzzled, let alone pushed" and "The Knife have caused uproar merely by... taking themselves out of centre stage". The Quietus called the show "a triumph of displacement and mistaken identity" emphasising "performance's endless capacity for disruption". The Guardian said "far from a joyless exercise in conceptualism, this is an absurdist sci-fi rave, complete with retro-futurist instruments, strobe lights and glow-sticks".
The Evening Standard gave the show 2 stars out of 5 saying "The Knife's comeback defied expectations, and was frequently fun, but mostly it felt like the joke was on us". MTV said "'challenging', unconventional' and even 'uncomfortable' are all things we have come to not only expect but demand from The Knife, but tonight's performance ultimately just failed to cut it". Some fans left negative reviews on Last.fm calling it "an amateurish dance show".
In an interview with The Quietus, Olof Dreijer responded to the criticism, saying "We are on stage like this – if people don't like that, it's fine" and "it's important to say that many of the things we do on stage have previously been done within the comfort zone of the queer community. We have years of drag, voguing and miming behind us – but they have been done within a group that wants that and reconfirms it. Whereas now The Knife have ended up in a bit more of a mainstream situation where there are people outside this comfort zone, who might not be socialist or feminist or queer. It's not so strange for us.
Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueOpenerDJ SetApril 26, 2013BremenGermanyPier 2Deep AerobicsApril 27, 2013HamburgDocksApril 29, 2013MilanItalyAlcatrazApril 30, 2013ZürichSwitzerlandKomplex 457May 1, 2013MunichGermanyMuffathalleMay 2, 2013CologneE-WerkMay 4, 2013ParisFranceCité de la MusiquePlanningtorockMay 5, 2013BrusselsBelgiumAncienne BelgiqueMay 6, 2013AmsterdamNetherlandsParadisoShinedoeMay 8, 2013LondonUnited KingdomRoundhouseDeep AerobicsHannah HollandMay 9, 2013May 11, 2013BerlinGermanyColumbiahallerRoxymoreMay 12, 2013CopenhagenDenmarkVegaDeep AerobicsPernille Krog MogensenMay 13, 2013May 15, 2013OsloNorwaySentrum SceneMay 16, 2013StockholmSwedenHangaren SubtopiaCool Pans & DanceokeLemieuxMay 17, 2013Lemieux & Jin MustafaMay 24, 2013BarcelonaSpainPrimavera SoundJune 14, 2013AarhusDenmarkNorthside FestivalJuly 19, 2013GräfenhainichenGermanyMelt! FestivalDeep AerobicsAugust 7, 2013HelsinkiFinlandFlow FestivalAugust 9, 2013GothenburgSwedenWay Out WestDeep AerobicsAugust 10, 2013OsloNorwayØyafestivalenAugust 15, 2013Paredes de CouraPortugalParedes de Coura FestivalAugust 17, 2013KiewitBelgiumPukkelpopDeep Aerobics in support of Pussy RiotAugust 18, 2013BiddinghuizenNetherlandsLowlandsAugust 30, 2013ZürichSwitzerlandZürich OpenairSeptember 1, 2013StradballyIrelandElectric PicnicDeep AerobicsSeptember 6, 2013WarsawPolandSelector FestivalSeptember 7, 2013WhiteleyUnited KingdomBestivalOctober 31, 2013ParisFrancePitchfork Music FestivalApril 9, 2014PomonaUnited StatesPomona Fox TheaterDeep AerobicsApril 11, 2014IndioCoachella Valley Music and Arts FestivalApril 15, 2014OaklandFox Oakland TheatreDeep AerobicsApril 16, 2014April 18, 2014IndioCoachella Valley Music and Arts FestivalApril 21, 2014DenverFillmore AuditoriumDeep AerobicsApril 23, 2014ChicagoAragon BallroomApril 25, 2014TorontoCanadaKool HausApril 26, 2014MontrealMétropolisApril 28, 2014BostonUnited StatesHouse of BluesApril 30, 2014New York CityTerminal 5May 1, 2014October 30, 2014StockholmSwedenAnnexetOctober 31, 2014November 1, 2014GothenburgFilm StudiosNovember 3, 2014BerlinGermanyArenaNovember 5, 2014ManchesterUnited KingdomManchester AcademyNovember 6, 2014LondonBrixton AcademyDJ MaryamNovember 8, 2014ReykjavíkIcelandIceland Airwaves
References