16th Sep 2004
Goodbye, Johnny Ramone
I saw the Ramones at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco in 1980 or 81, during the “End Of The Century” tour. They were unlike any band I knew at that time. And they played with so much energy and passion! Sure, I’d seen the Dead Kennedys and others in the punk scheme of things (at venues such as Mabuhay Gardens, and The Fillmore), but something about the Warfield (which is a grand old theatre) turned it up a notch.
Johnny and Dee Dee managed to play with their guitars at their knees, legs splayed, heads bobbing along at insanely high metronome. The front three were planted up there on stage; posed in a certain defiance, focusing the room on them. They had “it”.
Goodbye Johnny. From the opening chords of Blitzkreig Bop, you gave us a lot of joy. Now my daughter is a second-generation Ramones lover.
Sorry to see you go, go, go, go goodbye.
