The xx talk Night + Day gigs: 'They're basically a day out with the band' The xx Tickets

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As tickets for The xx's 2013 Night + Day shows go on fan pre-sale, the band's Romy Madley Croft explains all about the shows.

"We want it to be a bit different to going to a sponsored, corporate thing, with a bit more attention to detail in the music. We'll be starting at around one and going on until about 11pm, so it's basically a day out. A day out with The xx."

The three full-day shows are set to take place in a series of unusual locations in May and June 2013. Venues include a waterfront park in Portugal, an abandoned Berlin theme park and a London palace. The xx will headline each night, but the events will begin in the afternoon and feature a full bill of acts.

Madley Croft explains how the three locations were chosen. "London is home and Berlin and Lisbon are both beautiful cities that we love. When we were thinking of our favourite places that we've been, they were the ones that came up. The London one is actually just outside of London but it's on the tube, so people can get there. It's a beautiful old park with a house and a lake in it. I like the idea of taking people on a journey somewhere rather than just playing the usual venues."

The gigs are a way of avoiding playing the usual large-size venues and arenas. "I recently went to watch Florence + The Machine play the O2 Arena. I don't think we could play the O2. I was amazed to see her do it and I thought it was incredible, but for us, if we're going to play to more people, I want to do it differently. So this is an experiment, I guess."

The band promise a curated experience at the shows, with lots of thought put into the line-ups and the food on offer. "We want to make sure that the food and the drink and the whole experience is an interesting one," says Madley Croft. "We're not going to get just, like, guys in vans. We want to make it different to other events. We made a list of all the places we like to eat. Jamie's really into this burger place in Brixton so we're going to get in contact with them, things like that, to give it a personal touch.

The singer describes choosing the line-up as "a dream come true". "It's a dream to be able to approach people that we really love rather than just having to pick one support act. There are lots of bands that I love that are too big to support us, but I'm hoping to get some of them involved. We're not ready to announce that yet, though, as we're still in discussions. I definitely feel very excited to be able to be open minded with it, and that we don't have to stick to music that sounds like us."

NME currently has a pair of tickets to give away for The xx's final show of 2012, a scaled-up gig at Brighton Centre. To be in with a chance of winning, click this link.

To check the availability of The xx tickets and get all the latest listings, go to NME.COM/TICKETS now, or call 0871 230 1094.

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