“After all these years, he’s still alive”, Andrew W.K. changes the lyric in The Ramones classic ‘I believe in Miracles’ mid song, in order to point at Marky Ramone, still pounding out the punk rock beats after all these years.
Marky Ramone, the last surviving member of the longest standing Ramones line up, brought his Blitzkrieg to the UK last night, starting off in Camden. And a blitzkrieg it was, following the format of every Ramones gig ever, the bass player would yell out “1,2,3,4!” and it would be straight into the next song. No rest, no pause for air. Repeat. A thundering train of punk rock classics. ‘Rockaway Beach’ ‘Sheena is a Punk Rocker’ ‘Beat on the Brat’. Not to mention favourite covers such as ‘What a wonderful world’ and Tom Wait’s ‘I don’t want to grow up’.
No one seemed to be enjoying it more than Andrew W.K. as he grinned, air drummed and sang his way through one of the best back catalogues in Rock. While he may have channelled some of Joey Ramones’ baritone and vocal characteristics, he had none of the former frontman’s shyness, as he lead the crowd through one joyful fist pumping sing along after another. He is after all, the guy who wrote a whole album where almost every lyric contains the word ‘Party’.
After an hour and a half, the train finally pulls into the station. One final drum roll from the surprisingly energetic (and 56 years old) Marky, Andrew throws his limbs around like a possessed teenager and we’re done. The legacy of the Ramones music intact and honoured.
all photos: www.markwilliamsphotography.com
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