Reilly and band to perform album in its entirety at shows in Minneapolis (and Chicago)

For the first time ever and to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the release of the record (it was released July 31, 2001), the Ike Reilly Assassination is set to perform Reilly’s debut solo album, Salesmen and Racists, in its entirety at two upcoming shows: First Avenue in Minneapolis on July 29, 2011, and the Bottom Lounge in Chicago on July 30, 2011. The first half of the show will consist of Salesmen and Racists, while the second half of the show will draw from the rest of their catalog of songs. Says Reilly of the planned shows: “Sometimes ya just gotta give the people what they want.”

Reilly’s most recent album, Hard Luck Stories, came out in early 2010. In support of the album, Reilly hit the road with his pal and collaborator Shooter Jennings (they each co-wrote and performed a song on the other’s album) and also had residencies in both Minneapolis (his home away from home) and Chicago (his hometown). As Minneapolis City Pages said in advance of the residency there: “...Reilly still stands out as one of the best rock 'n' roll musicians I've ever seen. Equal parts punk rocker, poet, and blue-collar barfly, Reilly's stories are as bizarre and filthy and honest and pure as the people who come out to his shows. His songs reach out and grab people, shake them by the collars, make them jump up and down. ...And here I am, another Minneapolis writer head over heels in love with Ike Reilly and painting him as some kind of punk rock prophet. Maybe, as they say, you had to be there. Or maybe you should see it for yourself.” The Ike Reilly Assassination also made a much-lauded appearance at Lollapalooza in 2010.

Some press praise for Reilly’s Hard Luck Stories:

• “His sixth and latest studio album, Hard Luck Stories (Rock Ridge), matches his reedy, rough-hewn voice with songs that fold their craft and toil inside an appealingly off-handed approach, as if they were being bashed out in the moment. ...[Ike] merges his affinity for folk-punk narrative and anthemic guitar chords with hip-hop’s vocal cadences and rhythmic drive.” – Chicago Tribune
• “Drawing misfit characters with a small-town pencil, Reilly tackles tales of speakeasy massage parlors, unpaid utility bills and a sympathetic, pot-dealing single dad with a sense of resigned humor only available to someone who's familiar. Better yet, the album isn't just fun, it's an absolute blast.” – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• “...amid all the street-poet swagger, audacious humor, and industrial-strength hooks, [Ike Reilly] has sharpened his storytelling skills and revealed a lot more heart: ‘Lights Out,’ ‘The Ballad of Jack and Haley,’ and ‘The Golden Corner’ help make this the most emotionally resonant of his albums. ...Here's hoping a broad audience finds all the riches brimming in his hard-luck stories.” – Philadelphia Inquirer
• “...scuffed and noir-ish tales of modern life. ... Hard Luck Stories finds Reilly fusing dirty R&B grooves into his swaggering Pop/Roots sound... But perhaps Ike Reilly’s most amazing accomplishment over the past decade is that every new album is his best ever and yet the new one in no way ever diminishes the greatness of his existing catalog.” – Cincinnati City Beat
• “...[Hard Luck Stories is] Americana with a gloves-off, punked-out attitude, which is what we’ve come to expect from Chicago’s shameless musical bad boy.” – Daily Oklahoman