In a tour which could easily be labeled “Manchester’s Finest,” the band James and Johnny Marr have announced that they will be embarking on a co-headlining tour of North America.
The jaunt, which will take them throughout the US as well as into Canada for a handful of dates, will occur throughout September and October. James is touring behind their new album, Yummy, which has provided them with the very first UK chart-topping LP of their career; Marr, meanwhile, is presumably still technically supporting his best-of collection, Spirit Power: The Best of Johnny Marr, which was released in November of last year.
“I remember The Smiths being on tour with James in 1985,” Marr said in the press release announcing the tour. “We admired them and even did one of their songs in our set. I’ve been a fan of theirs ever since and being out on tour again after 40 years is a really great thing.”
“Nearly 40 years ago James toured with the Smiths on the Meat Is Murder tour,” said James frontman Tim Booth in the same release. “We were met with such generosity and kindness that it changed our DNA. Co-headlining an American tour with the true Gent and genius that is Johnny Marr, is an honor and pleasure. We look forward to making magic together.”
For the record, since Marr failed to clarify the James song that the Smiths played in their set, it was “What’s the World,” and their version – complete with a spoken intro in which Morrissey has a fail of his own, trailing off after saying, “This song is written by,” never to complete the identification – can be heard on the compilation The Sound of the Smiths.
The tour kicks off in Denver, Colorado at the Paramount Theater on September 17, jumps up to Vancouver after that, but from there it’s back to the States from Sept. 21 until October 13, when they hit Canada to do a pair of dates, one in Quebec and one in Toronto. From there, they return to the US for the final three dates, concluding the tour in Saint Paul, Minnesota with a show at the Palace Theater.
The full list of tour dates can be found below.
SEPTEMBER
17 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
20 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
21 – Seattle, WA – The Moore
22 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
23 – San francisco, CA – The Warfield
25 – Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre
29 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s
30 – Dallas, TX – Majestic Theatre
OCTOBER
01 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
03 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern
04 – New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore
06 – Washington, D.C. – Warner Theatre
08 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount
10 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre
11 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
13 – Montreal, Quebec – M Telus
14 – Toronto, Ontario – History
15 – Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple
17 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
18 – Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre