January 1977 - June 1977

The following gig list is from the shows I actually attended during this period.  Following the list are my recollections from that time period.

As 1977 begins, you see that the location of choice is the KROQ Cabaret with the bands that I mentioned last week in prominence.  The listings end after 2/12 so I would imagine that that would be when that particular venue closed down.  Two memories I have of the Cabaret are having the Pop guitarist playing while standing on my table (yes, we sat down in those days) and remarking to Steve when we saw the Berlin Brats, “I wonder when these are going stop sucking”, totally in jest, of course, because they were rocking our socks off.  Rodney Bingenheimer emceed the shows and it was quite by accident that I came across a fascinating documentary on Rodney’s life on satellite TV last night.  The movie is called “The Mayor of Sunset Strip”.  

Note Van Halen opening for the Berlin Brats on 1/29.  It won’t be too long before Van Halen are headlining arena shows.

Zolar X were also pretty interesting, dressed as aliens and playing a fairly appealing form of glam rock.  They have recently released a career retrospective album that is really quite good.

On 2/16 saw the Ramones and Blondie.  I made a point of catching the yearly Ramones show from ’76 until their demise in ’96.

Cheap Trick were another band that just put out their first album in 1977.  Rick Nielsen had a habit of tossing his guitar picks out to the audience and I still have mine to this day.  He also bent down and rubbed my head while I was standing up against the stage watching the show.  I also saw Cheap Trick on 4/1 opening for the Runaways.

Up to this point there was no real L.A. punk scene so the bands that we saw all had long hair just like all the other bands we had supported up to this point.  Steve and I also had hair on the longish side and Steve had a beard.  This would become a point of contention but that is a story that will be told in part 3.

Iggy Pop made his comeback in this period of ’77 and released his first solo album and we saw him headlining on 4/15 with Blondie as the support act.

4/16/77 is a day  that will remain permanently imprinted on my mind until the day I die.  We (Steve, myself and our friend Mike) had tickets to see the Damned and Television at the Whiskey.  When we arrived for the show, the Damned had been removed from the bill and replaced with somebody I don’t remember.  Fortunately for us, one block down  and across the street from Tower Records, the Weirdos were going to be playing.  Steve had the privilege of seeing them play the previous week at the same Orpheum Theater and they played with no drummer.  As we were getting ready to go in we ran into several members of the opening band, the Germs.  We told them that we had sold our Television tickets to come to this show.  The one called Bobby said "You did what?  We can't even play.  We've only been playing for a week.  You guys should try it too."  They came on stage and started playing some of the worst noise you had ever heard and the singer, Bobby Pyn, started smearing peanut butter over himself.  The owner of the club became incensed at the mess and had the band rather rudely removed from the premises.  That was the Germs legendary first show.  The next band was a group of Spanish looking guys who played a brand of melodic punk rock that blew us away.  It was the first L.A. appearance of the Zeros.  The Weirdos headlined and they were quite a sight.  John Denney making faces at the crowd and gyrating wildly while shouting out “Do the Dance! Do the Dance! Do the Dance! Do the Dance! Yeah!”.  Nickey Beat made his debut as Weirdos drummer this night too.   “Go Kid Hugo” was my all time favorite Weirdos song but they removed it from the set early on and it is only available on a demo double single release in the early 90’s called “Ranting In A Rubber Room”.  Sometime during the show, Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible of the Damned arrived with Rodney Bingenheimer and sat about halfway up the seats behind us.  I guess they didn’t have anything else to do that night. Captain Sensible took advantage of the situation and got and jammed with the Weirdos on the old Seed's classic "Pushin' Too Hard".   (Many thanks to Steve Stiph and Mike Richardson for their recollections of the evening).

The Damned may have been booted off the Television bill but they did play the Starwood two nights later.  They belted out basically the entire contents of their debut album that night and left us wanting more.  The Damned had run out of cash pretty early on in their American “tour” so they asked the audience to throw whatever change they had on the stage.  I think they made a good amount of money gathering up what we tossed up to them.  They also offered to have their picture taken with you for $10.  $10 was a bit steep to afford in those days but would have made a great souvenir all these years later if I had bitten on the offer.

There’s a 2 month gap before I went to another show, which featured the Weirdos at the Whiskey, which was due mainly to getting my appendix out.  I missed seeing the Status Quo at the Santa Monica Civic during this time who happen to be my all time favorite non-punk band.  Steve sold my ticket and made a few extra bucks off of it. 

In early June of ’77 I did the whole European backpack thing and ended up in London.  I was with my long time friend, Torbjorn, who I had gone to school with my one year in Norway from ’72-’73.  We were lucky enough to be there the night the Saints from Australia were playing at the world famous Roxy Club.  The attendant at the door asked if I was a member.  I’m pretty sure he knew I wasn’t because I still had hair over my ears and didn’t look like the rest of the patrons in their leather and chains.  I actually felt a bit uncomfortable in the surroundings because I did look so much different.  Here was a fairly well developed scene that had the clothing style, the regulars and a whole slew of bands to see.  Opening was the Tubeway Army which featured Gary Numan who had a hit or two in the early 80’s.  They were pretty dull although thy had a decent song or two.  Mean Street had a song on the “Live at the Vortex” album which is excellent. Unfortunately, that was about their only good song and they also failed to impress.  The Saints, however were great and played all the hits.  Getting back to our hotel in the middle of the night with no benefit of the Underground (London’s subway trains) was quite an adventure but we made it and lived to tell tales of the Eiffel Tower and tits on the beach in San Tropez.

