Vultures' new U.S. tour dates include John Paul Jones's 'SNL' debut

Plans announced today by Them Crooked Vultures see the band returning to the United States next month. They've been scheduling concert dates and even a live TV segment in addition to their recently announced festival appearance in Southern California this April.

Upcoming U.S. television appearances

• Feb. 6 at 11:30 p.m. Eastern: "Saturday Night Live," NBC
• Feb. 13: "Austin City Limits," PBS (check local listings)

Dave Grohl has performed on "Saturday Night Live" five times as part of musical guests Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, and Josh Homme was also on the set at 30 Rockefeller Plaza once with Queens of the Stone Age. Both will return as members of Them Crooked Vultures, booked to appear on the Feb. 6 episode hosted by Ashton Kutcher, but the band member with the longest career will be making his "SNL" debut that night.

John Paul Jones has never appeared on NBC's long-running "Saturday Night Live," which debuted halfway between the releases of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti and Presence.

That band wasn't into TV spots, but his new band is no stranger to cameras. Them Crooked Vultures already played "Austin City Limits," which is scheduled to be broadcast Feb. 13 on PBS. In addition to an appearance on the U.K.'s "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross," they've also allowed their full stage shows in England, Germany and France to be shot and broadcast.

Upcoming U.S. live dates

• Feb. 8: Roseland Ballroom, New York, N.Y. - Tickets New!
• Feb. 10: The Fillmore, Charlotte, N.C. - Tickets
• Feb. 11: The Tabernacle, Atlanta, Ga. - Tickets New!
• April 16: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival - Tickets

The first tour date Them Crooked Vultures announced today is at the Fillmore in Charlotte, N.C., on Feb. 10. Tickets, which go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m., can be purchased here.

The band promises there will be "More dates to follow." Update: Two more dates were announced on Friday, Jan. 22: New York on Feb. 8 and Atlanta on Feb. 11. Tickets for those dates, which also go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m., can be purchased here.

Reports from the road

Three shows left in Australia, and then it's on to New Zealand!

• Jan. 22: Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia - Tickets
• Jan. 25: Riverstage, Brisbane, Australia - Tickets
• Jan. 26: Hodern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia - Tickets
• Jan. 29: TSB Bank Arena, Wellington, New Zealand - Tickets
• Jan. 30: Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand - Tickets

Here are excerpts from a review of the opening night's concert in Perth, Australia:

The lead singer got the stiff crowd moving at the end by thrashing around the stage – an amazing feat given how tight his jeans were.

But the crowd were definitely saving themselves for the big guns and couldn't control their excitement when the time came. ...

John Paul Jones strutted around the stage with his bass like the legend that he is. The majority of the crowd would not have had the pleasure of seeing Zepplin live, and this was definitely the next best thing. Jones moves like a true rock god and drew the biggest cheers from the crowd.

Here's a portion of a John Paul Jones interview getting New Zealand's rock fans in the proper frame of mind:

"We can talk about Zeppelin. That's no problem. But I think you're going to want to hear about Crooked Vultures. It's the most excited I've been about a band in a very long time. ...

"We just wanted to jam; just sit in the room and play. And that's what we did. And it's been incredibly easy, and that, I think, has been part of the magic of this. We're all having fun."