Perennial Burning Man favorites The Mutaytor (mutaytor.com) are announcing the first dates of their "farewell" tour. While the band will not be folding up the tent permanently, they are announcing an indefinite hiatus from touring.

The reason for the hiatus is to focus on a giant install show in Los Angeles projected for 2013, at The Big Art Labs (bigartlabs.com). The Lab is a quarter million square foot multi-purpose arts complex located in downtown Los Angeles, and will be the site for the new install show which harkens back to Mutaytor’s ambitious Burning man roots.

According to the band, the kind of show that made them famous - big scary fire, a large ensemble cast of dancers, fire and cirque style performers as well as life-size puppets and props is simply impractical and too expensive to take on the road. Additionally, many venues do not allow fire performance, which has traditionally been one of their staple offerings.

The touring version of the show boasts a stage full of musicians and performers creating a very bombastic, interactive, spectacle. Just not on the same scale that is possible when the show doesn’t have to get packed up every night.

The vision for Mutaytor at Big Art Labs is to create an environment where the band can do the large scale productions that they’re known for and also to foster a new, growing arts community in Los Angeles by hosting all types of artists from Los Angeles and around the world.

According to Buck Down (guitarist/singer): “While the last of construction and permitting take place back home, the band is announcing a series of shows around North America for 2012 to say "thank you" to their legions of supporters spread out around the country.”

According to Atom Smith (keyboardist/singer) “no doubt some of the fine folks we meet on the road will wind up getting an invitation to join us back in Los Angeles at Big Art Labs.”