I guess I can also say I “saw” the Sex Pistols in Oslo, Norway in June, 1977.  They were going to play a small club there and Torbjorn and I headed into to Oslo to try and get tickets but they were sold out long before then.  I did see the Pistols through the door as they headed to the stage for their performance and I was also able to hear the whole show from the street outside the club.

July 1977 - December 1977

This is part 3 of my reminiscences of the L.A. punk rock scene from 1976-1980.

These are the shows that I went to during the latter part of 1977.

The month of July I was still off in Europe doing my backpack thing so I didn't attend any shows during that time.

The first show of '77 was a reprise of the Orpheum show minus the Germs with the Weirdos and Zeros at the Whiskey.  The L.A. scene had started to form and you saw many people over and over again whose names you started learn.  There was Gerber, Pleasant, Trudi, Spazz Attack, Donny Rose, Sally and Lauren.  Steve and I were from the suburbs, Alhambra to be exact.  We were never part of that inner circle of punks that lived in Hollywood and hung out together and went to the shows.  Even though we had supported the scene from day 1, we were really considered outsiders.  Part of that had to do with the fact that we had not yet changed our look.  Steve had a beard and I still had hair over my ears.  I remember a show at the Whiskey when Sally and Lauren (these two seemed to be joined at the hip because you rarely saw one without the other) looked at Steve and said "ooooh, hippie!".  (A quick note: the Jenny Lens site has these two listed as Sally and Patti on page 2 of the Masque archives section.  I am going with the name that I remember so if anyone can definitively tell me Lauren/Patti's actual name, it would be appreciated).  Sally and Lauren also took great joy in kicking those members of the audience that didn't conform to "the look" or were part of the inner circle.  They had these pointy little shoes and they hurt.  I was the target of many a Lauren kick.

Four of the first 6 shows I went to during the second half of '77 featured the Dogs.  As I stated in Part 1, the Dogs were one of the earliest bands to hit the scene.  They were always too rock for the punkers and too punk for the rockers.  This limbo area caused them to never quite find their niche amongst the L.A. rock fans except those of us like me and Steve who had our roots in hard rock and migrated to the ripping sound of punk.  The Dogs reunited in 2000 and I have become friends with the band, especially lead singer Loren, and they have released a collection of their old stuff and an entirely new album, both released on Dionysus.  Check the concert reviews section for reviews of their more recent shows.  

The one Dogs show that is of significant note here is their opening slot at the Whiskey for AC/DC.  Imagine paying $4 to see the Bon Scott led AC/DC in an intimate setting.  I remember Angus Young stomping around the Whiskey in his school shorts and ripping the joint apart with just his guitar.

September 18 was another key date in the L.A. punk scene.  The opening band came out with bags over their heads saying they were the Bags and said their names were Douche Bag, Trash Bag, this and that bag that I can't remember now.  The lead singer was a whirlwind of energy and spat out the lyrics with a fury not often seen up to this point.  Their music was probably the most ferocious and least melodic that I had experienced going to shows over the previous year.  More on the Bags later as they become better known and shed the bags.  The Germs were back after their memorable show in April and I was pretty curious so see what would come next.  This time they actually were able to play their instruments a bit but they weren't all that great.  This may have been the show where Bobby Pyn said he was "Darby Crash" from now on.  The Germs got a lot of attention but I have to say that I never went to a show that the Germs were part of specifically to see the Germs.  They just weren't that good musically.  Darby had this aura about him that many bought into and had his followers.  The Weirdos were now playing more and more and became of kings of L.A. punk along with the Screamers.

October 7th finds me at the Whiskey again to see the Jam from England.  We bought lots of records in those days so we were familiar with all of the English acts as well as others across the U.S.  The opening act was horrible.  I'm not sure how Johnny Cougar ever got this gig because the music was 180 degrees opposite of the Jam's sound.  I guess he got the last laugh though because he went on to make millions as John Cougar Mellencamp.

October 21st finds us at Larchmont Hall for what I think may have been a Slash Magazine benefit.  I saw X, the Dils and the Avengers for the first time each.  These bands would form a large part of the foundation for California punk in the coming years.  My first impression of X was not a positive one.  The female singer, Exene Cervenka, came out with boxing gloves and we thought her vocal style ruined the band.  We figured if this band was ever to make it, they'd need to lose her.  X, of course, is considered to be the most successful of the 70's punk bands to come out of L.A., having released a half dozen or so major label albums.  The Dils and Avengers always put on great shows and I can't say that these stood out in any way but it was the first of many times I would see both bands. 

