I like a bit of a cavort: Tonight by MC5 1972
Now this really gets me at it of a Friday night.
I first saw this on a night of rare “punk” footage at the King’s Cross Scala hosted by Clinton Heylin in the early 90s; there were a couple of hundred of us huddled there – including such fans as Alan McGee + Bobby Gillespie – for that opportunity.
Everything we saw that night is freely available on Youtube these days.
In this performance of Tonight by MC5 on French TV in 1972 (about a month before they split apparently) there are many choice moments to savour as the lurid lurex, sateen and sequins clash with the vivid blue-screen:
0.05: Fred “Sonic” Smith’s wolf-whistle
0.08: Dennis Thompson’s inexplicable t-shirt change from black to that orange Norton number (and the appearance of his shades)
0.18: Smith’s fur hat
1.00: Wayne Kramer’s hand-jive between power chords
1.42: Rob Tyner’s hand-clap shuffle
2.25: The Boogie Chillun quote
4.49: Kramer’s flicking back and forth of the control switch effect
5.33: Tyner’s monologue about some sex club
…you get the picture. Turn it onto full-screen, hit top vol, and start jumping…