Back in 1989, I had the pleasure of seeing The Ramones at the John Anson Ford Ampitheater. Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee and Marky, in all their glorious punkness, proved that no props can rock the audience as hard as sheer energy could. The only other band I can remember that delivered the same amount of brute force on stage was Motorhead. And I have seen a lot, in my day.

Anyway, it was worth the price of admission just to see the denim-clad foursome in their trademark stance – legs spread out, guitars hung so low they almost touched the floor, and Dee Dee counting off the beat at the start of every song. And standing front and center, I could feel my hair being blown back by the roaring Marshalls like an airplane turbine would.

From what I can remember, they must’ve played at least 30 songs as each one seemed to have only lasted a mere 60 seconds. Probably because they played their songs twice as fast as the recorded versions. I still have their first four albums to this day, in fact. I think they’re timeless. And if Lemmy thinks The Ramones are the only true rock and roll band, besides Motorhead, and even writes a song about them… you just gotta take notice.