Canadian electro duo MSTRKRFT, pronounced “master kraft,” recently kicked off their 2009 concert season with a tour of Europe that will lead into a block of dates in the U.S. later in the summer.
The group’s international trek launched April 30 at Culture Club in Gent, Belgium, and continues tonight (May 1) at ACD1 in Dublin, Ireland. The European tour leg shuts out on May 31 at Rust in Copenhagen, Denmark, though MSTRKRFT will return to the continent later in the summer for a couple festivals.
After completing more than 20 shows across Europe, MSTRKRFT will launch a tour of the U.S., visiting at least 10 U.S. cities in June and July. The national leg picks up June 6 at Power & Light District in Kansas City, MO, and ends with a July 4 performance at Rothbury Festival in Rothbury, MI.
Based out of Toronto, MSTRKRFT is touring behind its second studio album, “Fist of God.” With the March 17 release, the band earned their first chart positions, hitting No. 43 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and peaking at No. 12 on the electronic albums chart.
Jesse F. Keeler formed MSTRKRFT in 2005 with fellow electro musician and producer Alex Puodziukas, who performs under the pseudonym Al-P. At the time, Keeler was still officially a member of the dance-punk duo Death From Above 1979, which would not announce its break-up until August 2006.
“We decided to stop doing the band… Actually we decided that almost a year ago,” Keller wrote on Death From Above’s official Web site. The announcement was delayed because the band’s label hoped they would change their minds.
Keeler embraced the split and the solo projects it would allow, noting, “It would be more sad if we stopped changing and growing and kept playing the same songs for 40 years like the Rolling Stones. For me, that would be a nightmare.”
Later this year, MSTRKRFT will hit the U.S. concert circuit again for performances at a couple of the nation’s major summer festivals. Currently scheduled are a July 31 set at All Points West in Jersey City, NJ, and an August 9 gig at Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL.
MSTRKRFT itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)
May 1 | Dublin, IRE | ACD1 |
May 2 | London, ENG | Matter @ O2 Arena |
May 3 | Glasgow, SCO | ABC1 |
May 6 | Rome, ITA | Lanifico |
May 7 | Paris, FRA | Le Bataclan |
May 8 | Marseille, FRA | Cabaret Aleatoire |
May 9 | Amsterdam, NET | Paradiso |
May 13 | Lille, FRA | Le Grand Mix |
May 14 | Munich, GER | Registratur |
May 15 | Berlin, GER | Icon Club |
May 16 | Hamburg, GER | Uebel & Gefahrlich |
May 20 | Zurich, SWI | Alte Boerse |
May 21 | Lisbon, POR | Lux Club |
May 22 | Milan, ITA | Ipogo |
May 23 | Barcelona, SPA | Razzmatazz |
May 25 | London, ENG | Ministry Of Sound |
May 27 | Lund, SWE | Mejeriet |
May 28 | Helsinki, FIN | Virgin Oil & Co. |
May 29 | Oslo, NOR | Biaa |
May 30 | Stockholm, SWE | Locomotives |
May 31 | Copenhagen, DEN | Rust |
June 6 | Kansas City, MO | Power & Light District |
June 11 | Boston, MA | The Roxy |
June 12 | Columbus, OH | Boma |
June 13 | St. Louis, MO | Bacardi B-Live @ The Pageant |
June 25 | Louisville, KY | 4th Street Live! |
June 26 | Cleveland, OH | House Of Blues |
July 1 | Miami, FL | LIV Nightclub |
July 2 | Charlotte, NC | The Forum |
July 3 | Atlanta, GA | Park Tavern |
July 4 | Rothbury, MI | Rothbury Festival @ Double JJ Resort |
July 10 | Zamardi, HUN | Balaton Sound @ Festival Grounds |
July 17 | Grafenhainichen, GER | Melt! Festival @ Ferropolis |
July 31 | Jersey City, NJ | All Points West @ Liberty State Park |
August 9 | Chicago, IL | Lollapalooza @ Grant Park |