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by Salvi C. | February 10, 2010 · 2:01 pm

Feb. 1981: 8 Days of Triumph and Mayhem

Photos courtesy of Mike Frigerio, nuclearjackalope.com

Mid-February marks the anniversary of a triumphant week the Dictators spent in 1981. This was the apex of their “reunion” era, and it was celebrated with 4 gigs in an 8-day span.

The run of shows kicked off at My Father’s Place on Lung Island on Feb. 3rd. It was a relaxed, loose gig. Mark the Animal was in the house, and much of HDM’s banter
for the night centered on the entourage of beautiful women Mark brought with him. He of course joined the band for the encores of “Two Tub Man” and “Search and Destroy.” The public debut of “Loyola” also took place this night.

The week continued with a high-profile gig at Club 57 on St. Mark’s Place on Saturday, Feb. 7th. Huge crowd, total mayhem, a great night. A large chunk of this show made its way to a Manhattan cable TV show called Paul Tschinkel’s Inner Tube. Here’s a link to the first couple of tunes from the show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-3yTsF1KeQ.

Gig #3 was on the following night at the Fast Lane in Asbury Park. These pics from that gig are courtesy of our good pal Mike Frigerio. Check out the rest of his great photos and toys at www.nuclearjackalope.com.

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Ffanzeen’s Dictators Double Take

Robert Barry Francos’ Ffanzeen blog features new goodies as well as archival treasures from his New York music magazine, which he published from 1977 to 1988.

A couple of weeks ago, he delivered a couple of oldies and goodies for Dics fans in a post called “The Dictators Can Sing! Two early pieces on the DFFD band.”

The first is a 1977 live report by Todd Abramson (now co-owner of Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J.) of an unannounced CBGB’s show, during which the band performed songs from the upcoming Bloodbrothers album:

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Jan. 24, 1986: The Musical Comeback of the Century!

THE DICTATORS RE-FORM TO HEADLINE
“THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF PUNK”

CONCERT AT THE RITZ, NYC
January 24,1986

Ross and Scott with the Dics at the Ritz in '86. Photo courtesy of CJ Scioscia

NYC? The Big Apple? Me? It was January, 1986. I was 32, and had never been east of Dayton. But when the call came from Salvi, telling me about the Dictators reforming to headline the “10th Anniversary of Punk” at the Ritz, I did what any red-blooded Dictators fan would do … I borrowed $250 from my then-girlfriend and headed to Midway Airport! I hopped a Thursday night flight to Newark via People’s Express, a budget airline that required passengers to pay in cash once the plane was in the air! People’s Express made traveling by Greyhound seem like a first-class trip in comparison. But I got there in one piece. Who knows what fell off that plane en route?

I landed at Newark, no plans, no room, ending up crashing at the Ben Franklin Inn (“Where a Penny Saved…”). Friday dawned bright and crisp, I grabbed an eventual bus to downtown Newark. A nice gentleman sat next to me immediately, asking me lots of questions, several times inviting me to hop off the bus for “a drink or two.” People sure were friendly in Newark! And I’d heard such bad things.

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Filed under Adny, Archive, Dictators Assembled, HDM, Live, Live Review, Mark the Animal, Ritchie Teeter, Ross the Boss, Top Ten

Tagged as Anniversary, Archives, Live Music, Music, Review

by Salvi C. | January 2, 2010 · 11:32 am

1/2/87: They Were Really Rockin’ in Boston

The Channel was a low-ceilinged warehouse near the South Station Postal Annex, accessible only by several pitch-dark alleys. I feared for my life every time I went there. This show was in a huge snowstorm, which closed many roads, and left me doubting whether or not the band would make it, or if any other fans would brave the trip. No problems on either front — the place was banged out, 800 strong in attendance!

The Dics were obviously psyched to be making an extremely rare road trip, their first Boston show in almost nine years. The show had an unusual intro: They opened with “Science Gone Too Far,” and each band member took the stage individually as his part was called for. Rich Teeter began alone with the thunderous drum roll, then Andy came out and rumbled the bass line, then Scott threw the rhythm guitar on top, then RTB, and finally Manitoba brought the energy level off the charts with his entrance. t was a very exciting beginning, and it never let up. Band members were hopping around like jumping beans, and Manitoba gave unprecedented love to Boston for being so loyal. I almost fainted when he yelled out, “Boston is effing GREAT, and I MEAN IT!”