Michael Nesmith As ‘Nez Solo’

The former Monkee has his own dates to do, crossing the U.S. in March through April on his “Nez Solo” tour with stops including San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

Is it really fair to call Michael Nesmith a “former” Monkee? As a member of the 1960s group created for an NBC television show, Nesmith’s Monkee antics still live in fans’ hearts today. Plus, he joined his Monkee cohorts Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork for a 2012 tour, proving you should never say never. Maybe it’s best to address him as a veteran of The Monkees as well as his own group, First National Band.

Nesmith’s “Nez Solo” tour has its roots in shows he did in the U.K in 2012. With that tour selling out almost as fast as they could print tickets, American promoters took notice, and now Nesmith has plenty of U.S. dates to keep him busy.

“The songs I’ll play are a touch chronological and a touch thematic,” Nesmith said. “I picked my favorites to play, the ones I have come to love over the years, and the ones that are most requested by fans of my solo work.”

What will the shows be like? Nesmith’s camp says the focus will be on his “latter-day song writing and recordings.” However, there is one number he wrote for The Monkees that is in the setlist – show opener “Papa Gene’s Blues.”

Nesmith will present his songs with short introductions, some of which will employ cinematic settings. After all, he did create “Elephant Parts” in 1981 that won the first Grammy awarded for music videos.

“The songs live in my mind like mini-movies – vignettes – that associate themselves with the emotions of the song,” Nesmith said. “I want the audience to share that.”

Let’s look at the schedule:

March 21 – Franklin, Tenn., Franklin Theatre
March 24 – Agoura Hills, Calif., Canyon Club
March 26 – March 26 –Santa Cruz, Calif., Rio Theatre
March 27 – San Francisco, Calif., Palace Of Fine Arts Theatre
March 29 – Portland, Ore., Aladdin Theater
March 30 – Seattle, Wash., The Neptune
April 3 – Boulder, Colo., Boulder Theater
April 5 – Saint Paul, Minn., Fitzgerald Theater
April 7 – Ferndale, Mich., The Magic Bag
April 9 – Homestead, Pa., Carnegie Library Music Hall
April 11 – Northampton, Mass., Iron Horse Music Hall
April 12 – Rahway, N.J., Union County Performing Arts Center
April 13 – Somerville, Mass., Somerville Theatre
April 15 – Philadelphia, Pa., World Cafe Live
April 16 – New York, N.Y., Town Hall
April 17 – Alexandria, Va., Birchmere