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Shadowland

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Shadowland was a performance tour by The Residents, beginning on May 2nd 2014 and ending on July 2nd 2016.

The third part of the group's Randy, Chuck and Bob Trilogy of tours, the show revolved around themes of birth and rebirth, and the set list was arranged into seven distinct sections, most of which focused on specific albums from the group's discography.

Shadowland is notable for being the final tour to feature long-time composer Charles Bobuck performing with the group.

History

The Shadowland tour began on May 2nd 2014, in Gent, Belgium. The show on March 20th 2015 would be the group's last with Charles Bobuck, who later revealed himself to be Hardy Fox.

The August 6th show at the OFF Festival would be the group's first performance to feature their new member, Rico, who was said to be Bobuck's cousin.

The tour finished on July 2nd 2016 in Russia, with a show at the Krugozor Club in Moscow.

Structure

Randy, Chuck, & Bob, 2014

Shadowland's set list was divided into seven sections, each focusing on a different album from the group's back catalogue.

The Bunny Boy

The show starts with Randy Rose explaining the concept of the Randy, Chuck and Bob Trilogy, and introducing the band. Afterwards the group perform three songs from their 2008 album The Bunny Boy:

Following these three tracks, a film plays on the screen behind the group featuring "The Butcher" from their 1994 album Gingerbread Man.

Freak Show

The Residents perform three songs from the 1990 album Freak Show:

A second film follows this suite of tracks, featuring a Libertine performing "Almost Perfect" from the 2006 album Tweedles! as a monologue.

The Garbage Man

The following segment went through some changes after the departure of Charles Bobuck. Originally it was based around the group's 1998 album Wormwood, featuring:

However after Rico replaced Bobuck the setlist for this segment was changed to:

Following this is another film featuring a man telling a story of his past life as a garbage man.

Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen

Then the group perform a suite of three songs from the 1978 album Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen:

Randy Rose plays drums on "Constantinople", which did not feature during 2014 performances. Following this suite of tracks a film is shown on the screen featuring a diver talking about her death and reincarnation.

Commercial Album

The group then perform three songs from their Commercial Album:

The Shadowland version of "My Second Wife" features an additional verse not heard in the original, with the following lyrics: "When I was young my father's wife insisted that the sun / Was oblivious and said that this could not be overcome. / Ed did not believe her, so she ran away instead, / Of feeding little animals, more meaningless than dead."

The film following this suite of tracks features the mother of a famous model, jealous of her daughter's success.

Demons Dance Alone

During Charles Bobuck's time with the band, there was a segment dedicated to the group's 2002 album Demons Dance Alone, however this suite was removed from the setlist following his departure from the group. This section featured:

The film that followed this suite features a train engineer.

Finale

The following segment features no particular theme, or film following the performance. It went through some changes after the retirement of Bobuck. "Is He Really Bringing Roses?" was dropped from this segment when Rico joined the group.

Encore

For the encore, The Residents perform the following two tracks:

Live albums

The wiki has a page dedicated to this topic.
For more information, read this article.


Shadowland

On March 10th 2015, a live album was released featuring a recording of an early Shadowland show in Nantes, France. This live recording is considerably shortened, removing five songs from the setlist, as well as the Shadow Stories:

Versions of the latter three tracks from a Shadowland performance in 2015 were released on the 2019 pREServed reissue of the group's Commercial Album. A version of 'They Are The Meat', recorded in 2016, was included in the Wormwood Box, leaving 'Rabbit Habbit' as the only song from the show not released.

An alternate recording of 'Judas Saves', made earlier that same week, was also included on the Wormwood Box.

Shadowland: Live in Fribourg, Switzerland

On October 18th 2024, another live album was released, which features the performance of Shadowland held in Fribourg, Switzerland. This release features the Rico-era arrangements of the songs. It includes every song that was performed at that show, as well as each of the Shadow Stories.

Personnel

  • Randy Rose: Lead Vocals, Drums on 'Constantinople' (2016 Shows only)
  • Lionel Bob: Guitar
  • Rico: Keyboards (2015 - 2016)
  • Charles Bobuck: Drums, DAW Operation (2014 - 2015)
  • N.Cook: Guest
  • N. de Rooji: Lighting Design
  • H. Fokker: Tour Manager
  • M. Postma: Merchandise
  • Creeping Mac Kroki: Shadowland Photos
  • The Cryptic Corporation: Producer
  • G. Arts: Sound Designer
  • The Residents: Written-By, Performer

Performances

First leg (with Charles Bobuck)

Second leg (with Charles Bobuck)

Third leg (with Rico)

Fourth leg (with Rico)

Fifth leg (with Rico)

See also

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