Few bands in the history of Rock have been as true, as untouchable by trends, as non-commercial as the RAMONES. For 24 years they created pure music. They were the Godfathers of Punk, they carried the flag even when everyone else was gone. In 1996 they simply left the scene with an album called Adios Amigos! never to come back on stage again. In the following years 3 of the 4 band members of their classic line-up died, leaving only Marky Ramone to keep the memory alive. They were always simple like their 3-chord songs and full of energy like their live shows.

That's why I was very uncertain and a bit worried when I heard that Marky was back in town. I was afraid that this would be nothing more than a simple gathering for money, like all those reunions we've seen the past years, bands put together again just to get a piece of the pie and leave again. But my memories of their last concert in Athens were still strong (it ended with a police bus being rampaged by wild punk_metal fans, a few broken heads and some people ending up in jail) and I decided to give Marky a chance.

Once more the organizers in Greece proved to us that they should be called un-organizers... Tickets said doors open at 19.30, doors opened at 20.30 and around 100-150 people were waiting outside in the cold patiently. Like everything else in this country, gigs are badly organized, overpriced and you are being treated like it's a privilege to actually be able to buy a ticket.
Doors finally opened and the small club started to fill with people. The strange thing is that here in Greece we never had a big punk movement. The punk rock fans were always few, even in the old days of its glory. However the metal fans had a always had a small affection towards punk bands and RAMONES were always very popular among them. Gagarin club was filled with metal fans of all ages. Young ones who never had the chance to see them live in their last days, older ones who came to get a glimpse of the past and even people around forty and fifty years old with their kids and nephews... 3-4 generations of rock fans all together under the same name. How many bands can claim such an honor?

Around 9 something, the first support band, called VELVOIDS as I found out later, came on stage. A young Greek trio with a cute female drummer grabbed their instruments and almost without saying anything else but a simple hello, started filling the club with their music. A mix of old punk, indie and alternative, simple and straight, gained a few head bobs and feet tapping from the crowd in the front. The band was good and solid though it was bit distant from us. Maybe they were a bit nervous, yet it would be nice to say something more than song names and 'ello. Nevertheless the music is what mainly counts and they were interesting.

The next band was STAR STAR. A quite famous glam/slease punk noisy trash band in Greece as they have opened for GUNS N' ROSES and Alice Cooper in the past. Johnnie Holiday(guitar/vocals) backed up by a loud drummer, an ever-moving bassist and a hot lady for backing vocals exploded on stage with his direct style and good music. Ok they are not the band of the century but STAR STAR know how to give a nice, sweaty, fun-to-be show. Something many bands more professional and successful tend to forget when they get a few loads of money. They played a few of their most well known songs like Pizza Patti, Science Fiction Boy and Whore Whore and everyone seemed to really enjoy the show.

They also played a few cover songs including Commando by RAMONES, a medley from More and Vision Thing by the SISTERS OF MERCY and Break on through by the DOORS. Overall it was a nice performance and I would like to see the most trashy band in the Balkans again in the future.

We had to wait for an hour or so to see Marky Ramone and his gang get up on stage... A delay typical for a Greek gig yet always annoying. The band took positions on the dark stage under the sounds of the James Bond Theme and everything then exploded. Rockaway Beach and Teenage Lobotomy created such a huge party atmosphere in the club that everyone started banging and singing and the crowd became a sea under storm. I can hardly remember the exact playlist -they played so many!- but almost every big RAMONES hit was performed. Pet Cemetary, Pinhead, Needles And Pins, Beat On The Brat, Love Kills, I Believe In Miracles, Psycho Therapy, Blitzkrieg Bop, Rock And Roll Radio, I Wanna Be Sedated, The KKK Took My Baby Away (which was dedicated by Marky to Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee), I Don't Wanna Walk Around You, Sheena Is A Punk Rocker, I Wanna Live, Chinese Rocks one song after the other blasted through the speakers in double-than-the-studio speed. Just go get Ramones Mania and Loco Live, there's your setlist, minus (for some strange reason) Somebody Put Something In My Drink.

The whole show was staged a bit theatrically. Marky was the only one with full lights on him, leaving the rest of the session musicians in dim light. Every time they took a break, Marky was the one speaking to us while the rest were standing in the dark, without moving at all, the singer in a familiar Joey position, holding the mic with one hand while the other was pointing to the back, like if he was ready to jump. Someone was shouting 1-2-3-4, lights again and back on the show. It was like a shadow play, like a memorial to the RAMONES who left us, a tribute by the last man standing.

The singer had a voice very similar to the late Joey Ramone and sometimes you were feeling that this was the RAMONES again. Everyone's performance was perfect, simple, energetic while the sound was loud (very loud) and clear. At the end Marky came out three times for an encore. The third was obviously out of schedule since lights were already on and some music was playing from the club's speakers. Yet the crowd was still there waiting, hoping for 2-3 more songs.

Marky did us the favour after 10 minutes and came out to play again. He said goodbye to us with Merry Christmas.
I realy enjoyed the show. It was not the RAMONES, it could never be, yet it was a nice trip in the past, in the 70s and 80s when music was much more true and meaningful. It's good that Marky is still with us to give us a small peak of what things used to be, of how music was written and performed. Gabba Gabba Hey Marky!
(Photos by Yiannis Z.)

VELVOIDS photo

STAR STAR photo

MARKY RAMONE photos