The Monkees are launching their 2020 tour on April 3rd at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, the same day that their new live album The Mike and Micky Show is arriving in stores.
The set was recorded on the duo’s 2019 tour and features big hits like “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and “I’m a Believer” mixed in with fan favorites like “You Told Me,” “Circle Sky” and “As We Go Along.”
The set was assembled by the Monkees’ manager/music historian Andrew Sandoval. “I set upon hours and hours of listening and critiquing every performance we captured, making a spreadsheet, breaking down the best versions of each song — in some cases in the best verses, choruses, solos,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “I then handed off my research to Christian Nesmith who worked tirelessly to create mixes of the best material.”
“My instruction to him was maybe different than what most fans would imagine,” he continued. “I didn’t want to just make a Mike and Micky Show keepsake. I wanted to make a live Monkees album that would stand out from the archival and bootleggy soundboard CDs that had come before.”
The Monkees hit the road last year just weeks after the death of Peter Tork, who they honored every night of the tour. As the U.S. tour wound down, Michael Nesmith took to Facebook and expressed misgivings about future shows beyond a series of upcoming dates that were coming up in Australia.
“I committed to an Australian tour but I am expecting that will be it for me,” he wrote. “I start to feel curmudgeonly more and more and less and less suited for singing pop songs — clever and happy and fun to play as they are — but is a bit like singing ‘Happy Birthday’ over and over. Combine that with the fact that Television Music was never my first pursuit. People who like my work have another clear window they can see through — if they choose. But — in any case — the shows wear me down.”
When he spoke to Rolling Stone in December, however, he had a different attitude about the whole thing. “I have tried to take the advice of people that care about me that said, ‘Don’t be such a crank’ or ‘Don’t be such an asshole,’” he said. “Mick and I are in fine fiddle and fine form and fine voice and everything. So we’re having a good time and the audiences that come to have an evening of nostalgia and Monkees music played well have showed up at the right place at the right time.”
The Monkees tour wraps up April 26th at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tennessee.