DKT/MC5

Photo By Gary Miller

DKT/MC5

On the new MC5: Sonic Revolution DVD, drummer Dennis Thompson speaks of how the original Motor City quintet's music is etched in his "muscle memory." Friday's celebration of Emo's 12th anniversary left no doubt about that statement's veracity. DKT/MC5 put on a high-energy show that highlighted Thompson's steady hand and Wayne Kramer's guitar theatrics. Bassist Michael Davis seemed shaky as the band kicked off with "Tonight," and his lead vocal turn on Van Morrison's "I Can Only Give You Everything" was lost in the mix, but the three surviving MC5 members locked on "Sister Anne." In addition to singing "Tonight" and "Gotta Keep Movin'," guitarist Marshall Crenshaw did a respectable job of substituting for the departed Fred "Sonic" Smith. Filling the shoes of late vocalist Rob Tyner proved dicier. While Mudhoney's Mark Arm sings nothing like Tyner, the explosively feral nature of his performance on "I Want You Right Now" and "Over and Over" embodied the transformative spirit of the music. The single most powerful moment of the 100-minute set came at the end of "The Human Being Lawnmower," a Vietnam-era anti-war anthem with newfound relevance. As Arm screamed "chop-chop-chop-chop," Kramer and Thompson made knowing eye contact during the song's musical fusillade before culminating with a dead stop that served as an exclamation point. By contrast, former Lemonhead Evan Dando was completely out of his element. An odd choice to begin with, Dando quickly confirmed the prejudice against him with a mousy, dispassionate reading of "High School." The best thing to be said about Dando's stabs at "Let Me Try" and "Looking at You" is that they further reminded everyone how great a frontman Tyner was. Predictably, "Kick Out the Jams" was a crowd-pleasing romp, but DKT/MC5's version of Sun Ra's "Starship," featuring local trumpeter Ephraim Owens, demonstrated how far beyond rock & roll the Five's influences stretched. If it wasn't quite Detroit's Grande Ballroom circa 1969, Friday's show certainly justified the MC5's veneration to anyone who missed it the first time.