LIVE AT THE ROXY 8/12/76-- Leave Home 16-31

The remaining LEAVE HOME Expanded CD bonus offerings comprise an entire live performance at the ROXY in Hollywood from August of 1976-- indeed, their first major trip away from 'HOME.' It reveals the band honing their early stage attack, and spotlighting a handful of tracks from their upcoming sophomore LP-- at that point still a half year away from being released. The set displays blooming confidence and an already noticably accelerating drive (two selections from this recording, CALIFORNIA SUN and I DON'T WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU eventually found their way on to 45 b-sides.) But although undoubtedly capturing a pivotal point triggering the soon-to-explode L.A. punk scene, this very good (but not exceptional) show is bound to compare unfavorably with IT'S ALIVE and other readily available performances featuring the original lineup. With several notable original demos still uncollected, and the added single track SHEENA IS A PUNK ROCKER inexplicably nudged off the program for eventual appearance elsewhere, the wisdom of including this complete show remains debatable. (Certainly, for example, on the IT'S ALIVE dvd collection, a tendency towards cherrypicking from key shows as opposed to using all available tracks would dominate.) Sonically only slightly better than bootleg level quality, this material is perhaps best absorbed as a snapshot of the band at exactly the midway point between their inception and initial peak. For our purposes here-- focusing on recording and composition-- a brief assessment shall suffice.



16. LOUDMOUTH
     The standard opener of their embryonic era kicks off with JOEY's humorous audience greeting, where a polite introduction is contradictorily followed by an immediate admonishment to shut up. A new, powerful musical assurance is plainly tangible.

LOUDMOUTH





17. BEAT ON THE BRAT
     One of IT'S ALIVE's most glaring omissions, the live potential of this debut favorite is happily realized and documented, despite a few shaky moments from TOMMY.

BEAT ON THE BRAT





18. BLITZKRIEG BOP
     Taken at what now seems like an almost sluggish tempo, the single "on SIRE records!" is met with a disconcerting lack of audience participation.

BLITZKRIEG BOP





19. I REMEMBER YOU
      Surprisingly early in the set, the band slows it down a notch. JOEY gives it his all in his featured, crooning highlight.

I REMEMBER YOU





20. GLAD TO SEE YOU GO
     Ample evidence of the wealth of material the band still had on tap for their second release, this effortless go at the still unrecorded GLAD TO SEE YOU GO flies by flawlessly.

GLAD TO SEE YOU GO





21.  CHAINSAW
     The sturdy first lp "love song" proves dependable.

CHAINSAW





22. 53RD & 3RD
     The pathos of DEEDEE's psychodrama are predictably milked, even at this early stage.

53RD & 3RD





23. I WANNA BE YOUR BOYFRIEND
     An astoundingly long pause before the group trots out this pleading favorite to all of the "special girls" out there. From here on out though, it's a Blitzkrieg all the way.

I WANNA BE YOUR BOYFRIEND





24. HAVANA AFFAIR
     They punch all the way through their "salsa" number with panache. Lamentably, over the years JOEY's inclination to crack non-sequiturs between songs diminished almost completely.

HAVANA AFFAIR





25. LISTEN TO MY HEART
     Precision abounds in these performances, although later--as the live material is grouped into small bursts-- this song will be programmed into a spot which will flaunt the opening guitar figure more impressively.

LISTEN TO MY HEART





26.  CALIFORNIA SUN
     "Hot doggers, hang ten!", then blastoff into one of the band's most rehearsed covers. Along with I DON'T WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU, this appeared as the 45 b-side to I WANNA BE YOUR BOYFRIEND in America and I REMEMBER YOU in the UK.

CALIFORNIA SUN





27. JUDY IS A PUNK
     The set starts to hurtle towards the end aboard a barrage of debut album crushers, starting with JUDY IS A PUNK, whose odd key protrudes conspicuously.

JUDY IS A PUNK





28. I DON'T WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU
     Pauses in between songs fade away, and DEEDEE dominates--thumping relentlessly on bass and grabbing all the glory of the final line of lyric, leaving him almost without breath for the next 1-2-3-4. In German, naturally.

I DON'T WANNA WALK AROUND WITH YOU





29. TODAY YOUR LOVE, TOMORROW THE WORLD
     Only a slightly messy coda mars the set closer, which more than fulfills its role as designated explosive climax.

TODAY YOUR LOVE, TOMORROW THE WORLD





30. NOW I WANNA SNIFF SOME GLUE
     The suddenly measurably increased tempos carry through to the encore, as unexpectedly TOMMY counts things off. Breathtaking.

NOW I WANNA SNIFF SOME GLUE





31.  LET'S DANCE
     What sounds like a shabby edit fails to cover up a rare opening error from perfectionist JOHNNY. Nonetheless, as the RAMONES feverishly finish the show, they have obliterated nearly any notion that their brutal minimalism could not be delivered with dazzling, potent cohesion.

LET'S DANCE

HAVANA AFFAIR-- Ramones 9

Debatably the debut album's only track with significant depth of descriptive detail, with HAVANA AFFAIR the band unveiled a duo of what would soon be apparent lyrical obsessions. First, perhaps more the result of DEEDEE's upbringing in bombed out Germany, a dark attraction to War (although in this case, the theme might be more accurately tagged as Espionage.) Second, perhaps more the result of JOHNNY's brief stint in military school, a unexpectedly intense streak of Patriotism (though this lyric finally hints that the protagonist may have jumped sides.) Like ROKY ERICKSON's Two Headed Dog, however clearly the thematic result of cold war paranoia, the words' specific meaning defy concrete explanation.

Kicking off with a riff afterwards unrepeated (though hinted at at the end of each chorus) JOEY weaves the vague but amusing narrative over a now familiar four chord verse construction. For the enticing 'loco/mambo' chorus the music hovers over a G to F# change, a one fret maneuver surprisingly appropriate for such a non-gringo related piece (an unintended, unconscious choice, surely.) Then arrives a startlingly powerful middle eight, built around chords which will soon be expanded into the main melody of PINHEAD. JOHNNY doubles up the crunch with an extra guitar overdub, DEEDEE wisely dives down to his bass' lower register, and TOMMY instinctively nails it, cutting to half time on the bell of his ride and cementing the wallop with an added, nagging cowbell. For two glorious blasts, how heavy the entire first lp MIGHT have sounded is finally, teasingly realised.

TOMMY also adds a rumbling, machine gun tom roll to the start of each chorus (yet another interesting flourish from a group not exactly known for arrangement ornamentation.) However, the still dominant limitations of the mix render it nearly subliminal. As well, the unnecessary double tracking of JOEY's vocal cramps the amount he can enjoy exaggerating the song's bizarre affectations (although without doubt the line concerning banana picking remains one of the album's most humorously incongruous moments.) Nonetheless, the tight arrangement and driving rhythm of the incomprehensible storyline's phrasing mark HAVANA AFFAIR as one of the most underrated tracks on their first three releases.



RAMONES HAVANA AFFAIR

Photo by Roberta Bayley