The MC5 have announced the UK and European legs of their Kick Out the Jams: 50th Anniversary Tour. The line-up features original MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, plus Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, Fugazi's Brendan Canty, King’s X bassist Dug Pinnick, Zen Guerrilla frontman Marcus Durant, Don Was and Pearl Jam's Matt Cameron.
"This band will rip your head off," says Kramer. "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.’ I’m not interested in a note-for-note reproduction of a record you’ve known your entire life. The world has lived with these songs burned in amber for half a century, so we’re going for an energy blast to end all. Let’s bring the monster back to life with supremely talented musicians who will interpret it in their own unique ways.”
“The message of the MC5 has always been the sense of possibilities: a new music, a new politics, a new lifestyle,” he continues. "Today, there is a corrupt regime in power, an endless war thousands of miles away, uncontrollable violence wracking my country — it’s becoming less and less clear if we’re talking about 1968 or 2018.
"I’m compelled to share this music I created with my brothers 50 years ago. My goal is that the audience leaves these shows mesmerised by the positive power of rock music. I’ve come to accept that we were a dangerous band. The music we made at that time represented something that said — we are part of a tribe, we are part of a bigger movement — and apparently it still represents that."
The tour kicks off with four festival dates in Europe in June and July before recommencing on September 5 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. After a long US run, the tour heads to The UK in November before heading back to mainland Europe. Full dates below.
O2 Presale & MC50 Presale starts Wednesday, May 2nd. AEG Presale starts Thursday, May 3rd. General On-Sale starts Friday, May 4th. All times are 9am local.
MC5 Tour Dates
Jun 08: Aarhus Northside Festival, DK - TICKETS
Jun 22: Vitoria Askena Festival, SE- TICKETS
Jun 20: Liseberg Amusement Park Series, SE - TICKETS
Jul 06: Lille Sjock Festival, BE - TICKETS
Sep 05: Ft. Lauderdale Revolution Live, FL - TICKETS
Sep 06: St. Augustine Amphitheatre, FL - TICKETS
Sep 07: Atlanta Variety Playhouse, GA - TICKETS
Sep 08: Raleigh Hopscotch Music Festival, NC - TICKETS
Sep 09: Nashville Exit/In, TN - TICKETS
Sep 11: Washington 9:30 Club, DC - TICKETS
Sep 12: New Haven College Street Music Hall, CT - TICKETS
Sep 13: Boston Paradise Rock Club, MA - TICKETS
Sep 14: Huntington The Paramount, NY - TICKETS
Sep 15: Philadelphia Union Transfer, PA - TICKETS
Sep 17: New York Irving Plaza, NY - TICKETS
Sep 18: Montreal Corona Theatre, QC - TICKETS
Sep 19: Toronto Danforth Music Hall, ON - TICKETS
Sep 21: Pittsburgh Mr. Smalls Theatre, PA - TICKETS
Sep 22: Grand Rapids Monroe Live, MI - TICKETS
Sep 23: Cleveland House of Blues, OH - TICKETS
Sep 25: Milwaukee Turner Hall Ballroom, WI - TICKETS
Sep 26: St. Louis The Ready Room, MO - TICKETS
Sep 28: Austin Mohawk, TX - TICKETS
Sep 29: Dallas Granada Theater, TX - TICKETS
Oct 01: Phoenix The Marquee, AZ - TICKETS
Oct 02: Las Vegas Brooklyn Bowl, NV - TICKETS
Oct 03: San Diego House of Blues, CA - TICKETS
Oct 04: San Francisco The Regency Ballroom, CA - TICKETS
Oct 05: Los Angeles John Anson Ford, CA - TICKETS
Oct 15: Portland Roseland Theater, OR - TICKETS
Oct 16: Seattle The Showbox, WA - TICKETS
Oct 17: Vancouver Commodore Ballroom, BC - TICKETS
Oct 19: Salt Lake City Metro Music Hall, UT - TICKETS
Oct 20: Denver Gothic Theatre, CO - TICKETS
Oct 23: Minneapolis Varsity Theater, MN - TICKETS
Oct 24: Chicago Metro Chicago, IL - TICKETS
Oct 25: Cincinnati Bogart's, OH - TICKETS
Oct 26: Detroit St. Andrew's Hall, MI - TICKETS
Oct 27: Detroit The Fillmore, MI - TICKETS
Nov 09: Bristol Academy, UK
Nov 10: Glasgow ABC, UK - TICKETS
Nov 11: Manchester Albert Hall, UK - TICKETS
Nov 12: London Shepherds Bush Empire, UK - TICKETS
Nov 14: Paris Elysee Montmartre, FR - TICKETS
Nov 15: Montpellier Rockstore, FR - TICKETS
Nov 21: Alcatrazz Milan, IT
Nov 22: Zurich Komplex, CH - TICKETS
Nov 23: Neue Theatrefabrik, Munich, DE - TICKETS
Nov 25: Vienna Flex, AT
Nov 27: Gloria Cologne, DE - TICKETS
Nov 28: Berlin Columbia Halle, DE
Nov 29: Hamburg Fabrik, DE
Nov 30: Alkmaar Victory, NL - TICKETS
Dec 01: Antwerp Trix, BE - TICKETS
