August 24, 2004
Do It Cramps Style! Tour and Rarities
Neither punk nor rockabilly has been the same since that fateful day when a fella soon to be known as Lux Interior picked up the future Poison Ivy Rorscach on the side of an Ohio road.
Almost 30 years later, the duo and errant cast of musicians known as The Cramps are still bringing their vinyl-and-spikes live show to the masses, backing a release of rarities and demos called How To Make A Monster.
The Cramps kick off their latest trek September 22 at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, Ariz. Twenty-nine dates are penciled in so far, including gigs in Houston, Atlanta, Nashville, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston, New York City, Detroit, Chicago, Denver and Las Vegas, before winding down in Anaheim, Calif., November 6.
The Cramps have come a long way from Akron, Ohio - first settling in the grimy punk palaces of New York City like CBGB and Max's Kansas City, and eventually winding up on then-fledgling I.R.S. Records label.
There, they issued a string of cult hits like Songs The Lord Taught Us and Gravest Hits. As budding punk stars were wont to do in those days, they also battled it out with their record label -- in The Cramps' case, no less a figure than Miles Copeland.
Those kind of battles aren't generally meant to be won, though, and the ensuing legal tangles kept the band from recording for two years, just as they were hitting their stride. Despite that setback and a revolving door of guitarists and bass players, TheCramps soldiered on, eventually signing with Enigma records in 1990 and most recently with Epitaph.
Wed 09/22/04 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
Fri 09/24/04 Austin, TX Stubb's Barbeque
Sat 09/25/04 Dallas, TX Gypsy Tea Room
Sun 09/26/04 Houston, TX Meridian
Tue 09/28/04 Knoxville, TN Blue Cats
Wed 09/29/04 New Orleans, LA House Of Blues
Fri 10/01/04 Saint Petersburg, FL State Theatre
Sat 10/02/04 Fort Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
Sun 10/03/04 Lake Buena Vista, FL House Of Blues
Tue 10/05/04 Atlanta, GA Coca Cola Roxy Theatre
Wed 10/06/04 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
Fri 10/08/04 Asheville, NC Orange Peel
Sat 10/09/04 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Sun 10/10/04 Philadelphia, PA The Trocadero / Balcony Bar
Tue 10/12/04 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Smalls Fun House/Theatre
Wed 10/13/04 Cleveland, OH Odeon Concert Club
Thu 10/14/04 Buffalo, NY Sphere Ent'ment Complex
Sat 10/16/04 Boston, MA Avalon
Mon 10/18/04 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Wed 10/20/04 Cincinnati, OH Bogart's
Fri 10/22/04 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre
Sat 10/23/04 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
Sun 10/24/04 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
Tue 10/26/04 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
Wed 10/27/04 Salt Lake City, UT Club Sound
Thu 10/28/04 Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues
Sat 10/30/04 Silver Lake, CA Spaceland Of Dreams
Tue 11/02/04 Seattle, WA Showbox
Wed 11/03/04 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Fri 11/05/04 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst
Sat 11/06/04 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues