The MC5- Tonight

Here are the MC5 on their first tour of England in early 1972. Having already established themselves in the United States, the Motor City Five were poised to take over the very music scene originated by their UK rivals. Although beloved in their native Detroit, the band’s hard-rocking, radical image and call for “dope, guns and fucking in the streets” for some reason didn’t resonate with main stream American radio djs and record shop chain owners. With an audience already primed to their sound, however, the 1972 tour had huge potential for success and must have been an exciting time for the band.

Technically the tour was a hit, garnering acclaim from fans and critics alike—including English disc jockey Ronan O'Rahilly and Rolling Stone Mick Jagger—but even in the midst of success the seeds were being sown for the band’s decline and total collapse wasn’t far off. Heroin addiction and the rigors of touring took its toll on the members and they dropped out one by one, until only the two original guitarists remained.

But forget all that for the moment and enjoy this clip of a seminal band in its prime. Evidence of the group's evolution from their start as a high school cover band, this version of "Tonite" has all the energy of early MC5 live performances but with a sophistication and nuanced musicality that comes from years of constant touring. Guitarist Wayne Kramer's solo is a perfect example, frenetic but well tempered- it’s practically a complete and separate song on its own.

After the solo, the transition is so smooth that without the vocals you'd almost miss the band's slip into a cover version of John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen." Fred Smith, Patti Smith's future husband, stands stage left in his silver space costume inspired by Sun Ra, another Detroit musician, whose experimental jazz found its way into the MC5's music—particularly their last studio album "High Time." Unfortunately, the clip fades out before the band has a chance to transition back into the original song for a great ending that can be heard on several bootleg recordings of the time.





I almost hate to show you this but here is the band on its last legs just 9 months later; back in Europe but with a new bassist, lead vocalist and drummer doing a painful version of "Louie Louie". After you're done watching you might want to go back and watch the first clip again just to cleanse the palette.