November 4th at the Whiskey, the great Dead Boys, led by Stiv Bators who was later killed after being hit by a car in Paris.  The Dead Boys came our way from New York via Cleveland.  We had their outstanding first album and their show lived up to the quality of the record.  The Mumps were also from New York and they must not have been very memorable at all because I didn't remember that I had even ever seen them until I pulled my gig list out for this series.

Crime from San Francisco.  What a great band.  They never wanted to be labeled as "punk" and had released their first single in 1976 before that label became attached to the style of music so they had a point.  The Dils played again and Waxx who I don't remember at all so they coudln't have been too good.  (I never did drugs or drank excessively during these years so my lack of memory can't be attributed to that, in case you were wondering).

November 26, 1977 was my first visit to the Masque.  I guess it had been open for a few months prior to that but I wasn't part of the inner circle, so I had to find it out on my own.  This may have been Thanksgiving Day or perhaps the day after.  The Masque was a trashy looking place in a basement below a porno theater that had been showing "Deep Throat" and "The Devil In Miss Jones" for something like 8 years running.  It had grafitti on the walls and a small stage in the corner that was maybe a foot above ground level.  This was the first time I saw F-Word with their barefoot singer, Rik L. Rik and guitarist Dim Wanker.  Rik passed away a few years ago from a brain malady.  They always put on a great show and were the first to release anything on Posh Boy Records with a live LP.  Shock had a reputation as being a very loud band, a reputation that I should have paid heed to and  am reminded of every day as I put the phone to my left ear only.  I lost a bit of hearing that night as I was right up in front of the stage for their show.  They wore skinny ties and suits and played a searing brand of "power" pop.  I came to know Steve Reina of the band later as a member of the Silencers but that is a story for another day.  Also on this bill were the Avengers and Zeros and topping off the bill were the Nerves, a power pop band that gave the Weirdos a slot on the Orpheum Theater bill a week before I saw them for the first time and rocketed the Weirdos into legendary status.  Not a bad series of bands for my first Masque show.

Back to the Whiskey in December for the first of many shows I saw by the Dickies.  They were L.A.'s "fun" band.  They were band that you could pogo to.  It must have been quite a sight to see people popping up into the air during "Walk Like an Egg".  A&M Records signed the Dickies and they became the first to get any major label attention.  They were huge in England.  The Nuns from San Francisco were also on the bill.  This band featured Javier Escovedo's, of the Zeros, brother and a female piano player that remained expressionless throughout the whole show.  The Wildcats opened and even though I saw them more them once, I can't for the life of me remember anything about them.  This same line up played the Whiskey again on December 23rd.

Another English band, the Motors, made their way to L.A. and the Whiskey.  They had some very catchy tunes and put an album and several singles.  The opening act, Michael Fennelly, did an utterly forgettable set although I had been a fan of his 1970 band, Crabby Appleton.

Eddie and the Hot Rods, also from England, arrived a few days later.  They kind of fell in the same category as the Dogs.  They were pre-punk, pub rockers, that were trying to make their way in a punk world.  They actually changed their name to the Rods for one single, the great "Do Anything You Wanna Do", to make it not so obvious that they were the "Eddie and the Hot Rods".  Time heals all however and they have earned their proper place in punk history.  I do remember getting ther early for the show and seeing Darby Crash walk in.  I was thinking this wasn't a show I would typically expect him to be attending.  He looked, turned to leave and said "I just wanted to see who was here".  Shit!  That didn't do much for mine and Steve's street cred in the scene.  The opening act, Trouble, I don't remember.  

Back to the Masque on December 16 for the Weirdos and two bands I hadn't seen before, the Skulls and Screamers.  The Skulls were great, with rail thin Billy Bones on vocals and all out punk rock attack singing about the Hillside Strangler and sniffing glue.  The Screamers were the darlings of the L.A. scene with Tomata Du Planty on vocals and drums and a synthesizer as the instruments.  I never could get into this band but they were able to sell out three consecutive nights at the Whiskey in their heyday. 

New Year's eve finds us at the Masque again and some more "firsts".  The Controllers opened and were destined to become one of my favorite bands.  Kidd Spike was  one of the first band members that I became friends with.  Steve and I went to their shows all the time and followed Spike's career through the Gears, Skull Control and back to the Controllers (in recent years).  The drummer was white and male and so the legendary Mad Dog had not yet joined the band.  Arthur J and the Gold Cups were up next and played some god awful lounge music.  Spazz Attack, who got his name from doing a flip on stage and writhing around like a lunatic, was the lead singer.  The Weirdos played third and Black Randy headlined.  I had picked up a Dangerhouse single with a great song called "Loner With A Boner" on it.  Unfortunately that was probably the only Black Randy song I ever liked.  One thing I do remember from this show was another L.A. punk legend, Bruce Barf (Bruce Moreland) giving his New Year's resolutions and wishing that Led Zeppelin would die in a plane crash.  Not much love lost for the hippies in those days.