Make Believe Fight the Power

According to the Chicago Reader, Kinsella took off his shorts during a show in Bartlesville, Oklahoma on June 28, then wrung out the sweat from them over the heads of audience members. Now all that would be nothin' but good ol' rock and roll fun, if it weren't for the fact that this particular concert happened to take place at a Christian rock venue, with a pair of Xtian bands also on the bill. Whoops. Kinsella is currently facing up to $20,000 in fines, or ten years in prison.

JoA/MB frontman Tim Kinsella, Nate's cousin, told the Reader that the band signed on for a fourteen-day tour with Jesus-lovin' punk bands Veda and MewithoutYou because they "wanted to play in front of people who had no idea who we were or what to expect." Well, that's putting it mildly. At the June 28 show, all the Make Believers had stripped down to shorts, since it was sweltering inside the venue. At some point during their set, Nate got up from his drums and, according to the affidavit filed by Bartlesville police officer Ben Hollander, "took his pants off and exposed his genitalia and penis to the crowd."

Dude, you were playing a Christian rock show in the Bible Belt! What were you thinking?! According to the Reader, Nate explained to the police that "due to his band being non-Christian, it was part of the 'act' to disrobe on occasions while onstage." WTF? That makes no sense at all.

Nate Kinsella was released on $2,500 bail and had a preliminary hearing on August 5, where he agreed to take a psychological evaluation and drug test. His court date is scheduled for late October. In the meantime, Make Believe are rocking as much as possible, with a nationwide tour kicking off tonight in their hometown of Chicago. They've got a few dates scheduled after the next hearing, including Flower Booking's 15th Anniversary bash at Chi-town's Metro on November 12. Hopefully Nate won't be sitting in a jail cell then.

Beware crotch sweat and overzealous Christians here:

09-21 Chicago, IL-- Bottom Lounge *
09-22 Champaign, IL-- Courtyard Café <br> 10-06 Lawrence, KS-- Jackpot Saloon #
10-07 Denver, CO-- High Dive #
10-08 Salt Lake City, UT-- Kilby Court #
10-10 Seattle, WA-- The Paradox #
10-11 Portland, OR-- Hawthorne Theatre #
10-12 Redding, CA-- The Dip #
10-13 Roseville, CA-- The Underground #
10-14 Bakersfield, CA-- Jerry's Pizza #
10-15 Los Angeles, CA-- The Echo #$
10-16 San Diego, CA-- Che Café #
10-17 Tuscon, AZ-- Solar Culture #
10-19 Austin, TX-- Emo's #
10-20 Denton, TX-- Dan's Silver Leaf #
11-07 Long Branch, NJ-- Brighton Bar
11-08 Baltimore, MD-- Talking Head
11-09 Boston, MA-- The Middle East Upstairs
11-11 Kalamazoo, MI-- Kraftbrau
11-12 Chicago, IL-- Metro (Flower 15 Festival) %

* with XBXRX, Bobby Conn, the Coughs
# with Bird Show
$ with the Mae Shi
% with the Promise Ring, Tristeza

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-05/13.shtml#believe">Make Believe Tour, Prepare First Full-Length

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