Watch: TED NUGENT Kicks Off 'Adios Mofo '23' Farewell Tour In Immokalee, Florida
July 13, 2023Ted Nugent kicked off his "Adios Mofo '23" farewell tour Wednesday night (July 12) in Immokalee, Florida.
The legendary rocker's performance at the Seminole Casino Hotel, which is billed as Southwest Florida's premier gaming and entertainment destination, saw him backed by his current solo band consisting of drummer Jason Hartless and bassist Johnny Schoen.
Nugent's setlist was as follows:
01. The Star-Spangled Banner
02. Gonzo
03. Stormtroopin'
04. Paralyzed
05. Free-For-All
06. Snakeskin Cowboy
07. Johnny B. Goode
08. Wang Dang Sweet Poontang
09. Come And Take It
10. American Campfire
11. Hey Baby
12. Good Friends And A Bottle Of Wine
13. Fred Bear
14. Cat Scratch Fever
15. Stranglehold
16. Great White Buffalo
In a recent interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, Ted spoke about his decision to embark on what is being billed as his last-ever tour. Regarding why he doesn't want to spend time on the road anymore, Ted said in part: "Hotels are jail. I hate jail… I will always play music. The music still has fire. I still crave it. I've got new songs. I'm gonna go in the studio with these killer musicians that are always at my side. But traveling, I tell you… A hotel room is jail… The travel and the hotels… And I don't even have to go to TSA [Transportation Security Administration]; I mean, I gave the finger to them in 2009. If somebody doesn't send a jet, I don't go anywhere. My friends are better than your friends, 'cause my friends have jets. So, I'm not TSA and I'm not gonna let somebody fondle my Glock [gun] and ask me questions about gun laws. And hotels are so painful for me… So this tour, like the last 10, I will hub out of our Texas home to play gigs around there. I'll first start in Florida. So I'll hub out of our condo — [my wife] Shemane's got a condo down there, so I can go to all those Florida dates. And then I come back to Michigan and go to Ohio and Indiana and Wisconsin and Illinois and Pennsylvania and Kentucky. And I'm able to hub, so I's still able to spend a lot of time with my kids and my grandkids and my dogs."
Ted went on to clarify that he is not retiring from playing live. "The fire, the music, it will always go on," he said. "I play my guitar every day… And I get to collaborate with the best musicians in the world. So it's always a challenge, it's always intriguing, it's always stimulating. I'm an old man — I'm 75 this year — but the stimuli factor… I hope that somebody else in this world is as stimulated by the music as I am, because it's still very much alive and well."
Asked if he will miss the audience and the live interaction on stage, Ted said: "Yes. Of course I will. But again, I won't miss it because I'll still do it… I'm not going out for months or even weeks. I'll do the occasional special events. I do a lot of corporate stuff… Yeah, I'm an energized son of a bitch, but I am 75, and I'm not swinging from ropes and I'm not wearing a loincloth and I'm not jumping off the amplifiers with my new knees. So I will miss it, but, again, I've got 12 grandkids and I don't wanna go away someday and not make an imprint on them, teach them about the important things in life. In a world that's really gone really stupid, I think my grandparenting responsibilities are more important now than ever."
Ted's concert in Birmingham, Alabama was recently canceled due to a backlash surrounding his controversial political views. The legendary rocker's July 18 performance at Avondale Brewing Co. was scrapped one day before tickets were to go on sale via Ticketmaster. The decision to call off the gig was apparently made in response to about 1,000 comments which were posted on Avondale Brewing's Facebook page after the show was announced, as well as more than 150 comments on the venue's Instagram page.
Nugent's self-titled debut album in 1975 was certified double platinum in the United States, while "Free-for-All", "Cat Scratch Fever", "Weekend Warriors" and "State Of Shock" all reached the Top 30 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Nugent has reportedly sold over 40 million albums and was named Detroit's greatest guitar player of all time by readers of MLive.
The conservative rocker, who been eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.
Nugent's latest album, "Detroit Muscle", was released in April 2022 via Pavement Music. The follow-up to 2018's "The Music Made Me Do It" was recorded with Ted's most recent touring band, which included bassist Greg Smith and drummer Jason Hartless.
This past May, Smith, who had played bass for Ted for the past 16 years, announced his departure from the legendary rocker's touring band. He explained in a statement: "It was a difficult decision but one that I really had no choice in. With Ted no longer touring I had to accept an offer from a tour that will continue for the next several years. I tried to get someone to cover for me for the 2nd half, so I'd be able to do Ted's tour, but I was unfortunately unable to."
Posted by Ted Nugent on Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Posted by Teri Bishop Denison on Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Posted by Teri Bishop Denison on Wednesday, July 12, 2023
My kinda energy….Ted Nugent
Posted by Carlton Ross on Thursday, July 13, 2023
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