For months now, all the talk in my neighborhood has been about the Round Robin Tour. Something like a dozen Baltimore bands have been on tour together. What’s special about it is the format of the show. The show starts, and one band plays one song. Immediately after that, another band plays another song, and so on until all the bands have played a song. Then, they do it again, and again. It’s great! For anyone who gets sick of listening to sound checks between each and every band, this is a dream come true. It’s a wonderful idea, and Baltimore is very proud to have these bands draw huge crowds nationwide – no kidding, huge crowds! The show’s almost over, but there’s one performance left, and you can download the compilation from the tour!

Tonight, the Round Robin tour celebrated its homecoming at Sonar, here in Baltimore, by kicking off a two-night series of round robin performances. The first night was called “eyes night” and it featured nearly as much performance art as music. Many of the acts were accompanied by video projections, and the overall vibe was mellower. Tomorrow, feet night, will be more raucous.

Baltimore Round Robin 2008.

Another interesting thing about this tour is that the tour bus they used is powered by vegetable oil.

This whole thing was concocted by the same talented crew who brought an event called Whartscape as an answer to Baltimore’s Artscape. The group’s called Wham City.

Here’s a rundown of the many and diverse performances to be seen and heard in the Round Robin Tour.