MC5/DKT - SHOW REVIEW

MC5/DKT
Majestic Theatre, Detroit
June 10, 2004
by Gary Blackwell

Before actually attending the DKT/MC5 show a few days ago, I really planned on having a million different courses of discussion to pick from when it came time to do this very write-up. Leading up to the event, I had a billion arguments going both for and against the show, and I figured that the performance itself would pick which way my words took them.

Imagine my surprise when I found ALL of those arguments slowly dissipating through the first few songs. When Wayne Kramer’s guitar started to kick out the riff to “Tonight,” a light bulb went on in my head as the crowd got loud. Watching guest guitarist Marshall Crenshaw (performing in place of the late, great Fred “Sonic” Smith) rail out solid rhythms behind Kramer’s leads made me realize that, despite all the bickering, discussions and arguments, the DKT event most certainly wasn’t actually about who it was on stage performing; this night was actually about the music of the MC5, and having it interpreted by musicians who felt it and understood it. No, hearing Crenshaw and Kramer singing the opening lyric to “Ramblin’ Rose” wasn’t the same as hearing the late Rob Tyner’s unusual falsetto on the Kick Out the Jams album, but seeing them playing it alongside Michael Davis and Dennis Thompson (all smiles, of course) was satisfying in its own little way.

I kept trying to recap the arguments in my head, trying to remember the various moot points and little things I was looking for to nitpick at … but when Mark Arm first stepped onto the

stage and let loose with his trademark wail set to an MC5 backing, those arguments faded even further into obscurity. I was mystified – I was briefly worried about the addition of a two-person horn section to certain songs, but even that worked out far better than could have been expected.

Now, sure, Evan Dando came out and generally made an ass of himself throughout the night, but – well, this is Evan Dando that I’m talking about, and I’m sure that anyone who knew anything about him beforehand wasn’t expecting anything less than what Detroit got from him. I know it would kill his ego to read this, but Evan Dando didn’t even matter by that point (not that he ever did, but that’s another story altogether).

What mattered was energy and raw, unbridled passion for the songs of the MC5, something that totally came to a head for the first time when a denim-clad Mick Collins waltzed on stage and led a furiously sloppy rendition of “Looking at You” that raised the hair on the back of my neck during Kramer’s guitar solos. Collins disappeared for most of the night after adding a few harmonica breaks to “Sister Anne,” but that feeling I got while he was on stage didn’t leave me for the rest of the night.

The crowd bopped and sang along to “Teenage Lust” and “Shakin’ Street,” and clapped along to “Call Me Animal” like it was 1970 all over again. It was surreal -- folks like me that

weren’t born until well after the lifespan of the band were jumping and singing along side-by-side with people that had lived the original MC5 live experience many years ago. It literally seemed like everyone in the crowd was smiling and having a good time, paying tribute to these songs from an era long since past. Hell, during an admittedly slightly over-dramatic version of “Let Me Try,” at least one audience member faithfully held a lighter up in the air.

However, it wasn’t just the audience having fun. Davis was grinning ear to ear watching Mick Collins bust out his harmonica solos, and quite the sly little smirk crept across Kramer’s visage when he motioned to the crowd to, “Kick out the jams, motherfuckers” to kick off what was arguably (and not surprisingly) the best received performance of the night. Arm’s eyes were beaming as he stood on stage leading a surprisingly terrifying version of “I Want You” with his cavernous yells; the smiles he flashed at Kramer during the vicious guitar leads were priceless. The band as a whole got way into the racket of a whacked-out “Starship,” and everyone got involved with a Kramer-led audience participation vocal round during

“Rocket Reducer No. 62” (cheesy, yes, but on this night, also an effective tactic used to further bond with an already rabid crowd).

It was apparent that the night was winding down when Arm paid homage to Smith and Tyner before breaking into the night’s only real political rant. On a night where fun was the operative word, Arm made a quick allusion to the fact that it was scary that songs written in the late 60’s can still be relevant in 2004, which led to a tight performance of “The American Ruse.”

It was obvious the crew was relishing being in Detroit for what basically amounted to a homecoming show of sorts. After two encores, the house lights came up and the sound system blared, though Kramer eventually led the band out for one more number – a third encore consisting of a take on “Motor City’s Burnin’” so unexpectedly crazy that even Dando’s off-key warbling (devoid of even the most remote sense of lyrical melody) couldn’t ruin the moment (and by the way, Dando - that was real classy, the way you flung that full water bottle into the crowd at someone because you couldn’t handle your obviously sub-par performance getting heckled by the Detroit audience).

Was it a historical moment in musical history? No, probably not. Was it blasphemous, watching DKT perform without Smith and Tyner? Well, that answer depends on who you’re asking, I suppose. Was it fun? In my personal opinion, hell yes, and it seemed like a majority of the folks at The Majestic that night would have to agree with me. Large quantities of beer were consumed; smiles abounded; sloppy rock songs were played loudly by a group of folks who quite obviously loved what they were doing, and about 1,000 folks sang along, danced around and generally enjoyed themselves. Who the hell am I to say that there’s anything at all wrong with that? -Gary Blackwell