It’s word eating time. In our Jan. 16 post, we unfairly dismissed the 1/16/81 “Guitarmania” gig as “just another garden variety rent party.” Well, through an incredible case of serendipity, we turned up a recording of said show, and guess what? It was tremendous.
The night’s billing as “Guitarmania,” with Ross billed above Wayne Kramer, was actually a bit misleading, and no doubt an attempt to pad the room with Dictator fans. It actually was a Wayne Kramer Revue, with a couple of MC5 songs, a couple of solo things, a few obscurities, and a few covers.
I know that doesn’t sound compelling at face value. But Brother Wayne assembled a top-notch backing band for the night, with Charlie Giordano from the E Street Band on keys, Carol Coleman from Kid Creole and the Coconuts on bass, and of course RTB on lead guitar. They completely delivered the goods, as both the material and performance were top shelf.
We’re working to get a copy of this show into Brother Wayne’s hands for possible inclusion on a live cd.
The set:
1. Pain
2. I Still Hate
3. The Harder They Come
4. 25 Miles (Edwin Starr!)
5. Ramblin’ Rose
6. Everybody’s Taking Something
7. Modern Romance
8. Shake the Beat
9. It’s Only Money
10. Valentino’s Moon
11. Tutti Frutti
12. Kick Out the Jams
13. (encore) Shout
– Salvi C.
DFFD123
Guest Contributors
Robbiecube
Salvi C.
Thunderbolt Patterson
