Concert Review: Radio Birdman, Mudhoney, Dirtbombs @ Magic Stick
This was literally a night of legends. First off you had Easy Action who’s lead singer John Brannon twenty years ago fronted the Detroit, hardcore punk band Negative Approach (NA is spoken in the same circles as Minor Threat and Black Flag). Next a dose of The Dirtbombs who’s lead Mick Collins fronted the original bass-less, Detroit garage revival The Gories. Add in Mudhoney’s Mark Arm who not only termed the word “grunge” but was the blueprint for a style of rock that a boy from Aberdeen, Washington made famous. Then round it all off with Radio Birdman’s lead guitarist and Michigan native Deniz Tek. Tek is a respected surgeon, Australian punk rock god and an accomplished U.S. Navy fighter pilot who just happened to find himself the muse for the late great Jim Cash, screenwriter for the movie “Top Gun”. What can I say I know my completely obscure rock facts.
As for the show, I’m kick myself for missing Easy Action but The Dirtbombs brought the fuzz distortion as usual. Despite, some technical problems with Mick’s mic I was glad to hear some of my favorites such as “Cedar Point 76″, “Motor City Baby” and “Underdog”.
Mudhoney was awesome. They started it off with “Touch Me I’m Sick” (this song pretty much bank rolled Sup Pop Records in the 80′s). They also played “Suck You Dry” as well as a somewhat newer gem “Sonic Infusion”.
For the main course, Radio Birdman. Despite all the talk of how the MC5 and Stooges inspired the band that brought punk rock down under, I can happily say that I was at their first ever Detroit show (they disbanded in 78 right before their first US. tour). Tek was amazing on the ax and Rob Younger was right on with the vocals. At one point there was so much energy coming out of the stacks that it made Mudhoney and The Dirtbombs seem like they were playing unplugged. The encore was by far the stand out with the Detroit ode “Murder City Nights” followed by a ripping Iggy Pop & The Stooges cover of “Search & Destroy” and capping it off with my personal favorite “New Race”. You could tell these guys were looking forward to playing Detroit, feel free to come back anytime.
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