RICHIE RAMONE

ONE CENTRE SQUARE, EASTON, PA

BY JOSIE JANCI

Part

1

On Wednesday night, March 14th, 2018, Richie Ramone and his band certainly came to play, but instead of one concert that night, he decides to have a doubleheader.

I was at the first of 2 shows and Alexxis Steele was at the 2nd. Let’s compare notes on how our evenings progressed!

The show started out with two local bands warming up the crowd. The Transmission Now, an alternative/punk band and Sister Salvation a rock and roll band. Both well received by the audience and skilled in getting them comfortable with the dance floor - good choices by the venue.

By the time Richie Ramone came on, the crowd was as large as it was going to get. - Around 150 people in the audience to enjoy an intimate show with plenty of space to pogo.

Riche Ramone and his band performed over 20 songs in That hour - meaning there was no stalling for tuning of guitars or mindless banter, it was just nonstop punk rock!

Some songs he sang from behind the drum kit but for he also was out front-engaging the audience and shaking hands a time or two. When he was singing out from behind the drums, guitarist Ben Reagan took over on the drums. It was interesting to watch a band being "Fronted" from behind the drums as Richie does; It is also fun to see the Chinese fire drill of instrument exchanges.

The set included music from his new album, from the Ramones glory days, and even a cover or two to round things out. Each song sounded spot on and the performances on stage were great. Not a surprise when you consider the bio of the band. Bassist Clare Misstake of the UK was one of the creators of the Ramones all-girl tribute band, The Ramona’s, Guitar player/drummer Ben Reagan shared the stage with punk greats like The Dickies and GWAR and lead guitarist Steve Haley shared the stage with some of the greats like Iggy Pop and The Buzzcocks. Quite excellent choices if you ask me!

The smaller crowd was cool, we bought merch from Clare Misstake before the show, got our vinyl purchases autographed after the show and Richie, never mind his age, Ramone showed us that old punk rockers don't die...they just move onto the second gig of the night, so, Alexxis Steele, you're up!.