Benjamin Tod is back at it again with a beautifully tragic new record.
Titled Vengeance & Grace, Tod’s 12th studio album – and fifth of his career without former band Lost Dog Street Band – features two versions of 10 killer original songs. The “(Alone)” versions are stripped back, acoustic, and vulnerable, while the other version of each song takes a bigger, full band approach to the sonic aspect. This bifurcated approach is meant to drive home the dueling nature of the two personal themes in the albums title, Vengeance & Grace, and adds a unique element to another special project from Benjamin Tod.
For someone who is very open about the fact that he has lived a troubled life in many ways, struggling with addictions and living a significant portion of his adulthood in vagrancy, this new album seems to mark a turning point in Tod’s personal growth and musical approach. Though Tod has been sober for quite some time at this point, and now communicates that he values family, faith, and integrity over the transient highs and completely independent and inherently subversive attitude that dominated his lifestyle for decades, he makes it clear in this album that he will never forget the dark times that formed him into who he is today.
Love it or hate it, those times and experiences are a part of who he is, and it makes for some incredibly introspective songwriting.
Check out a few early favorites here:
“Vengeance and Grace”
“Martyr of a Man”
“The Bottle’s Gone”
“End of My Rope (Alone)”
“My Pride (Alone)”
With the recent arrival of their first child, Tod and Ashley Mae – his wife and Lost Dog Street Band bandmate – announced an indefinite hiatus to their touring with the familiar outfit. Instead, Tod is set to hit the road and bring these songs to you live backed by his new band The Inline Six.
And trust me, this is not a show you are going to want to miss if he and the band are road-dogging through your city. Check out the tour dates here:
Benjamin Tod Tour Dates
4/19 – Longhorn Ballroom – Dallas, TX+
4/20 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX+
4/21 – Emo’s Austin – Austin, TX+
4/23 – La Rosa – Tuscon, AZ+=
4/25 – Stagecoach – Indio, CA*
4/26 – The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA^
4/28 – Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA^
4/30 – The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT^
5/1 – Mishawaka Amphitheatre – Bellevue, CO^
5/2 – Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO^!
5/4 – Madrid Theatre – Kansas City, MO^
5/5 – Gilloz Theatre – Springfield, MO^
5/7 – Bluebird Nightclub – Bloomington, IN^
5/8 – Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH^
5/9 – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville – Nashville, TN#$
7/9 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN#
7/10 – Turner Hall Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI#
7/11 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL#
7/12 – Woody’s Des Moines, IA#
7/14 – The Lincoln – Cheyenne, WY#
7/16 – Old Saloon – EMigrant, MT#
7/17 – Under the Big Sky Festival – Whitefish, MT*
7/20 – Jackson Hole Center for the Arts – Jackson, WY%
7/23 – Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA%
7/24 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR%
7/25 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR%
7/26 – Knitting Factory Concert House – Boise, ID%
7/30 – Slowdown – Omaha, NE%
7/31 – The Pageant – St. Louis, MO%
8/1 – The Burl – Lexington, KY$
10/1 – Bogart’s – Cincinnati, OH~@
10/2 – Globe Iron – Cleveland, OH@
10/3 – The Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI@
10/4 – Roxian Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA@
10/6 – Anthology – Rochester, NY@
10/8 – Higher Ground Ballroom – South Burlington, VT@
10/9 – Higher Ground Ballroom – South Burlington, VT@
10/10 – State Theatre – Portland, ME&
10/11 – Royale – Boston, MA&
10/13 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY&?
10/15 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA&
10/16 – Howard Theatre – Washington D.C.&
10/17 – The Jefferson Theatre – Charlottesville, VA&
10/18 – Cat’s Cradle – Carborro, NC&
10/20 – The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC**
10/22 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA**
10/23 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC**
10/24 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC**
10/25 – Thee Mill & Mine – Knoxville, TN**$
*festival date
+w/ Coleman Jennings
=w/ Jason Dea West
^w/ Colton Bowlin
!w/ Johno Leeroy
#w/ Leon Majcen
$w/ Ivan Macleod
%w/ Kelsey Waldon
~w/ Wes Shipp
@w/ Candi Jenkins
&w/ Tommy Prine
?w/ Molly Ruth
**w/ Conrad Moore
