...performing "As We Go Along."

In announcing the official Monkees app for iPhone, iPad and Android today via Facebook, a fan replied to the initial post asking about online availablity of merchandise from the 2012 Monkees tour (something that has been promoted as "coming soon" on Rhino's monkees.com site for months now).  Here was Rhino's reply:

...during the 2012 Monkees Tour.

One of the highlights of the 2012 tour was the inclusion of Michael's song, "Tapioca Tundra," which appeared on the group's fifth album, The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees, and was also the b-side to "Valleri," peaking at an impressive #34 in 1968.

In a recent interview with Goldmine magazine, Michael talked about the meaning of the song and how it ended up in the setlist.

I receive a lot of emails asking whether or not The Monkees are planning another return to the concert stage.  Though nothing is for certain and no plans have been announced, members of the group have expressed interest in working together again in various interviews since the 2012 tour was completed.

At the recent Monkees convention in honor of Davy Jones, Micky told fans in attendance that there are always offers on the table and followed up by singing "we may be coming to your town."  Earlier in 2013, Micky, in an interview with Variety, said that he and Peter were interested in recording with Michael.  "Peter and I would like to record with Mike again but we presently have no plans," he told the music trade magazine.

Michael has expressed similar feelings.  In an interview with Examiner.com, he was asked about the potential for more Monkees concerts.  “Yes, we will tour again I am sure,” Nesmith said. “It was great fun and the show was great.  Micky and Peter are good guys, talented and fun to work with."

Stay tuned...

Goldmine magazine has published a new and lengthy conversation with Michael Nesmith. In it, Nez discusses a wide variety of topics that include the upcoming solo tour, the 2012 Monkees tour, his new band, his solo career, his place in music history as a country rock pioneer, and The Monkees.

You can read the entire interview here.

Pollstar, the concert tour industry's leading trade publication, recently placed The Monkees in the top 20 grossing concert tours.  

From what I can tell, this is the latest report from Pollstar on the average amount of earnings a tour has earned.  It is not a top 20 list for all of the concert tours of 2012. Nonetheless, it's impressive as The Monkees played a limited amount of dates in non-arena settings, but the group grossed enough money per city to make the chart.

Below are the figures and an explanation from Pollstar:

The Top 20 Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. The previous week's ranking is in parentheses. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.

1. (1) Madonna; $3,637,525; $159.81.
2. (2) Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; $1,343,105; $93.28.
3. (3) Justin Bieber; $1,184,558; $73.85.
4. (4) Dave Matthews Band; $967,758; $73.76.
5. (5) Neil Young & Crazy Horse; $938,605; $94.94.
6. (6) The Who; $845,015; $85.86.
7. (8) Leonard Cohen; $804,309; $100.16.
8. (7) Rush; $726,662; $77.88.
9. (9) Red Hot Chili Peppers; $716,382; $60.53.
10. (10) Zac Brown Band; $624,017; $56.97.
11. (11) Trans-Siberian Orchestra; $568,771; $51.47.
12. (12) Carrie Underwood; $540,743; $58.62.
13. (13) Bob Dylan; $474,323; $78.04.
14. (15) Jeff Dunham; $308,952; $58.16.
15. (14) Eric Church; $303,655; $40.36.
16. (19) Bassnectar; $174,050; $39.17.
17. (17) The Moody Blues; $160,360; $68.27.
18. (18) Wiz Khalifa; $156,796; $41.16.
19. (20) "So You Think You Can Dance"; $135,972; $56.66.
20. (New) The Monkees; $134,414; $62.93.

Thanks to Davey for sending in this great footage of the complete 2012 concert in New York City at the Beacon Theatre!

A new interview with Micky was published today on Variety's website.  In it Micky discusses the 2012 tour, Davy Jones and also broaches the topic of future Monkees projects.  Here's a quote from the piece, which is available to read here:

As for future Monkees projects, however, Dolenz defers to Nesmith. "I think he's going to do some solo dates to play his own music. Peter and I would like to record with Mike again but we presently have no plans. We recorded all the shows, so there might be a live album coming out. I don't think getting a deal would be a problem. We just have to agree on new music that we'd all want to record."