Happy Friday from MCB
KMFDM, the legendary German electro-industrial outfit helmed by Sascha Konietzko, embark on their first North American tour since the April release of WTF?! on Metropolis Records.
"We are putting together one hell of a playlist for this tour with lots of fresh material from WTF?! as well as some killer classics and maybe even a surprise or two," Sascha shared.
Joining KMFDM on the WTF?! tour are Army of the Universe, 16Volt (Aug. 3 to 14 only) and Human Factors Lab. Army of the Universe, an Italian industrial duo, recently released their debut album Mother Ignorance on Metropolis Records. The band features renowned European DJ Albert Vorne aka Trebla. Chris Vrenna (Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM), will join Army of the Universe for a handful of dates (noted below). 16Volt released Beating Dead Horses, the Portland band's seventh studio album, in May. Human Factors Lab will be debuting their new EP We All Fall Down on the tour.
William Wilson of Legion Within is performing with the current KMFDM line-up of Sascha, Lucia Cifarelli (vocals, keyboards), Jules Hodgson (guitars), Andy Selway (drums) and Steve White (guitars).
KMFDM also recently released a collection of their best known tracks in a single disc version titled Würst and a double disc edition called Greatest Shit. Both releases feature songs from their time spent on WaxTrax! and Metropolis/KMFDM Records.
WTF?! tour dates:
August 3 Seattle, WA El Corazon
4 Portland, OR Wonder Ball
5 San Francisco, CA Regency Ballroom
6 Anaheim, CA Grove of Anaheim
7 San Diego, CA Belly Up Tavern
8 Los Angeles, CA The Mayan*
10 Denver, CO The Summit Music Hall
12 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
13 Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Club
14 Chicago, IL The Bottom Lounge
15 Detroit, MI The Crofoot
16 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre
17 Boston, MA Royale*
18 New York, NY Irving Plaza*
19 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts*
20 Baltimore, MD Recher Theater*
21 Cincinnati, OH Radiodown
24 Salt Lake City, UT Complex
25 Boise, ID The Knitting Factory
26 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theater
27 Victoria, BC Sugar Nightclub
* = Chris Vrenna joins Army of the Universe
www.kmfdm.net
www.facebook.com/officialkmfdm
Not only do you get tickets to check out Iceage at the Pre-Party on 8/10 but your tickets are good for the entire 4 days of FUCKING AWESOME FEST at The Majestic Complex
Danish punk group Iceage formed in 2008 when the bandmembers averaged 17 years in age. Influenced by early hardcore and no wave, and with a sloppy, anarchic style of playing not too far removed from West Coast indie/punk bands like No Age and Abe Vigoda, the band’s short and raw debut, New Brigade, was released in 2011 on What’s Your Rupture in the U.S. and on Tambourhinoceros in Europe.
New Brigade is Iceage’s debut album , 26 minutes of anthemic stress, of tension undiluted by worldly wisdom or amassed experience, (its members are teenagers, presently ranging from 16through 18 years of age. New Brigade displays a conidence that substitutes worldly experience for the thrills of discovery, of knowing that it is possible to forge your own path in light of adults, the establishment, and prevailing wisdom telling you to do otherwise. Iceage mixes ’77 punk, ’79 post-punk, Goth and hardcore as if they invented it, and does such an excellent job of blending these tropes with the pent-up energy and frustration of the just-post-pubescent years of young mens’ lives, that they might as well have. In this tradition, New Brigade’s twelve songs rushpast, long enough to hit you in the chest and short enough to make you wonder
what happened.
YouTube shows Iceage’s live shows to be frenetic, sometimes violent affairs with very little compromise in the way of sound or concept. You may get pushed around. Deal with it. This is a punk record from a punk band that plays punk shows.
American audiences will get their first chance to see them play this summer.
Vocals Elias Bender Ronnenfelt
Guitar Johan Surrballe Wieth
Drummer Dan Kjaer Nielsen
Bassist Jakob Tvilling
Iceage - New Brigade from iceage on Vimeo.
Alkaline Trio is going to be a great show but we want to get there early to check out the opening act Smoking Popes - read below and win tickets by emailing motorcityblog@earthlink.netAlkaline Trio has announced their 15th anniversary tour, inviting Smoking Popes (one of their greatest influences) to join them. Smoking Popes built a relationship with their legion of fans and fellow musicians by melding raw songs about bittersweet heartache with soaring melodies, power chords and punk spirit. Inspired by the Popes, Alkaline Trio emerged onto the scene and have built an immense cult following. Matt Skiba, vocalist of Alkaline Trio,said, “The Smoking Popes were a good band that only wrote good songs. They have always been a big influence on Alkaline Trio and are a huge reason a lot of us started bands in the first place.”
The Smoking Popes and Alkaline Trio have recently released new albums. Smoking Popes released, This is Only a Test, which is their first ever concept album, exploring the life of a fictional high schooler. This is Only a Test is perfect proof that their sparkling lyricism and ineffable charm is still intact. The tour kicks off in Omaha, Nebraska and arrives in Pontiac on August 4th at the Clutch Cargo's.
This is Only a Test's songs explore themes of identity, musical aspirations, love and teen suicide. Singer/Guitarist Songwriter Josh Caterer explains, “When I first got the idea to write from a teenage perspective, the individual songs came really quickly. I wrote a song a day for five days. That’s half the album in less than a week. I never write that fast! Each song stands alone asa snapshot from this kid's life. The story doesn't unfold like a narrative. It's more like a collage." Recorded at Chicago’s Atlas Studios in 2010, the album was produced by Matt Allison (Alkaline Trio, Lawrence Arms, Less Than Jake).
Some may assume that This is Only a Test is autobiographical but Caterer lays that notion to rest, saying, “The main character on this album is definitely a creation. He’s not me. Well…he’s similar to me, but he’s not limited by the realities of my own experience. I created a character that basically has the same view of the world that I had when I was in high school, but he’s his own person and he does some things that I never did.
Smoking Popes first burst onto the scene in 1991 and released several albums on various local labels. They signed to Capitol Records in 1995 and re-released Born to Quit¸ one of Smoking Popes landmark albums, to an even larger fan base gained by touring with bands like Jawbreaker and Jimmy Eat World. Praise from SPIN, Alternative Press, Rolling Stone and Billboard arrived with the re-release and later that year, “Need You Around” was also featured in the hit movie Clueless. Musical icon Morrissey raved: “Did you ever hear Born to Quit? It’s by the Smoking Popes. I thought that album was extraordinary, the most lovable thing I’d heard in years”.
In 1997, the Smoking Popes released Destination Failure. The album challenged the idea of what a pop punk band could do, with lyrics that told tales of love and longing with heartbreaking details. To the shock of many, Smoking Popes decided to throw in the towel in 1998. In 2005, rumors started flying that the band would perform again. Their sold out reunion show at Chicago’s Metro on November 11th sparked a resurgence of Smoking Popes fans, leaving the crowd yearning for new material. The band was re-energized and reformed for good, releasing Stay Down in 2008 and in 2010, Its Been a Long Day, a compilation of songs released on rare vinyl singles.
Thursday, August 4th
Clutch Cargo's
65 E. Huron
Pontiac MI 48342
248-333-0649
$20 (adv) $23 (door)
www.clutchcargos.com