The fact that I have almost no recollection of this particular Ramones concert may mean we never gained entry and hung out on the Wollman Rink rocks where we could hear any show that was sold out (or we just decided not to spend the $4.50 or $2.50 to get in that evening).

While attending Queens College, my buddies and I were more inclined to listen to Led Zeppelin or Neil Young than the punk sounds originating from England and downtown Manhattan. I still remember a heavy set student clad in leather punk garb telling me that the Ramones and the Clash were the present and future of rock and roll and me thinking that he wa crazy. It turned out that we both may have been correct.

Sylvain Sylvain of the New York Dolls opened the show.

I briefly met Joey Ramone at a Plasmatics concert at Bonds in New York City. An attractive gal had an apparently inebriated Joey Ramone in tow and were heading straight toward me at the gargantuan venue. I somehow knew that the Ramones had a gig somewhere on Long Island that night so I quickly came up with a plan to act like Joey and I already knew each other and I complimented him on the show they played that night that I did not attend. We were having a cordial conversation when his girl friend seem to realize that Joey was too discombulated to possibly know who I was so she tugged on his wrist and led him away into the crowd. 

Too Tough to Die

Rock on!

GQ

Now long before Trump supporter Ted Nugent was in a Twitter war with the ultra liberal David Crosby, the Motor City Madman played his brand of guitar driven rock and roll in arenas. Ted Nugent had co-headlined with Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Nassau Coliseum when I had last saw him and, if memory serves me right, the somewhat mismatched but enjoyable double bill was scheduled to happen again at Madison Square Garden when the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash tragedy changed the southern rock landscape forever and made Mr. Nugent the headliner for this particular tour.

AC/DC with lead singer Bon Scott opened the show and Angus Young carried Bon on his shoulders through the MSG orchestra section much to the delight of the aspiring metal heads at the Garden.

I have always loved Ted Nugent’s gunslinger mentality and his blistering guitar leads which made the eponymous first album that contained “Stranglehold” and the “Free for All” collection rock and roll classics.

Ted Nugent is still periodically on the road and he will play The Paramount in Huntington on Wednesday, August 16, 2017.

Journey to the Center of the Mind

The Amboy Dukes

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GQ

Billy  Joel  opened the “new” Nassau Coliseum last night and tonight Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders play at the revamped arena.

It’s been a great stretch of women rockers coming through tow with Ann Wilson blowing the roof off of The Space in Westbury last week. Annie mixed in Heart songs with classics by other artists like The Who (Won’t Get Fooled Again,  Love Rein O’er Me), Prter Gabriel (Don’t Give Up), Jimi Hendrix (Manic Depression) and the Buffalo Springfield.  Ann Wilson is like David Crosby in that their voices are extraordinary gifts holding up after decades of rock and roll wear and tear. The show was one of those somewhat unexpected great events reminding me why I continue to attend as many  concerts as I do. Every once in awhile you catch lightening in a bottle and leave happily surprised and grateful you made the effort seek out the rock.

The Classic East concerts at Citifield with Fleetwood Mac go on sale tomorrow which turns out to be bad timing for Stevie Nicks as many seats are unsold at the moment. The somewhat overpriced event should have taken place in the sheds but the Coliseum must be paying good money to get a buzz flowing about the venue as they have quite a few shows lined up in the next couple of months. The added bonus of Chryssie Hynde and The Pretendrs makes this a great double bill worth checking out.

Neil Younf bailed on inducting Pearl Jam in to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame due to illness. Secondary market tickets for this event are sky high so even though Yes will be there, I almost surely will not. I think the E Street Band is still giving their acceptance speeches. Brutal.

Back on the Chain Gang

Rock on!

GQ