Add Dope to the list of bands making a reunion run in 2016. The band plans to tour to more than 45 cities across North America inside of two months. The Die Mother Fucker Die reunion tour will consist of the classic Dope lineup that includes Edsel Dope (vocals, guitar), Acey Slade (bass), Virus (lead guitar) and Racci Shay (drums).

Dope’s North American portion of the tour was successfully crowdfunded by fans who pre-ordered the band’s first-ever live album on dopereunion.com. The album will only be available through the band’s site and will not be available on online music stores like iTunes or retail stores anywhere. The band’s goal is to raise enough money to tour overseas, to places in the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and Europe.
With some dates still to be announced, Dope will come through New York state on Oct. 9 at the Montage Music Hall in Rochester, and Oct. 13 at Revolution Hall in Amityville.
Cameras will be rolling as the band will record the entire tour for the first-ever Dope live DVD. The DVD will also include past backstage footage, unreleased music videos, and never before seen clips.
Dope’s “Die Mother Fucker Die” tour dates:
09-13 – DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
09-14 – Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
09-15 – The Rickshaw – Vancouver, BC
09-16 – La Tropicana – Pasco, WA
09-17 – Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
09-18 – The Palomino – Spokane, WA
09-19 – The Falls Venue – Idaho Falls, ID
09-20 – Herman’s Hideaway – Denver, CO
09-21 – Sunshine Studios – Colorado Springs, CO
09-22 – Sokol Underground – Omaha, NE
09-23 – The Ready Room – St Louis, MO
09-24 – The Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN
09-25 – Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA
09-26 – TBA
09-27 – The Reverb – Waterloo, IA
09-28 – Live On Main – Stevens Point, WI
09-29 – Every Buddy’s – Chippewa Falls, WI
09-30 – Music Factory – Battle Creek, MI
10-01 – Machine Shop – Flint, MI
10-02 – TBA
10-03 – Realm – Toledo, OH
10-04 – Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL
10-05 – The Agora – Cleveland, OH
10-06 – Park Street Tavern – Columbus, OH
10-07 – Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
10-08 – Sherman Theater – Stroudsburg, PA
10-09 – Montage Music Hall – Rochester, NY
10-10 – Sneaky Dees – Toronto, ON
10-11 – Mavericks – Ottawa, ON
10-12 – TBA
10-13 – Revolution Hall – Amityville, NY
10-14 – TBA
10-15 – Fish Head Cantina – Baltimore, MD
10-16 – TBA
10-17 – Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
10-18 – TBA
10-19 – Dirty Dog Bar – Austin, TX
10-20 – Scout Bar – Houston, TX
10-21 – Trees – Dallas, TX
10-22 – Aftershock – Merriam, KS
10-23 – 89th St. Collective – Oklahoma City, OK
10-24 – TBA
10-25 – The Juggernaut – Gallup, NM
10-26 – Club Red – Phoenix, AZ
10-27 – Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA
10-28 – Counts Vamp’d Las Vegas, NV
10-29 – The Grove – Anaheim, CA
10-30 – The Whiskey – W. Hollywood, CA

The night’s lineup consisted of two other bands, Voice Of Valor and Slikk Wikked. The opening support surely got the crowd ready for Testament. Slikk Wikked, who took the stage prior to Testament set the bar high. This young metal band had the crowd going wild with circle pits and moshing right off the start. The entire band had a great stage presence that lead them to get a lot of attention from the crowd. Their set was highlighted by their vocalist who joined the crowd and moshed while the band played an Anthrax cover of “Caught In A Mosh.”
Coming to Anthology for an “off-date” from their tour with Slayer, Testament was ready to rip through a full setlist and give fans a kick-ass show. The night started with “D.N.R”‘ off of their album The Gathering. From that first song, the floor was a whirlpool of fans for the rest of the evening. The band didn’t waste too much time between songs which was good because it didn’t let the energy escape the room. Lead singer Chuck Billy did take the time to express his gratitude for the Rochester support and talked about all of the times they’ve played in the city. One of the best things to watch at a Testament show is the shredding guitar action by guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson. Together, these guys create something not many other bands can produce. Rounding off the band’s lineup are Gene Hoglan on drums and Steve DiGiorgio on bass. These guys combined really create something special when it comes to their live shows.
The night wasn’t all business for Testament, as they took the opportunity to sing happy birthday with the crowd for their tour manager. After this quick little break of metal, Chuck and the guys finished the night off with the song “The Formation Of Damnation”, which is the title track off their 2008 release. Testament fans can look forward to their upcoming release The Brotherhood Of The Snake, which is due out sometime this year. The first single from the album should be hitting airways sometime in the next few weeks. The direction of the album is said to be heavier and faster than their last album, Dark Roots Of Earth. If Chuck Billy’s words hold true, it will be another masterpiece from Testament who just seem to keep getting better with age. If any Testament fans missed out on Monday’s show at Anthology, look forward to them being on the road in support of their upcoming album later this year.

This week, the Luetticke-Archbells are entertaining a shortlist of potential acts: Charlie Daniels Band, Kenny Rogers, Oak Ridge Boys or Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

The night started off with a performance by S – Eighty who only had about 10 minutes of stage time. During this quick set, fans were busy trying to find their seats on the floor and around the area. Surprisingly, the floor was all assigned seating, which is why no one had to line up early to secure a spot on the floor. Shortly before 8pm, Rae Sremmurd took the stage. For 30 minutes these guys got the crowd on their feet dancing and singing along. The two brothers Khalif “Swae Lee” Brown and Aaquil “Slim Jimmy” Brown were a great choice as an opener for Lil’ Wayne on this tour. The crowd’s reaction was purely positive and it seemed like everyone wanted a little bit more.


