JOEY RAMONE BIRTHDAY BASH AT THE STUDIO AT WEBSTER HALL
IN NEW YORK, USA ON MAY 19, 2016- THIS IS PAGE 1.
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This two pages long review is written by Linda Iorio. On page two is lot details of set when was played Ramones' first album as a celebration of its 40th anniversary.
Thanks Linda.
The annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash was held on May 19, 2016 at The Studio at Webster Hall, formerly The Ritz, on East 11th Street in NYC, USA, where I've seen the Ramones back in the day. All proceeds from the event benefitted THE JOEY RAMONE FOUNDATION FOR LYMPHOMA RESEARCH. Raffle tix were sold and the grand prize was a Fender acoustic guitar autographed by all the performers. Other prizes included a Ramones turntable in a cute & convenient carrying case, and a Joey Ramone skateboard deck.
Webster Hall has long been divided up into many different rooms, both upstairs and down, offering different kinds of music. There are bands that play the big room, but these days, I'm not familiar with most of them. The Studio is downstairs from the big, main room, and much smaller. I wish they'd have the bash in the big room, because the event usually sells out as far as I know, and it gets too packed to move in the Studio.
I don't attend the event every year, but I try to. Over the years, the venue has gotten smaller. The first one I went to was in 2001, which was just about 4 weeks after Joey had passed away. Everyone was grieving Joey (although I know I still do) and that is why that one was my favorite. It was held at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC, a great big venue.
So this year, I found myself having that familiar itch, wanting to be with my leather -clad, Converse-wearing punk rock brethren, in a happy and joyous celebration of Joey Ramone's birthday. There's nothing like chanting "Hey ho, let's go!", and pumping your fist in unison with other Ramones fans who are just as crazy as you are for that particular crowd favorite, Blitzkrieg Bop!
I was lucky to get a great spot on the side of the stage, so I had a good view of the bands all night. Please forgive me for not remembering all the performers or some of whom I didn't know, or what song they did.
One band was called Blue Coupe, named in honor of Blue Öyster Cult and Alice Cooper. Their opening song was BÖC's Don't Fear The Reaper, an unusual choice, I thought, but I don't think I've ever seen any band do the song, so that was a treat. Next I think they did Alice Cooper's School's Out. I never noticed what a great drum beat that song has!, wrote Iorio.
Jari-Pekka's note: Albert and Joe Bouchard are founding members of Blue Öyster Cult. They and Dennis Dunaway play as a trio in Blue Coupe. Dunaway is a founder of the original Alice Cooper group.
Linda Iorio continue:The next band, Barb Wire Dolls, took the room by storm with their loud, hard, fast, aggressive sound, not to mention their very animated, sexy, platinum-blonde punk chick lead singer, Isis Queen. I loved her raspy, husky voice and I sometimes wonder if high school cheerleaders grow up to be singers in a punk rock band. The band has a male lead guitarist Pyn Doll, who played a Fender Strat, I believe, and 2 very cute youngish girls on bass (Iriel Blaque) and rhythm guitar (Remmington), rounded out by the drummer Krash Doll .
I was impressed with Remmington, the rhythm guitarist. She plays blurry-fast with mostly no expression on her face just like Johnny Ramone did, and her cool haicut also reminded me of him a little bit. If there ever was a female Johnny Ramone, Remmington is it, although I believe she plays a a Gibson Les Paul -- quite a heavy guitar for a girl!
I'd never heard of the band, and thanks to Google, I learned that they're from Greece, of all places! I guess I never thought of Greece as punk! They have some fantastic writeups online if you Google them, and believe me, every word is true! I loved them and they did to me what music is SUPPOSED to do -- wake you up, turn you on, make you happy , and lose yourself in it all. Be sure to look them up!
Since this year is the 40th anniversary of the first Ramones album, a special guest was introduced, Craig Leon, who produced the album. There was a Q and A with the audience, but I had trouble hearing some of the questions. One question I did hear was, "What's your favorite album?", to which Craig said, "Give me a break!". I'm not sure what he meant by that, but I know it's incredibly hard to pick a favorite album of any of your favorite artists!
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