THE BLANK GENERATION

Welcome back to My Television, or MTV for short, a new series reviewing DVDs that I recently rented or purchased. Series one featured The Undertones. This time around, we're dealing with a deadlier band of punks: the Dead Boys.

The fact that I've made it to Year 28 without having ever actually seen the Dead Boys in action is a bit embarrassing. As much as I’ve loved listening to Young, Loud, & Snotty--and to a lesser extent Stiv Bator’s solo material--and as many phenomenal live photographs as I’ve seen of the band, I just can’t believe that I’ve never seen them live. Well, late last year, Music Video Distributors gave me ample reason to get off my ass and stop making excuses when they released Dead Boys--Live at CBGB 1977. All I had to do was peruse the music DVD section at That’s Rentertainment to get my hands on a copy.

It’s rare to see color footage of any band performing at CBGBs from this era. Here, we’re treated to an entire concert, albeit these ten songs are over in prompt time. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything like this. There are no modern bands that truly match the insanity and intensity of a Dead Boys concert. It’s a fact that I’ve long suspected, but can only now say with any certainty. As guitarist Cheetah Chrome--real name Eugene Richard O’Connor--said in his current-day interview (which appears here as bonus material): “The Ramones could always follow us. (As for) everyone else--fuck ‘em.” Another funny tidbit from the director’s interview with the now skin-headed Chrome: “I just wish we could’ve been around long enough to make sure Limp Bizkit didn’t exist. Oh well.”


The Dead Boys' Sire promo photo

Chrome also reveals that this concert was originally filmed for an episode of 60 Minutes; Mike Wallace was supposed to the voice-overs. It’s safe to assume that after the folks at CBS got a hold of these tapes, they quickly changed their tune and lost interest in breaking punk rock to the TV masses.

“Alright you animals of this rock and roll zoo,” a hyper emcee announces to the crowd as the Dead Boys take the stage, “up on your hind legs and clap your paws for your keepers. Here, to rattle your cages and choke your chains are Sire recording artists from Cleveland, Ohio--the incredible, phenomenal Dead Boys!”

(The mention of Sire Records gave me a good chuckle. How many modern bands would enjoy being announced in such a manner? “Ladies and gentleman, please rise to your feet for Geffen recording artists--Nirvana!”)

The Dead Boys wasted no time, kicking off their set with “Sonic Reducer.” Stiv Bators already appears to be drenched in sweat. His tight black pants are clinging to his legs. Somehow, he’s even skinnier in person than he appears to be in photographs. Another nice touch is drummer Johnny Blitz’s dual kick drums, both sporting a skull on the drum head.

Bators sheds his white suit coat by the guitar solo, revealing a black sleeveless shirt and a tight, red necktie. The band is smoking, but Bators is only getting warm.

Personal favorite “All This and More” is song two. Stiv has something flesh-toned safety pinned to his shirt that looks like a piece of raw meat. (Upon further thought, it was just that--a slice of bologna.) A piece falls to the floor, which he then picks up, sticks in his mouth, chews on and spits back out. Yeah, sorta odd. Things would only get more bizarre, however, and we’re not even out of song two yet. Later during the same song, he picks the meat up off the floor a second time, blows his nose on it (great camera work, as you can see the snot), puts it back in his mouth and finishes singing the chorus before spitting it back out.


Stiv and Cheetah in action

Cheetah Chrome looks like he’s incredibly doped up and pissed off; he never appears to have any fun on stage. He’s an aggressive, intense stage presence, and works in tandem with Stiv to keep the crowd into it. He’s no match for his singer, though. Stiv is always the showman. Whether he’s humping the mic stand with his back arching his groin into the air, or sitting on his ass in front of the drum kit, legs crossed, he’s always the focal point. He moves around on stage like a pinball out of the shoot. And he’s got more tricks in his bag than anyone this side of Iggy Pop. During the guitar solo of "Not Anymore"--during which Stiv can not allow Cheetah to steal the spotlight--Stiv pours a beer down the front of his pants. (Maybe that’s why he appeared dripping wet before the band even began?)

Periodically during filming, the lights went dim. The director explained that CBGBs just wasn’t capable of giving them enough juice to maintain all of their cameras and the additional lighting that was necessary to be able to get a good shot of the band. Those brief moments, while disappointing, at least gave me a chance to catch my breath.

At the beginning of “Flame Thrower Love,” Stiv falls backward to the stage like a felled Redwood. His energy level is amazing. Stiv spends a good third of the set on the stage floor, writing around and smacking himself with the mic stand. And he gets no breather between songs. Other than one short tuning break, the band breaks little between songs. There’s no need for banter, though, when the in-song performance is this entertaining.

Clearly, the band’s rhythm section plays a vital role in keeping the live songs grounded. Blitz--sporting a sleeveless denim jacket and a blonde mullet--is a fucking MAN on the drums. Meanwhile, bassist Jeff Magnum goes about his business in the background, staying bolted to a spot in front of his bass cabinet. While Cheetah and rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero are more than capable on stage, it’s obvious that hysteria rules the day. A perfect note-for-note rendition is forgotten in the name of performance. The Dead Boys really gave their audience a show to remember.

