On this day in 1977, the Dictators took the Belt out to Lung Island for this gig at Ubies. I’d bet a bomb pop that the “Guest Attraction” was either the Good Rats or Twisted Sister, since Ubies was a regular spot for both bands. The rumor remains unconfirmed that Ritchie Teeter and Mark the Animal, both native LI’ers, had to translate for the evening.
$2 cover!! That didn’t even cover the tolls to get there!
— Salvi C.
Filed under Dictators Assembled, Live, The Cincotta Archives
Floating World Records out of the UK has reissued the 2 Electra/Asylum lps as a 2fer. This has been out since March 14, and we’re just finding out about it now?!? The hallways at DFFD Headquarters will run red with intern blood over this.
— Salvi C.
Just checking.
If not, you can watch it here.
From last Sunday’s New York Daily News (two-page!) (full-color!) spread:
Heavy hitter: Metal rocker Ross Friedman of Dictators fame helps kids bang out singles (and doubles)
— DFFD123
Filed under Ross the Boss, Video
Cheers to the big dog, Andy Shernoff, who’s celebrating his birthday today!
— DFFD123
Today is the 10-year anniversary of the death of Joey Ramone. It’s almost impossible to overstate how huge the Ramones were to music, and to music fans. They were, as Little Steven puts it, Big Bang #2. It’s equally tough to verbalize how important Joey was to music lovers everywhere. What he brought to the table musically was considerable, but it’s only a small piece of his gift to the world. EVERYBODY loved the guy!! He was everyone’s goofy cousin, the guy who made us smile, and made us proud, both for him and with him. I still can’t believe he’s gone.
The annual birthday bash will be on Thursday, May 19th, at Irving Plaza, with all proceeds going to the Joey Ramone Foundation for Lymphoma Research. We here at DFFD can think of no greater tribute than to give to his cause.
— Salvi C.
April 12 marked the anniversary of 1997’s star-studded Tom Clark Benefit at Brownie’s in NYC. The DFFD Blog asked Dictators fan Adam Gerstein for his memories of the show.
So I get an email from Sal, who I have not heard from lately, asking me to remember the night that the Dictators played at the Tom Clark Benefit at Brownie’s in 1997. How can I forget that night — it was the night I rediscovered the band who probably has been my favorite band of the last 15 years … and that is saying a lot, as I go to a lot of live shows. Below is a review I did after the show for the Babel list (Patti Smith list) in 1997:
“Lenny Kaye was the first band that I saw last night. I used to see the Lenny Kaye Connection all over NYC and they were always fun. However, I always appreciated Lenny more of a backing musician with Patti rather than on his own due to the limited range of his voice. He put on an animated set and the interplay between J.D., Tony, and Lenny was great.
Jim Carroll surprised the hell out of me. I have seen him stumble on many stages since the seventies, but last night he looked fit (hard to imagine) and healthy. Then again he never played with a band as good as the guys last night. In addition to playing with J.D., Lenny, and Tony, he also played with Adam Roth, who added tasty slide leads. “Catholic Boy” and “People Who Died” were the standouts last night and Carroll definitely impressed the crowd.
Filed under Archive, Dictators Assembled, Live, Live Review
This week marks the anniversary of the first-ever West Coast trip for the Dictators in 1977. They borrowed the Ramones van and headed way out west. The Left Coast has never been the same.
The trip started and ended with gigs at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Fran, with gigs in Berkeley and Palo Alto in between. The great-looking poster below is from the final show, and the famous pic above of the 6-man lineup was taken backstage at the Mabuhay. Scott appears to have borrowed eye-liner from Johnny Thunders in this pic!
— Salvi C.
Filed under Dictators Assembled, Live, The Cincotta Archives
More YouTube heroics courtesy of MonkeyBeat! Enjoy a trio of vintage performances from NYC’s Irving Plaza on Feb. 7, 1981:
“Science Gone Too Far” and “Weekend”
“New York, New York” and “The Minnesota Strip”
“No Tomorrow”, “Loyola” and “What Goes On”
— DFFD123
Filed under Dictators Assembled, YouTube Tuesday
See what you might have missed in The Dictators Holiday Gift Guide!
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