Farwell To CBGB’S

Bad Brains & Avail - October 9, 2006

The Dictators, Sic F*cks & The Bullys - October 13, 2006

By Wayne Rannelli
(SugarBuzz New York City)

Photos By Wayne

 

CBGB’s is closing and for some of us it’s personal. For 31 of its 33 years it’s been my favorite spot on the planet and my Last Will & Testament as its read for the past two decades states that some of my ashes are to be spread there. This will now have to be altered since I don’t intend to spend eternity rotting in Las Vegas, Nevada as great a place as it is to visit.

My story is not much different than many others who came from the suburbs and boroughs to find this dive on the Bowery. I was brought there by new friends met at a Sparks/Mott (post-Hunter) concert - glitter rock being a major precursor to punk - less than a month after turning 17 and getting my drivers license. It was a Saturday night in November of 1975 and the bands were Television and Talking Heads then an acoustic 3-piece band barely able to play which was not a problem for me.

There was a pool table, pin-ball machine, juke-box and the 30 or 40 people in attendance (this again was a Saturday night) included Lou Reed dressed in leathers and in a seeming drug-induced head-nodding trance throughout Television’s two sets (two bands performing a pair of sets apiece was the norm then and better for it). Dark, dingy, you could openly use drugs or do just about anything else you’d choose to do and getting to the bathroom meant crossing over the stage whether or not the band was performing at the time.

This was fucking heaven, the flawless melding of every necessary and ideal circumstance for both performer and audience alike and for years between the mid-70’s and early 80’s there was a constant turnover of new talent and sounds. Word would go out that there was a new band in town, The Cramps say or The Dead Boys and you couldn’t wait to check ‘em out and become an instant fan for life as happened over and over.

In recent years it was tough to see the place, always diverse in its’ booking in the first place, be given over more and more to just about anything and everything but true, creative underground music mostly packing ‘em in with endless Death Metal, Commercial Punk, School Of Rock tributes and often worse. Not a whole lot of anything that mattered yet there was always the occasional opportunity to catch someone special there such as The New York Dolls performance with She-Wolves earlier this year.

As if in answer to prayer (to Satan) the final week arrived with very special performances each night which began for me on Monday, the first of a three night stand by the original Bad Brains returning to the club at which they built their legend for a final fling. Arriving too late to catch Dub Trio I was unfortunately not late enough to miss Avail playing a too-long set of simplistic hardcore/metal with two vocalists for no apparent purpose, I‘m sorry but this was just not my thing.

By the time Bad Brains were ready to take the stage around 11pm the club was at a fever pitch, obviously oversold with a high rate of pinheads but it all just added to the energy which was boiling over before they even hit the stage. As was usual at these types of shows you couldn’t move around too much and getting to the bathrooms behind the stage and downstairs took as much strength, perseverance and pure will as climbing Mt. Everest, not for the weak or faint-of-heart. You had to fight for every inch whether heading to the bathroom, the bar or getting close to the stage.

A little slow getting started the band rapidly accelerated with HR taking a little longer to catch up as he spent the first part of the set singing through one of those Madonna-like headphone mikes completely inaudible before switching to a motorcycle helmet (!?) which didn’t exactly improve matters. Audience members were screaming at HR to “pick up the fucking mike” but HR refused until someone yelled out to bring John Joseph (Cro-Mags and HR replacement) up to sing spurring HR to finally cut the bullshit, he took off the helmet and began singing through the microphone at which point things clicked and I fought my way to the front of the frothing mass of moshers to snap some pictures for this article.

Stage diving was strictly prohibited if not completely eliminated but the beauty of CB’s is that there were lots of ledges, hanging speakers and other ways for both performer and audience to launch themselves. Fan favorites delivered fast and furious with “Banned In DC”, “How Low Can A Punk Get”, “Sailin’ On” and an encore of “Pay To Cum” interspersed with deep dub-heavy Roots Reggae with Daryl Jenifer’s bass on numbers like “I And I Survive” and “I Luv I Jah” shaking the walls of the club with it‘s rumbling power.

If perhaps not quite at the level of their early 80’s heyday they were certainly close, the biggest difference being HR’s performance which rather than his old hyper-active style is now a presentation of his apparent bliss as he continually grins, flashes peace signs and bows even while singing Bad Brain classics full speed. Word is that the Bad Brains are in the studio recording an album due to be released early in 2007.

Two more nights of Bad Brains followed by a Loser’s Lounge tribute to Talking Heads brought us to Friday the 13th and the first of a two night stand by the mighty, mighty Dictators the Kings of New York Fucking City! The following night’s performance featured Debbie Harry and Chris Stein (Clem Burke being off on tour with The Romantics so no Blondie) and The Waldos starring our boy Walter Lure of The Heartbreakers.

Yet this final Friday night the show was opened by NYC’s toughest, the best punk rock band to hit these shores in 25 years and if you’ve read my spiel it’s no secret I love the Bullys like no other and more than my own mother may she rest in peace. Tonight would be the best of the old-skool survivors and the best of the new breed. Also sharing tonight’s bill were early CB’s faves, frequent opening act for the likes of The Ramones and The Dead Boys, Sic F*cks featuring Manic Panic’s Tish & Snookie (aka The F*ckettes) dressed as axe-wielding nuns, Head Fuck Russell Wolinsky (Stiv said he wrote “Tell Me” so it must be true), several men in dresses and a clarinet player but this is NYC so it all seemed completely normal.

