Text by Marcelo Gomes
At the scheduled opening time, I was surprised by the number of fans crowding nearby; the line stretched around the block. Anxiety and euphoria gripped the crowd, eager to see a member of the Ramones family return to Brazil after so many years. With the delayed opening, many discovered at the last minute that the show would practically be a festival with four opening bands.
The shows began according to the recently announced schedule, and the first band was School Of Rock . Made up mostly of teenagers, they presented a repertoire of covers that included "Ace Of Spades" by Motorhead, "NIB" by Black Sabbath, "Burn" by Deep Purple, and even "Eu Quero Ver O Oco" by Raimundos. In just over 30 minutes, they managed to deliver a good performance and earned applause, with special mention to the band's guitarist and vocalist who were very confident.
The next band was Apnea , from Santos, which features Boka from Ratos de Porão on drums. Their sound is quite different from Ratos, in fact, it stood out quite a bit from the "festival" scene. They played a more stoner rock sound, full of Black Sabbath and even a bit psychedelic. They played songs from their debut album, "Sea Sound". I like this kind of sound; the band is competent and I enjoyed the compositions, but overall, the audience listened and respected them but didn't get too excited.
Electric Punk managed to get the crowd going by playing some covers of Buzzcocks and Dead Kennedys , they also played a song by Inocentes , "Eu vou Ouvir Ramones" (I'm Going to Listen to Ramones) as a tribute to Marky, since guitarist Ronaldo Passos is part of the band, and they even had time to present an original track, "Last Chance".
Supla benefited from a well-tuned sound system, which allowed him to perform several songs from his career. Overflowing with energy, he played "Charada Brasileiro," "Ratazana De Iphone" (during which he even took a fan's cell phone and returned it), not to mention the already famous "Humanos" and "Garota de Berlim." They also did a really cool cover of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself . "
Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg performance was filled with emotion from beginning to end. Everyone knows the affection Brazilian audiences have for the Ramones. For decades, fans here have shown their devotion to the American band, and this time was no different.
Wearing a t-shirt that read “Fuck Johnny Forgotten,” perhaps a “loving” nod to Sex Pistols vocalist Johnny Rotten , Marky took to the stage blowing kisses to the crowd and, along with his bandmates Pela (vocals), Martin Sauan (bass), and Marcelo Gallo (guitar), kicked off the show with “Rock And Roll High School.” From Marky’s unmistakable drum intro, the frenzied fans erupted in cheers, jumping and shouting “Hey, Ho, Let’s Go!” While the audience had been somewhat restrained at previous performances, everything transformed into a whirlwind of emotions from the very first chords, making it clear that this would be a memorable night.
Without warning, João Gordo , vocalist of Ratos De Porão, appeared to sing “Havana Affair.” They lost their way a bit in the performance but quickly recovered with “Commando.” The crowd was hysterical, and not even the poorly equalized sound diminished the excitement of the fans who rocked non-stop. The setlist was carefully selected for this show, showcasing the vast catalog of the American quartet. The avalanche of classics continued with “Beat On The Brat,” “I Don’t Care,” “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” among others. It’s almost impossible to describe the energy that was flowing in the Carioca Club, packed with maniacal Ramones fans.
Always announced with the traditional “One, Two, Three, Four” by bassist Martin, came another of those killer sequences with “Let's Dance”, “Judy Is a Punk”, “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”, but it was the anthems “Surfin' Bird” with João Gordo participating again, “The KKK Took My Baby Away”, “Pet Sematary”, “I Wanna Be Sedated” and “Pinhead” with its cry of “Gabba Gabba Hey” that truly ignited the fans and created a feeling of nostalgia that only a show like this could evoke. Incidentally, as everyone knows, João is a big fan of the band and watched a good part of the performance from the stage.
A pleasant surprise was when they included two songs from the album Mondo Bizarro , the tracks "Tomorrow She Goes Always" and "Anxiety," which had a special meaning for me since it was the first CD I ever bought. They said goodbye with the tribute that Motorhead paid to the band in the song "RAMONES," and Marky seemed a little annoyed by the problems he had with his drums.
Perhaps that's why the return for the famous encore took almost 10 minutes. They came back with "You're Gonna Kill That Girl" and followed with the version of "Wonderful World" that Joey Ramone recorded on his solo album, and to close, they couldn't miss the anthem "Blitzkrieg Bop," which was the highlight of the night, and it was hard to believe the show was coming to an end. But like a true punk show, it ended in an apotheotic way.
In the end, the performance delivered everything the fans wanted. The legendary Marky Ramone, at the peak of his 71 years, showed that he is the driving force that never loses its rhythm. The other members of Blitzkrieg are very good and captured the raw spirit of the Ramones. The setlist with more than 30 songs was a dream come true, and the audience's response was proof of the timeless value of the Ramones' music. For those who didn't have the chance to see the original, or even for those who did, Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg is an exciting journey through the legacy of the band that keeps the punk spirit of the Ramones alive.
Our contributor Jéssica Marinho was also there and covered the event. Check out the exclusive photos below.
