The Rendezvous Band "Gettin' There Is Half the Fun" 2000 - Live at the Magic Stick, Detroit

The surviving members of Sonic's Rendezvous Band (Scott Morgan, Gary Rasmussen, Scott "Rock Action" Asheton) paying tribute to Fred Smith's memory with Radio Birdman's Deniz Tek. - discogs
After the collapse of the MC5, Fred "Sonic" Smith formed Sonic's Rendezvous Band in 1975 with a potent lineup of Detroit-area musicians: Scott Morgan (formerly of the Rationals), Scott "Rock Action" Asheton (ex-Stooges), and Gary Rasmussen (of Motor City proto-punks the Up). SRB broke up in the early '80s, and Smith's death in 1994 seemingly scotched any plans of a reunion, but in the fall of 1999, the surviving members of Sonic's Rendezvous joined up with former Radio Birdman guitarist (and Australia's leading proponent of Detroit rock & roll) Deniz Tek for a special one-off show as the Rendezvous Band. Gettin' There Is Half the Fun is a warts-and-all live recording of that gig, and on disc this sounds like one of those great "you shoulda been there" experiences. Scott Morgan rarely gets his due as one of Detroit rock's most potent frontmen, and his fiery vocals and tight rhythm guitar work pull this band into fourth gear. Meanwhile, Rasmussen and Asheton are a solid, blisteringly powerful rhythm section, and Tek does a more than able job filling in for Fred Smith (no small accomplishment) while also serving up a revved-up cover of Radio Birdman's "New Race." Together, the band plays with the sweaty passion that's the equal of their best work, winding up with a furious eight-minute rendition of Sonic's Rendezvous Band's greatest song, "City Slang." Anyone who has never heard the SRB ought to start with their two posthumous albums, Sweet Nothing and City Slang, but if you've heard and enjoyed those sets -- or you're just looking for a solid dose of high-energy Detroit rock -- you ought to give this a listen pronto. - by Mark Deming
trax:
01 Electrophonic Tonic 2 Dangerous 03 Let's Do It Again 4 Hearts 05 Earthy 06 Sweet Nothin' 07 Dirt 08 New Race 09 Gettin' There Is Half The Fun 10 Gone With The Dogs 11 City Slang