MC50, the current touring tribute to legendary Detroit
proto-punks, The MC5, played their first Michigan show Saturday night at Grand
Rapids’ 20 Monroe Live. The all-star line up included original
guitarist/vocalist, Wayne Kramer, now 70, playing alongside Kim Thayil of Soundgarden
on guitar, Billy Gould of Faith No More on bass, Brendan Canty of Fugazi on
drums, and Marcus Durant of Zen Guerilla standing in for late MC5 vocalist, Rob
Tyner. While the show’s pace and intensity might have been a bit slower and
lower than seeing the group at their peak in the late ‘60s, it was clearly the
closest one could get to an MC5 concert in 2018, and the faithful fans and curious
concert-goers alike were treated to a mostly focused, well-executed run through
the band’s most notable numbers and most of their up-tempo deep cuts over the
course of a fun, 80-minute performance.
The night began with a 30-minute opening set from garage/blues
veterans, The Detroit Cobras. Their creative
arrangements of classics like, “Cha Cha Twist”, “Leave My Kitten Alone”, and “Cry
On”, fit right in with the style The MC5 helped to make so famous and
influential. While the band was musically tight, and mostly only sloppy at
times by intention, singer, Rachel Nagy, sounded and appeared to be quite
inebriated from the moment the group walked onstage. Luckily for the band, that
mostly fits right in with their style as well.
After a short set change, the sounds of the original
introduction from The MC5’s debut LP, Kick
out the Jams, came over the speakers, and the all-star tribute group took
the stage to a very warm and enthusiastic reception from the crowd. While the
venue was far from filled, it was notable that many age groups were represented
among the audience, far more so than an average rock show. Kramer led the band through a faithful but
slightly less-frantic rendition of that famous debut album from 1969, though a
few songs were switched in the order of performance, and a few tunes, like the
opener, “Ramblin’ Rose” suffered a bit from Kramer’s (forgivable) vocal
limitations. Durant took over on the classic title song and evoked Rob Tyner in
vocal style, performance, and appearance, in some ways recalling Ian Astbury’s
work with The Doors as he filled in for Jim Morrison. The vocal delivery was
mostly faithful to the original recordings and performances, but some could
argue certain songs should be left with the memories and recordings of Tyner.
Kramer hammed it up all night, cracking smiles from others
on stage and clearly enjoying the opportunity to perform all those old songs again.
Aside from the entirety of the first album, the group also performed half of
their second album, one song from their third, and one cover tune, “I Can Only
Give You Everything”, originally by Van Morrison’s ‘60s group, Them. While the performances
themselves were generally engaging and up-tempo rockers, it was unclear whether
the guitars were mixed or balanced improperly or whether Kramer’s guitar was
simply meant to be at full volume compared to Thayil’s, which could barely be
heard at times, though that issue seemed to improve later in the show. “Starship”
was the psychedelic highlight of the show but lost a fair amount of the
audience during the quiet part of the free-form section. Though political and
social commentary was not present throughout the show, there were a few pointed
moments, especially prior to the last song of the night, “Looking at You”,
before which Kramer reminded the audience they had the power to “Vote them out”
in November.
Overall, the show was a successful celebration of the
legendary and influential band and a chance for fans from the early days and
many who were born long after to gather and enjoy the music on stage, even if
only once. MC50 will perform in Detroit, at Saint Andrew’s Hall and The
Fillmore, in late October.
MC50 set list (Grand Rapids, MI 9/22/18)
(Brother J.C. Crawford intro)
Ramblin’ Rose
Kick out the Jams
Come Together
Motor City is Burning
Rocket Reducer No. 62
Borderline
I Want You Right Now
Starship
I Can Only Give You Everything (Them)
High School
Shakin’ Street
Future/Now
Tonight
Call Me Animal
----------------------------(encore break)------
Let Me Try
Looking at You
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