Xiu Xiu, Xiu Xiu Play Eraserhead

might call Xiu Xiu's music theatrical: and this description is an understatement for the alternative independent rock band from San José. The combo delivered great theater—or rather, a cinematic performance—in 2016 when they released the surprisingly successful album "Plays the Music of Twin Peaks" with the blessing of American film director David Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti. They subsequently toured with the record. However, out of respect for the beloved series, the band decided to shelve this concert series in 2018.

Following David Lynch's untimely death in early 2025, the band has now received several high-profile requests to revive their interpretations of the iconic music from his films. However, because Xiu Xiu always strives to meet the incredibly high bar of artistic challenge set by David Lynch, to honor it, and to continue to be inspired by it, this time they are going deeper.

Xiu Xiu play Eraserhead – An exploration of the sonic and visual universe that is Eraserhead! “ERASERHEAD XIU XIU” is a new live concept with accompanying film, utilizing field recordings, concert-specific, self-built instruments, organ, modular synthesizers, vocals, strobe lighting, electrical interference, and elements of musique concrete to express the bizarre emotionality, conflicted sexuality, relentless darkness, and unique, unsettled lunar landscape of the cinematic masterpiece.

The original sound design and score by Alan Spelt and Lynch serve as a guide to Xiu Xiu’s sonic unfolding, as they have been influenced by them as fans and musicians. The original film gives Xiu Xiu the visual lens through which to be confused and overwhelmed by the band’s imagined, unused additional material.

Is it a temporary art installation, an exploding homage to a cinematic triumph, an epitaph for an idol, or a completely new work? YES. Is it intense, strange, curious, and wrapped in the darkest of nights? OF COURSE, after all, it's Eraserhead. And things will be dark in November at the Szene Wien live show by Xiu Xiu...

Program and cast