MC5/DKT – The Meridian – Houston, TX June 23, 2004
Concert Reviews
0 Comment
Written by Samuel Barker
Jun 23, 2004 at 08:00 PM
Wayne KramerThere is just something about reunion tours and legal drama. As the DKT version of the MC5 were out on the road, a film, made about the short lived explosion that was the MC5, led to a split between the surviving members and the film makers. Promises were broken, contracts weren’t signed, basically all the usual drama that accompanies any law suit.With all this floating in the air, it seemed the hype may drown out the show. Oddly enough, it appears the hype didn’t make it too far in Houston. Despite the legendary status of the MC5 in the underground and Wayne Kramer’s successful solo albums on Epitaph over the past decade, the show drew only a few hundred hardcore rock fans, but that was enough for the people who made it out on this Wednesday night to the new club, The Meridian.

As the set began, bassist Michael Davis, drummer Dennis Thompson, guest guitarist Marshall Crenshaw and Kramer took the stage and kicked the show off with Tonight. All the members of the band took a turn on vocals to introduce the audience to the band and get the blood flowing, which they did beautifully.

The next two songs saw Kramer and Davis fill in on lead vocals, then they went into Sister, which brought out former Mudhoney frontman Mark Arm. Arm’s ferocious delivery of the lyrics definitely brought vibes reminiscent of original vocalist Rob Tyner, who died in the early-90s.

Mark Arm and Evan DandoArm channeled Tyner best with a mind-blowing rendition of I Want You Right Now. As Arm jumped in the audience, wrapped a group of people in his microphone cord with him and screamed from the bottom of his stomach while the rest of the band rocked out the simplistic riff of the song, the most memorable moment of the night was delivered with sincere intensity.

The other guys vocalist, former Lemonhead frontman Evan Dando, delivered accurate renditions of some of the MC5’s slower songs, but destroyed the overall mood as he bumbled around the stage like someone who was only half aware of what they were doing.

Fortunately, Dando’s weak performance was held to two songs and a few moments of background screams or fumbling with a tambourine. Crenshaw, Arm and the remaining members of the MC5 delivered a testament to what rock truly is eventually bringing the house down with their trademark song, Kick Out the Jams.

Ending with an eventual 3 song encore, the band left little on the stage and less for anyone to question. In over 2 hours, this band chronicled the beauty of their career and what so many bands are missing in the current music world. There was something special about this night at the Meridian, something rarely found in bands today, especially bands doing a reunion. While the night before Fleetwood Mac mailed in a performance for $120 a seat, the guys in the DKT/MC5 brought the house down for $20 a head. Just doesn’t seem right, does it?