Flooded by a sea of Ramones shirts, skinny jeans, and Tripp pants, all forms of punk rock were in attendance to spend the evening with the legendary Ramones drummer, Marky Ramone. Setting out on an eight-show tour, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Marky Ramone took Orange County’s Observatory stage accompanied by his band, the Blitzkrieg, for a night of mosh, sweat and tears.
The OC’s very own D.I. threw together an amazing set filled with enough energy to power the venue itself.
D.I. LIVE | PHOTO by Ali
With guitar solos, headbanging and moshing, the crowd was giving the band the same energy back, each fueling the other. As D.I.’s set came to an end, the anticipation for the legendary Ramones set began.
MARKY RAMONE BAND LIVE | PHOTO by Ali
After a 20-minute break, the houselights began to dim and Ramone took the stage, strutting towards the mic, starting the show off by greeting the crowd.
With cheers and chants of “MARKY! MARKY! MARKY!” the legendary drummer made his way to his kit and counted in the band for the first song, “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” which was immediately followed by “Havana Affair” and “Teenage Lobotomy.”
MARKY RAMONE BAND LIVE | PHOTO by Ali
Ramone led the band with such grace and causality; he barely seemed to break a sweat. I guess that’s what you get after being a professional for five decades. Singer Pela brought the energy of a true rocker, bouncing all over the stage and not missing a beat; he was giving everything he had to the audience and his energy was infectious. Bassist Martin Blitz didn’t miss a beat on the bass, strumming at an extreme tempo; it was amazing seeing him double kick jump throughout the night. Guitarist Marcelo Gallo was the essence of cool; totally chill as if to balance out the others.
MARKY RAMONE BAND LIVE | PHOTO by Ali
With no breaks in between songs, the band kept the show going. Playing Ramones classics “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Beat on the Brat,” “She’s the One,” “I Don’t Care,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School,” and “Pet Sematary,” the audience cheered and danced, jumping up and down, flailing their hands in the air.
MARKY RAMONE BAND LIVE | PHOTO by Ali
Throughout the night, I kept noticing the mosh pit filled with kids of all ages circling and running around crashing into each other. Some had stayed in there since D.I.’s set, which was truly a sight to see.
The band ended the night with a seven-song encore finishing with the most famous of Ramones songs, “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and the crowd was ecstatic. Feeding off the energy Ramone and his band gave out, the night ended with a bang!
