Download Festival 2005: The MC5 - 12th June 2005
Detroit , the Motor City, back in the 1960s was a city of music; and how! Mitch Ryder, a young Ted Nugent, an embryonic Alice Cooper served his apprenticeship here, the place had a sound that was all its own and you had to be dead not to feel something. A blue collar city, murder capital of the world, hard livin’, hard workin’, filled with people born to fight. The audiences in and around the area didn’t waste their time on ham ‘n’ eggers; you were good, or you were out of there in a hurry. It made the musicians tough and feisty. None more so than The MC5.
Years of cross-pollination of musical styles forged the Detroit sound. Early in the 20 th century, the migration of coloured people from the south brought blues, gospel and soul, to the cold north. In the late ‘50s, rock and roll came along and Elvis, The Killer and Little Richard shocked middle America to its xenophobic foundations. By the mid ‘60s, American teens had heard the sound of British blues; black music from a different time, transformed by white kids, thousands of miles away and shipped back across the Atlantic. It hit the west coast and spurred youngsters there to advocate peace and love. In Detroit, during the so-called Summer of Love, The MC5 turned that concept on its head, urging everyone to ‘Kick Out The Jams, Motherfuckers!’
Years of cross-pollination of musical styles forged the Detroit sound. Early in the 20 th century, the migration of coloured people from the south brought blues, gospel and soul, to the cold north. In the late ‘50s, rock and roll came along and Elvis, The Killer and Little Richard shocked middle America to its xenophobic foundations. By the mid ‘60s, American teens had heard the sound of British blues; black music from a different time, transformed by white kids, thousands of miles away and shipped back across the Atlantic. It hit the west coast and spurred youngsters there to advocate peace and love. In Detroit, during the so-called Summer of Love, The MC5 turned that concept on its head, urging everyone to ‘Kick Out The Jams, Motherfuckers!’
For me, this was one of the highlights of the weekend. To see a rock legend like Wayne Kramer is quite an event and he definitely did not disappoint. The band was as tight as you can get, and you can tell that they have been doing this for a long time; they know exactly what to do to please an audience, and put on a great performance. This can only come from years of playing in front of people, something that some of the younger bands have yet to fully appreciate.
Gilbey Clarke had recently joined the band to fill out the guitar sound (and make them look younger) and one of the most surprising portions of the evenings entertainment was when Kramer and Clarke had a little bit of a guitar battle towards the end of the set, showing that both of them know their way around a fret board. Handsome Dick Manitoba (of The Dictators) took most of the vocal duties and worked the crowd like the seasoned pro that he is. Special Guest appearance at this show fell to no lesser a luminary than Lemmy, and to see him singing a couple of rock and roll standards was just surreal.
Gilbey Clarke had recently joined the band to fill out the guitar sound (and make them look younger) and one of the most surprising portions of the evenings entertainment was when Kramer and Clarke had a little bit of a guitar battle towards the end of the set, showing that both of them know their way around a fret board. Handsome Dick Manitoba (of The Dictators) took most of the vocal duties and worked the crowd like the seasoned pro that he is. Special Guest appearance at this show fell to no lesser a luminary than Lemmy, and to see him singing a couple of rock and roll standards was just surreal.
Naturally, Kick Out The Jams was the song that everybody of a certain age knew, and we provided suitable raucous vocal accompaniment in all the right places! The audience participation number was Rocket Reducer No. 62 and, for this, the Snickers tent crowd was divided into three groups. Stage left was charged with singing ‘We’re Alright, we’re alright’, whilst stage right was allotted ‘Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa’, and the center, ‘Oh yeah’. What’s more, to make it a little more interesting, the three parts had to be sung simultaneously. It was a nice spin on the standard call and answer routine and it worked really well.
The MC5 kicked ass, it’s as simple as that. I’m not sure that a festival appearance is the best place to see them, nevertheless they played a storming set and were appreciated by a sizable crowd. I would love to see this band in a small, dingy, club though; somewhere like CBGB’s, for example. That would be some kind of experience, I’m sure.
But, all good things must come to an end and The MC5 left the stage to make way for Motorhead. This would be my girls’ first Motorhead experience.
The MC5 kicked ass, it’s as simple as that. I’m not sure that a festival appearance is the best place to see them, nevertheless they played a storming set and were appreciated by a sizable crowd. I would love to see this band in a small, dingy, club though; somewhere like CBGB’s, for example. That would be some kind of experience, I’m sure.
But, all good things must come to an end and The MC5 left the stage to make way for Motorhead. This would be my girls’ first Motorhead experience.
