The proto-punk rock group DEATH has announced its involvement in the Zumiez Best Foot Forward national amateur skateboard competition this year, which is scheduled to be hosted at Detroit’s long-forgotten Michigan Theater Building on August 9.
The Converse-sponsored event will feature the nation’s 37 top amateur skaters in 37 contests, in addition to performances by DEATH, Odd Future Records, California hardcore group Trash Talk – all under the roof of a massively-historic Michigan music landmark.
The Michigan Theater was one of Michigan’s largest venues following its construction in 1925, but was virtually left abandoned since 1976. The theater was once known to broadcast Detroit Red Wings hockey games to fans without tickets (as it was adjacent to Olympia Stadium), was known to host performances by entertainers such as Bob Hope and the Marx Brothers, as well as big band acts starring bandleaders like Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey.
Over the years, as ownership of the theater changed – so did the name. The venue changed its name to The Michigan Palace in 1973, and began hosting infamous rock acts, such as: The New York Dolls, Aerosmith, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Blue Oyster Cult, KISS, Sly and the Family Stone, Rush, Fleetwood Mac, Kansas, The Ohio Players, Bob Segar, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and others.
David Bowie once performed at The Michigan Palace six nights in-a-row (October of 1974), and Iggy Pop and the Stooges recorded their final performance (until 2013) on the same stage, which birthed the group’s legendary live-album Metallic K.O.
Sadly, the club/theater closed-down for good in 1976. The only music to take place under the Michigan Theater roof since 1976 was a scene filmed for the Detroit film 8 Mile, starring Eminem. (Think rap battle.)
The August 9 skateboarding competition, featuring DEATH, Odd Future Records, and Trash Talk, will be free to the public, and take place from 2 – 10 PM.
Watch the official Zumiez Best Foot Forward 2014 trailer below: