Last Thursday at London's legendary 100 Club, surviving members of the MC5, guitarist Wayne Kramer, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson, played their first live gig together in thirty years. At a prior press conference Kramer was adamant that this was not a reunion, "We are not the MC5. This is not an MC5 show. This is not an MC5 reunion. It's a celebration of the music of the MC5." Performing with the band was Motorhead's Lemmy, the Damned's Dave Vanian, Hellacopters' Nicke Andersson, the Cult's Ian Astbury and the Stone Roses' Mani. The guests helped fill the voids left by vocalist Rob Tyner (who died of a heart attack in 1991) and guitarist Fred Smith (who also died of a heart attack in 1994). 

However the performance was not entirely nostalgic, as the band was helping launch Levi's Vintage Clothing which has produced a trendy line of MC5 t-shirts. Rolling Stone reported Kramer's justification of the sponsorship, "Our stance said 'by any means necessary'…  Levi's was smart enough to see a connection between the music of the MC5 and the audience today."

UPDATE: There's a really fantastic article on Wayne Kramer's site where he addresses his critics and the Levis marketing. Click here to check it out.