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| Spit it Out! MARKY RAMONE Empire, Belfast. April 14th 2004 |
| Back in time to the year of our lord 1978 the mighty Ramones played a gig here in Belfast at the Ulster hall on 23/9/78 to be exact. The then fresh faced youths of the first generation of NI punks were there in force to pay homage to the band that layed down the template for every bedroom punk band of limited ability to feel like they could actually make music together albeit of the 3 chord basic noise variety, but hey! what more did you need back then? My own punk band the Producers featured two songs which were covered by the Ramones at their trademark breakneck speed 'Lets Dance' and 'Do you wanna dance' in our first set in '78. It wasn't everyday that a band of US punksters from that mystical far off place called New York City which might as well have been on another planet would pay a visit to our grey troubled corner of the world. We appreciated them coming and that applied to all the bands no matter where they came from, in fact anyone who had the balls to make the journey here, you know who you are...thank you! Many years later my old buddy Brian Young ex-Rudi headlined a tribute gig to Joey Ramone with his current squeeze the Sabrejets, who still cover 'Blitzkrieg Bop'. They included it in a rockabilly style to their set, shortly after the singers premature death from Lymphoma in 2001, with all the proceeds going to a charity in Joeys name. It was a fitting mark of the respect and high esteem the band is still held by punks here. I'm starting to drift a bit with all this nostalgia so lets get back on track to my punky past and present. |
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| It was all very business like going through the motions with no real enthusiasim. A "lets get this over with" sort of attitude that the sparse audience were picking up on and the band could feel the vibe coming back at them. A very competent tribute band with an original member, which in reality is what they are yes, but the heart just wasn't there. The guitarist in a silly attempt to be punkier than everyone else threatened some small guy at his side of the stage and proceeded to call him a few choice names through the mic. But if it was comedy violence he was looking for, my mate Facer had already kicked a student in the arse when he fell against him spilling his drink while jumping around like a twat. This incident nearly ended in fisticuffs and let me make it clear from the outset, I don't condone this type of behaviour at all (I still ain't convinced -PDC) but it livened up the show for a minute or two. In fact the dancefloor was never full at anytime during the bands performance. There was only a bunch of student types who probably got their Ramones T-shirts in 'Rip Off'' the day before, and proceded to jump around like prats, not a real original punk in sight but there were more than a few standing in the shadows around the hall. If this had been the real deal, the place would have been heaving and we would have been in there making fools of ourselves regardless of age, but this I'm sorry to report was just average. Unfortunately I was sober enough to witness it all, maybe if I had been drinking instead of suffering from heartburn from too much coke (coca cola) I would have enjoyed it more. But I was too young to drink when I saw the real thing so I can compare the two shows with a clear head. Yeah maybe I was expecting too much from the band, and I'm not alone with this viewpoint. And yes I know this was a tribute, but there is a bona fide Ramone in the line up. I'll go home and watch the short video of a super 8 cine film of the Ramones at the Ulster hall in '78 that I have, and relive that great night for the music and stage presence. But Marky's spoken word , Q/A is the highlight of this show, and worth the admission price alone, it's very entertaining! Start saving your pennies now for $hame Academy with a new improved set list supported by their old sparring partners the Defects at the Empire on the 20th May that will be a great night of pure punk rock mayhem. Joe Donnelly Belfast 5/4/04. |
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| It was a rarity for bands to play here at all in the '70's while there was numerous gigs going on in a multitude of venues in London, that every night we would read about jealously in the music press. We had more or less nothing so having the likes of the Ramones play at their peak was something very special, we're still waiting on the likes of the Sex Pistols, Generation X honouring the promises to visit that they never delivered. We were well entertained by our own homegrown brand of heroes anyway, so we missed out on nothing. In fact it probably made the scene here stronger than anywhere else as we had to do everything for ourselves as no-one else was gonna do it for us. On a warm evening outside in Bedford St. after standing in line for what seemed like an age the doors of the venue were finally opened. We made our way down to the front and there on the stage was the famous presidential eagle backdrop and the 'Gabba Gabba Hey' placard present and correct ready to be given to that nights selected "pinhead" to wave about on the stage. Though if I remember correctly, Joey waved the sign himself as the band played their anthem 'Pinhead', the bands call to all the punks and outsiders to join this weird disfunctional family of noise "Gabba Gabba we accept you as one of us". When the show got properly underway after a short boring arty support set by Snips, definitetly a mismatch bill, there was Joey towering above us all six foot + as he leaned over the edge of the stage balancing on his mic stand as Johnny fired off those rapid machine gun riffs and chords with his legs spread wide apart. We were pogoing and jumping around as if our lives depended on it. As one song merged into the next, only stopping for the most brief of breaks as Dee Dee shouted "1 2 3 4" and off we went again. By the end of the show we were exhausted and soaked in sweat after a relentless battering from da brudders and their supersonic barrage of energy in black leather and denim. It had all the hallmarks of a classic punk gig and I can't remember if it was Tommy or Marky on the drums? Though that question would be answered later on at tonights gig. That show flew by in the blink of an eye and I'm here tonight to see Marky Ramone with a band that features two present day UK Subs. It's almost 26 years later as he alone keeps the bands flame alive, now that Joey and Dee Dee have passed on. And I don't know what Johnny is doing these days. apparently he has sold all his gear though he made a guest appearance on Steve Jones 'Jonesy's jukebox' radio show in LA in the last fortnight. I heard later that Johnny was infact suffering from prostrate cancer and is pretty ill! By the way Steve's in line to take on the legendary Johnny Thunders guitar duties in the currently/ possibly reforming New York Dolls. I'm looking forward to those gigs if they really happen. Iggy's back with the Stooges and Wayne Kramer has reformed the MC5. What's goin on? Why all the welcome activity from these legendary bands now, after so many years? Money talks I suppose. I wish they had done it years earlier in their prime and with all members together. Thinking about tonights action I'm not sure if I'll be up to the physical exhertion of that night so long ago, as I'm no longer the pup I was in the heady days of '78. But if all goes to plan I'll give it my best shot. To be perfectly honest I'm not sure what to expect as this show is part live music, rare video and spoken word. I searched around the net for some clues as to what was going on but I'm as confused as ever? |
| And so to the live music which to be honest was a bit of a let down. The band is a trio made up of Marky, still a very solid drummer and two current members of the UK Subs, Al and Bri who both have hairstyles straight out of the Steve Roberts former Subs drummer book of hairdressing and a 1000 other punks circa 80/81. I know your saying how can this be when its basically a Ramones greatest hits set, with a couple of surprises thrown in 'Wonderful world', 'Chinese Rocks', 'Born to lose', 'Sheena' ($hame Academy do the last two songs a lot better), 'Rockaway Beach', 'KKK took my baby away', 'I don't care' etc etc. The band were far too thrashy and just didn't have the charismatic cartoon quality that the Ramones had. A quality that made these songs great to carry this show. In the bands defence, these are very large boots with all the history attached that they are trying to fill. |
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