During “I Need Lunch,” Stiv breaks out a particularly disgusting trick. He gulps his beer, appearing to swallow it. Then, he meanders toward stage front and--right in front of the camera--massages his throat muscles with his fingers and spews the beer back up. During “Ain’t Nothing to Do,” Stiv discovers a piece of chewing gum on the stage. He picks it up and--of course--chews on it. Minutes later the gum is stretching out of his mouth and down his chin like a mic cord.

When he’s not going for the gore, Stiv is like a partially wounded predator. His weapon of defense is his mic stand, which he beats against his body and swings through the air. Toward the end of the set, he’s pulled his drenched shirt up to his chest like a miniature half-shirt.

By the time of the band’s closing number--a spirited cover of The Stooges’ “Search and Destroy”--Stiv has reached his climax. At one point he shoves Cheetah, causing the guitarist to fuck up the bridge. And (this is a classic) he ups the audience participation level in a truly bizarre manner. He grabs a woman from the audience and drags her partially on stage. He then flips her over so her head is facing up, straddles her face and proceeds to simulate the act of oral sex. She wriggles free and he slams his mic stand into the stage as if he’s chopping wood before exiting the stage. Bassist Magnum is the next to exit, followed by the drummer, who knocks over his entire kit as if he is Gulliver rising to his feet while fending off Lilliputians. The guitars ring in feedback and we fade to black while the audience cheers their asses off.

Phew-wee. Now that was a concert I would’ve paid five bucks to see in person.


An exhausted Stiv after this very show

The disc’s bonus material is worthwhile, too. Interviews with the band on the day of the show are humorous, if not insightful. Cheetah seems totally incapable of putting together enough words to form an intelligent sentence. But, Stiv is more than up to the task, offering up this nugget: “What we’re doing on stage is just releasing a lot of energy, frustration. Where is it best to do it--here or on the streets? ...Here [the audience] can break a bottle or jump around or just watch us get [their frustration] our for [them]. So, what we’re doing is really healthy.” (The questions are not included, but you can imagine the question that was asked of Stiv to get that response: “So, America thinks that what you’re doing is evil, and the root of all that is wrong with young kids today. Can you defend your actions?”)

Cheetah’s response is even better: “Fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke.”

The band members are asked for their influences in typical fashion. To no shock, Stiv responds with Iggy Pop and the New York Dolls. But, he also mentions Paul Revere and the Raiders. Go figure. And, Stiv also shows us a bit more of his misogynistic rocker side when asked what kind of girls he likes: “The ones who like to fuck and then leave in the morning. I don’t like ones that like to hang around me all day. I hate that.”

Also of note in the bonus footage is a lengthy interview with Hilly Kristal, CBGB’s mastermind that aided in introducing NYC--and later the world--to the Dead Boys. He remembers the early days well, when the Dead Boys would drive from Cleveland to NYC for a CBGB’s gig, with Stiv mooning everyone along the way.

Ah, but the real trick or treat surprise of the bonus material is some footage of the opening band from that night, a Pere Ubu-ish discordant pop band called The Steel Tips. If you can imagine a man lighting his shirt on fire, hence setting off firecrackers inside his shirt, a huge dude with a pentagram necklace banging away on a cow bell, and a catholic school girl on background vocals, then you’re half way there.

I highly recommend checking out this footage. It’s simply amazing. Must see TV, at least in my household.

N/P--David Bowie, "Andy Warhol"

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 19 at 4:00 PM.

6 Comments:

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By  Jonathan Wright, at 7:38 PM  

Awesome man. And once again I must air my jealousy at yr proximity to Rentertainment. We'll have some great evenings once I move back there, no?

Btw, did you know that yesterday was the 30th anniversary of Rocket From The Tombs recording their infamous demo tape? Was this intention, or just a beautiful fucking coincidence?

Read more here if you are so inclined.

Well, I'm off to the clubs, where I will pretend like I really belong there.

Jon


PS WTF? Somethings weird with the new comment thing. But I like the setup. When I get some time I gotta change mine to do the pop-up window.

By  Jonathan Wright, at 7:40 PM  

Btw, I didn't know the Neutral Milk guy was in the Dead Boys!

By  Jonathan Wright, at 7:43 PM  

No...that's Jeff Mangum in NMH; Jeff Magnum in Dead Boys.

And yes, it was a total coincidence on the RFTT.

By  thenoiseboy, at 11:37 PM  

Just thought I'd drop a note saying that I was able to pick up the new M. Ward CD today and it might be his best to date, so I hope you didn't buy something already this month...

oh... and I was able to get the new Beck also... sounds a bit more like his earlier work (pre-Mutations).

By  Anonymous, at 2:37 AM  

Thanks for the tip. I'm definitely getting the M. Ward.

By  thenoiseboy, at 8:55 AM  

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