Membranes In The U.S.

The last time the Membranes toured the U.S. was when Ronald Reagan was president and shows like “A.L.F.,” “Kate & Allie,” and “MacGyver” ruled prime-time TV. Those programs may be gone but the band will return to these shores beginning in mid-October.

You win today’s history lesson if you picked 1988 as the last year the Membranes played U.S. cities and were accompanied by support bands White Zombie and Afghan Whigs.  Now the group whose albums include Crack House, The Gift Of Life and Pulp Beating And All That has a new road trip on its calendar.

There is a new album to support.  Released in July via Metropolis Records, concept LP Dark Matter/Dark Energy is the first Membranes album since 1989’s To Slay The Rock Pig.  What’s more, the band plans to make a film about the disc.

“The film is an exploration of the album’s themes,” frontman Joe Robb said.  “I’ll be speaking to top scientists at CERN along with other key thinkers about the universe, life and death – it’s a quest to get the meaning of everything through the eyes and ears of a critically acclaimed album.”

The Membranes are also cooking up a plan to perform a “Universe Explained” gig in Estonia with a 20-piece all-women choir at the end of September.

Back to the October run of U.S. cities, which includes Robb conducting readings of his book “Punk Rock: An Oral History,” at select venues.  Here are the dates:

Oct. 14 – Toronto, Ontario, Lee’s Palace
Oct. 15 – Philadelphia, Pa., Kung Fu Necktie
Oct. 16 – Brooklyn, N.Y., The Grand Victory
Oct. 17 – Washington, D.C., St. Stephen’s Church
Oct. 18 – Cambridge, Mass., Middle East
Oct. 20 – Cleveland, Ohio, Now That’s Class
Oct. 21 – Nashville, Tenn., Stone Fox
Oct. 22 – Atlanta, Ga., The EARL
Oct. 23 – New Orleans, La., Circle Bar
Oct. 24 – Austin, Texas, Sidewinder
Oct. 25 – Fort Worth, Texas, Lola’s Sixth
Oct. 27 – Phoenix, Ariz., The Rebel Lounge
Oct. 28 – San Diego, Calif., The Hideout
Oct. 29 – Fullerton, Calif., The Slidebar
Nov. 1 – Los Angeles, Calif., Echo
Nov. 4 – Oakland, Calif., The Night Light
Nov. 5 – Portland, Ore., Star Theater
Nov. 6 – Seattle, Wash., Chop Suey
Nov. 7 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Biltmore Cabaret
Nov. 10 – Denver, Colo., Lost Lake
Nov. 11 – Kansas City, Mo., The Record Bar
Nov. 12 – Chicago, Ill., The Burlington

Some shows are already on sale.  Visit TheMembranes.co.uk for more details.

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