Tom Waits [ tickets ] will embark on his first tour in 12 years with a set of five West Coast shows scheduled to take place in Oakland and Los Angeles in mid-June. The dates represent Waits' first tour plan in twelve years, according to a press release issued Thursday (5/6) by Waits' publicists at the Mitch Schneider Organization.

The announced dates are part of a media campaign surrounding Waits' recently released Mule Variations, which has garnered strong reviews and enjoys a debut ranking of #30 on next week's Billboard pop charts. The album fared even better outside the US, where it debuted at #3 in Europe and #18 in Canada.

Waits' brief tour will continue in Europe with nine shows in mid-July, according to the press release.

The elusive and eclectic Waits has performed primarily at benefit shows since ending his Big Time touring period, which featured music from his Raindogs and Frank's Wild Years albums. A live album and film, both bearing the name of the tour, documented the outing.

Waits recently filmed an edition of VH1's Storytellers series which will air June 13th at 10 p.m. (EDT / PDT).

Ticket information for the shows has not yet been released.