TONIGHT: Dance to MC5, Iggy + the Stooges and More
Kick out the jams, mother#$%@rs! Tonight, Wednesday February 7th, Guitar Army Philly is hosting Death Disco, a night of music on vinyl at the Dolphin Tavern, and this edition will feature lots of MC5 to honor the late, great Wayne Kramer.
The party starts at 9pm at the Dolphin (1539 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia) and there’s no cover. Expect to hear tracks from Iggy Pop, the Stooges, Bauhaus, David Bowie, Sisters of Mercy, and more on the turntables.
After news of the loss of Wayne Kramer last week, Guitar Army posted that they’ll go heavy on MC5’s discography tonight in tribute to the punk pioneer: “RIP Brother Wayne Kramer. Wednesday at The Dolphin Tavern we’ll be doing back to back Iggy & The Stooges & MC5 7”s to honor the career & legacy of WK. “
Wayne Kramer was not only a founding member and guitarist of MC5, but is widely regarded as a trailblazer in the formation of garage rock and punk music. The Detroit band’s time together was brief – they released “Kick Out The Jams” in 1969 and disbanded by 1972 – but their output was highly influential. Their only two albums, Back in the USA and High Time, are often cited as required listening in the rock genre, thanks to their high-volume, straight-ahead musical approach and no-holds-barred attitude.
Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine posted a tribute to Wayne after his passing, saying: “His band the MC5 basically invented punk rock music… I’m pretty sure every album I’ve ever worked on the rawest fastest track had the working title “MC5” (“Sleep Now In The Fire” for example). Wayne came through personal trials of fire with drugs and jail time (the Clash song “Jail Guitar Doors” was written about Wayne) and emerged a transformed soul who went on to save countless lives through his tireless acts of service. He and his incredible wife Margaret founded @jailguitardoorsusa which founds music programs in prisons as life changing effective rehabilitation. I’ve played with Wayne in prisons and watched him transform lives, he was just unbelievable.”
You can get info on other upcoming events and dance parties at the Dolphin on their website.