MC50, Feat. Members of King’s X + Soundgarden, Announce 2018 North American Tour
MC50, the supergroup led by MC5 founding guitarist Wayne Kramer, has revealed tour dates for "Kick Out the Jams: The 50th Anniversary Tour," celebrating the legacy of the Detroit, Mich. proto-punk outfit. Joining him will be Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, King's X singer/bassist Dug Pinnick, Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty and Zen Guerrilla frontman Marcus Durant. The 35-date trek launches in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Sept. 5 following several European summer festival appearances, and ends with two shows (Oct. 26 and 27) where it all began in Detroit 50 years ago.
It was Halloween night of 1968 at the city's Grande Ballroom where Kick Out the Jams was recorded live in front of a frenzied hometown crowd. It ended up becoming the landmark debut by MC5, and Kramer will be celebrating its anniversary in conjunction with the Aug. 14 release of his memoir The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities (Da Capo Press).
The final show of the tour will also serve as the grand re-opening of the soon-to-be-renovated The Fillmore Detroit. On the MC50 tour, Kramer and the band will play Kick Out the Jams in its entirety followed by an encore of MC5 material that will change each night.
"This band will rip your head off," Kramer says in a statement. "It's real, raw, sweaty, total energy rock and roll, like a bunch of 40-to-70-year-old punks on a meth power trip."
The recording of Kick Out the Jams took place just months after the band's appearance at Chicago's riotous 1968 Democratic National Convention, a pivotal moment in modern American politics. Kramer sees many parallels in our current political climate.
"Today, there is a corrupt regime in power, an endless war thousands of miles away, and uncontrollable violence wracking our country," he says. "It's becoming less and less clear if we're talking about 1968 or 2018. I'm now compelled to share this music I created with my brothers 50 years ago. My goal is that the audience leaves these concerts fueled by the positive and unifying power of rock music."
Beginning tomorrow (Apr. 4) at 10:00am local time, a "Super Fan Pre-Show Experience Pre-Sale" will begin. The experience will include a cluster of goodies, including an appearance by Kramer for a no-holds-barred conversation before the show with "no topic off limits." There will also be an exclusive look into Wayne's personal guitar collection, early entry into the venue and a copy of Kramer's memoir. Details on the package can be found at this location. For information on ticket on-sale dates and more, click here.
Kick Out the Jams: The 50th Anniversary Tour Poster
Kick Out the Jams: The 50th Anniversary Tour Dates
09/5 - Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. @ Revolution Live
09/6 - St. Augustine, Fla. @ Backyard Stage at St. Augustine Amphitheatre
09/7 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Variety Playhouse
09/8 - Raleigh, N.C. @ Hopscotch Music Festival
09/9 - Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit/In
09/11 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
09/12 - New Haven, Conn. @ College Street Music Hall
09/13 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club
09/14 - Huntington, N.Y. @ The Paramount
09/15 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Union Transfer
09/17 - New York, N.Y. @ Irving Plaza
09/18 - Montreal, Quebec @ Corona Theatre
09/19 - Toronto, Ontario @ Danforth Music Hall
09/21 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
09/22 - Grand Rapids, Mich. @ 20 Monroe Live
09/23 - Cleveland, Ohio @ House of Blues
09/25 - Milwaukee, Wisc. @ Turner Hall Ballroom
09/26 - St. Louis, Mo. @ The Ready Room
09/28 - Austin, Tex. @ Mohawk
09/29 - Dallas, Tex. @ Granada Theater
10/01 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ The Marquee
10/02 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ Brooklyn Bowl
10/03 - San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues
10/04 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Regency Ballroom
10/05 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ John Anson Ford
10/15 - Portland, Ore. @ Roseland Theater
10/16 - Seattle, Wash. @ The Showbox
10/17 - Vancouver, British Columbia @ Commodore Ballroom
10/19 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ Metro Music Hall
10/20 - Denver, Colo. @ Gothic Theatre
10/23 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Varsity Theater
10/24 - Chicago, Ill. @ Metro Chicago
10/25 - Cincinnati, Ohio @ Bogart's
10/26 - Detroit, Mich. @ St. Andrew's Hall
10/27 - Detroit, Mich. @ The Fillmore
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