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MC50's political pulse beats as powerfully as ever
Brother-in-arms: Wayne Kramer
[Tracy Ketcher/Creative Commons] 
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MC50
02 Academy, Glasgow/Touring
IT WAS time to testify as founding member “brother” Wayne Kramer of the MC5 brings an all-star line-up — dubbed MC50 — to Glasgow on this latest leg of their world tour.
Celebrating the half century with Kramer since the release of the groundbreaking Kick Out the Jams album are Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, King's X singer-bassist Doug Pinnick, Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty and Zen Guerrilla frontman Marcus Durant.
Their message isn’t lost on the young and preponderantly older audience. Originally intended merely as a document of their live show, the Kick out the Jams album stands as a flashpoint for punk, garage and the visceral power of politically charged rock, explicit on the question the title track poses of whether listeners are going to be part of the problem or the solution.
Before and after its release, the Detroit-based Motor City 5 were seen as a threat to the status quo and already had FBI files on them before their debut album came out. With beatnik poet and philosopher John Sinclair as their manager, the band gathered momentum with their powerful message.
Through their creation of the White Panthers, in solidarity with the Black Panthers, they came up with their own 10-point plan, the first of which was to fully support the latter. They’ve gone on to make their mark as a political band with a revolutionary agenda.
Kick out the Jams is played in full and its political message has not been lost over time. As well as playing the iconic album they deliver other hits such as Tonight, Teenage Lust and Sister Anne, with lead singer Marcus Durant sporting a similar Afro to Rob Tyner, the band’s original lead frontman, and Wayne Kramer wielding his American flag-adorned Fender guitar, as ironic a symbol as it was in the 1960s.
Dedicated to all “rotten politicians,” they finish with Looking At You and its message of “vote, vote, vote” — an incitement, if ever there was one, to kick out those jams.
MC50 play Albert Hall, Manchester on November 11 and 02 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London on November 12, tickets: mc50th.com
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