Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
After the recent internet-overloading news that a modern incarnation of the legendary MC5 was forming for some type of upcoming action… here it is!
MC5‘s iconic frontman, Wayne Kramer, will be joined by Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, King’s X bassist Dug Pinnick, and Zen Guerrilla frontman Marcus Durant for the “Kick Out the Jams: The 50th Anniversary Tour”. Select dates on the trek will see them joined by drummer Dennis Thompson, the only other living member of MC5 than Kramer.
The itinerary for this once-in-a-lifetime event is listed below and tickets went on sale this past Friday (April 6). Each show will feature a full album performance of MC5’s seminal recording, ‘Kick Out the Jams’, plus an encore of other MC5 material.
This road journey will coincide with the release of Wayne Kramer‘s memoir, ‘The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, And My Life Of Impossibilities’, which “chronicles his abusive childhood, his discovery of rock and roll through artists like Chuck Berry and The Yardbirds, and the beginnings of the MC5, which he founded when he was a teen-aged Downriver greaser obsessed with guitars, girls, and hot rods,” as the press release states.
“He tells the unique story of a band that supplemented the usual sex, drugs, and rock and roll with radical politics of the White Panther Party, FBI surveillance, wiretapping, and more.” The memoir is scheduled for release on August 14th through De Capo Press – pre-orders are ongoing HERE.
MC50 2018 Tour Dates:
09/05 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution Live
09/06 – St. Augustine, FL @ Backyard Stage at St. Augustine Amphitheatre
09/07 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
09/08 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival
09/09 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
09/11 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
09/12 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
09/13 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
09/14 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
09/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
09/17 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
09/18 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
09/19 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
09/21 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
09/22 – Grand Rapids, MI @ 20 Monroe Live
09/23 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
09/25 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
09/26 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room
09/28 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
09/29 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
10/01 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee
10/02 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
10/03 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
10/04 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
10/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ John Anson Ford
10/15 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
10/16 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
10/17 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
10/19 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
10/20 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
10/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
10/24 – Chicago, IL @ Metro Chicago
10/25 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
10/26 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
10/27 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