But first it was time for The Bullys to play one final set on this stage they’ve played many times before both with and without the late, great Johnny Heff becoming the sixth to last band to play the club. A Bullys set is always a special event and this night was perfection as they stormed through a setlist of Bullys classics old and new along with the addition of a pair of unique covers appropriate to the occasion, performing both “Rockaway Beach” (The Bullys who played Joey Ramone’s final show hail from Rockaway Beach as did The Ramones) and “Ain’t Nothin’ To Do” (The Dead Boys being the band they’re most often compared to).

Earning an encore the way they always do, the hard way which is to say they earn it, this night couldn’t have gotten off to a better start if Thunders, Joey and Stiv had all made an unexpected appearance from beyond the grave. Sic F*cks were another perfect choice for this night, they never disappoint and didn’t tonight playing their “hits” including “Chop Up Your Mother”, “Spanish Bar Mitvah” and “Rock Or Die” all from their Andy Shernoff produced album which has been recently reissued on CD. Funny, rocking, stupid and irreverent all at once this was one final triumph for the Sic F*cks at home base.

I’ve been in awe of The Dictators ever since being a teenager buying ‘Go Girl Crazy’ back in ‘75 after seeing it in CREEM or Circus and have seen them many times at this and other clubs, theatres and stadiums. They are unprecedented. unequalled and unparalleled, this was a sad but exhilarating opportunity to see “The Loud Ones“ in their element and back on the stage they all but ruled these many years.

The ‘tators hit the stage like the conquering heroes they are and launched into “New York New York” that exploded the place which this night was thankfully not oversold and as much like ‘the good ole’ days” as I’ve experienced here in ages with lots of old-timers and local celebs in attendance. They followed with song after song of pure pounding power as they ran through endless highlights from their amazing catalog . . . “Avenue A”, “Pussy And Money”, “Next Big Thing”, “Minnesota Strip”, “Baby Let’s Twist”, “Weekend”, “Master Race Rock”, “The Party Starts Now” from Manitoba’s Wild Kingdom, “Who Will Save Rock N Roll”, “Faster And Louder”, “Two Tub Man”, “I Am Right”, “What’s Up With That” and “Stay With Me”, if this looks to have degenerated into a list of songs remember these are some of the greatest Punk Rock and Rock & Roll songs ever written and each was like a complete show unto itself.

Despite reported animosity among members of the band they all looked to be having a blast, no visible tension whatsoever and for this night they were absolutely the Greatest Band in the World performing at the greatest club in the history of our music, the “Home Of Underground Rock” as its rightly proclaimed.

Handsome Dick was hilarious as usual recalling golden moments at the club such as the time “Wayne County kicked my ass” though taking time to note that it was still Wayne and not Jayne yet at the time as well as encouraging the crowd not to be sad but rather to continue to celebrate and enjoy it while it was still alive and at that moment it was never more alive.

The Dictators performed an explosive version of “Sonic Reducer” towards the end of their set in tribute to Stiv and The Dead Boys as The Bullys had earlier and Hilly Krystal was in attendance holding court up front though sadly looking worse for wear, and if CB’s closing provides rest and healing for Hilly’s eventual recovery it will have been well worth it. As I left that night I had had a night as memorable and inspiring as any of hundreds experienced there over the past 31 years by performers both legendary and lost to the history of the era, but I had no idea as I walked out that this would be my final farewell and that I would not be able to get into the final night’s performance by Patti Smith And Her Band on Sunday.

All week long the media had descended in a frenzy on the club and by Friday’s show it was getting almost out of control. The result was that many people who had never been there before decided it was now or never and descended on the club from around the globe. I spoke with fans making the “pilgrimage” from many different countries, all walking around gaping with their mouths open snapping pictures but while I was glad for them unfortunately things got so out of hand that by the final night it became impossible for many of the faithful and long-time regulars to gain admittance.

Patti held a press conference in front of CB’s doors in an attempt to alleviate some of the chaos and later proceeded to perform two long sets that were reportedly a tribute to the club and the performers that gave it fame. She and her band featuring Lenny Kaye, J.D. Daugherty and Tony Shanahan were joined by Richard Lloyd and Flea for a show that featured lots of early material and covers of The Ramones and Television among others. This show was broadcast on Sirius and is still available for those who want to hear it which is a small consolation for not having been present.

Everything that lives must someday die and plenty of commentary has already been shed on the closing of CBGB’s for me to add much to what’s already been said and there’s a terrific summation in the new issue of PUNK Magazine (www.punkmagazine.com) which was actually born at CBGB‘s November 23, 1975 just days from my own first visit. For me CB’s closing is like the death of my best friend leaving me with nothing more or less than the greatest memories of my entire life.

www.cbgb.com

www.cbgbs.com

www.badbrains.com

www.thebullys.com

www.manicpanic.com

www.thedictators.com

www.myspace.com/waynerannelli

www.sugarbuzzmagazine.com