Glad I Saw 'Em #5 - Joey and Johnny Ramone

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Glad I Saw 'Em. It's a musical series about musicians that I was lucky enough to see in concert, because they are now deceased, and obviously, I ain't gonna see them again. We are at #5: Johnny and Joey Ramone. You could make a very strong argument for the Ramones as being the greatest punk band ever. They certainly were one of the most influential, and are rightfully in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They were known for fast, short, loud songs with an old style pop leaning (and often, a sense of humor,) as well as each member of the band adopting the last name of "Ramone" (in tribute, the members of the band Blotto all took the last name "Blotto," and at the beginning of their career, the all-female punk band, The Donna's, all took the first name "Donna.") In 1990, along with Debbie Harry, the Tom Tom Club, and Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison, the Ramones hit the road as part of the Escape from New York tour ( @FourWalls can also fill you in. She saw the same tour.) The caravan hit Fiddlers Green Amphitheater here in Denver, and a couple friends and I made the drive up from Colorado Springs for the show. At this point, vocalist Joey and guitarist Johnny were the only original members remaining. C.J. had taken over for Dee Dee on bass, and I believe that Marky was the drummer at the time (and sadly, all four original Ramones are now deceased: Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Tommy. R.I.P., gentlemen.) But damn, did they put on a smokin' set! The two of us that weren't driving each drank a bottle of M.D. 20/20 on the way up, and we eagerly joined the mosh pit on the grassy portion of the amphitheater. This could have been the world's greatest "meet cute" story. The grassy area is a bit slanted, and I ended up rolling out of the mosh pit, right into this really cute girl that was dancing by herself, and she landed, hard, right on top of me. I should have used that as my excuse to hang out and talk, but I apologized, she said it was cool, and I went back into the pit. Oh well. Don't worry, I didn't spend the entire set just slamming into people. I did make sure that I allotted myself plenty of time to actually watch the band, and just getting to see the two of them onstage was an incredible experience. One that I'll never have again. Unfortunately, no one will. (Info verified by Wikipedia)