I used to have that poster on my wall. . The Dukes were there because you were a Michigan Rock band, you pretty much were expected to play there(they played at a couple other "Free John" concerts, too.

Ted didn't like the Grande, much either, probably for the same reasons he didn't John Sinclair. If you asked him, either then or now, he would likely tell you that he didn't like the drugs and dirt, and the mindless "power to the people" rock and roll/pot rhetoric. It may have had more to do with the fact that the MC5, which John managed, were the house band at the Grande, and not the Dukes.

The next year, there was another "Free John Sinclair" concert/rally in Ann Arbor, this one featured John and Yoko, and, according to rock mythology, the establishment was so shaken by this outpouring of "Peace, Drugs, and Rock and Roll" that Sinclair was released, two days later.

The truth, of course, is that civil and human rights attorneys had been working on the case for quite a while (one of the attorneys later defended a band which featured yours truly, which is another, and rather silly story) and the concert was timed to coincide with (and pay the extensive legal costs of) the release.

The degree to which John Sinclair was a political prisoner, rather than just an obnoxious(but charming) promoter/maoist who had done a lot of stuff that pissed people off, is a moot point.

The MC5, and the Stooges, especially Iggy, did a lot better after they'd parted ways with him, but I don't think anything will ever be as much fun as those White Panther Party concerts with the stack of amps and "I wanna see a sea of hands"
and "Kick out the Jams" etc.

As far as politics, however, I believe it was our own beloved Motor City Madman who said, "When was the last time a bunch of stoned potheads changed anything?"