Cinecyde, the Go and the Ramrods at the Magic Stick, August 28, 2004
One of the advantages of being an old punk rocker is that you can always impress younger people with just a few simple comments about seeing the Dead Boys at Bookies or Black Flag at the Greystone. For years my ultimate Detroit punk elitist line was always: “I saw the Ramrods live”. There is absolutely no answer to those simple 5 words – the Ramrods burst into existence and flamed out after a short year where every show seemed to create a life of its own. As the years went by, my memories of those shows slowly faded away, but my appreciation for the Ramrods just grew. Their influence on the young Detroit punk scene cannot be overestimated – they brought the same energy and spirit of punk rock right into our own city when we thought that real punk rock could only come from New York or London. The Ramrods were long gone and their reputation just grew as the time went by.
However, I’ve learned that being patient sometimes has its rewards (notwithstanding the Detroit Lions who I still faithfully support) and the Ramrods were going to finally reunite. Not all the Ramrods would reunite, but I won’t get into all of the details that the Metro Times has already covered. I just knew that Mark Norton, Bob Mulrooney (Bootsey X), Dave Hannah along with Danny Doll Rod were going to be at the Magic Stick and the reputation of this legendary band would be put to the test in front of a whole new generation of Detroit punks.
First up were the true pioneers of Detroit punk rock – Cinecyde. They were the complete opposite of the Ramrods; Cinecyde has been together and been putting out music and playing live shows from the late 1970s and have never lost their edge or their love of Detroit rock & roll. From the single "Gutless Radio" in 1977 to the 2004 release of "Like a UFO" – Cinecyde has endured and kept the spirit and soul of Detroit music alive all these years. It was only fitting that Cinecyde got to open this show and they did not disappoint the crowd. A great article by Mike Murphy in the Metro Times called Cinecyde “the best unrecognized band in Detroit rock & roll” and I have to fully agree. Cinecyde are the “Grind Line” of Detroit rock & roll – they work hard, they are consistent and they come to play every night. This kind of effort should be rewarded and I’m happy to say that the fans at the Magic Stick were enthusiastic as hell when throughout the Cinecyde set. Do yourself a big favor and pick the new Cinecyde CD – it definitely fits in with all the great music that has been popping out of Detroit.
The Go were next and there’s not much dispute that they rock. Their history is much shorter than Cinecyde’s but it was very apparent that our younger Detroit bands have proudly carried on the rich Detroit rock & roll tradition. I love the Go and this short review is not indicative of how well they played, but I’m been waiting for 25 years to see if the Ramrods of today are as good as those Ramrods deeply embedded into my memories when I first discovered how important punk rock would be to me.
The Ramrods finally made their way on stage and I found myself back at the Red Carpet; the Ramrods brand of rock & roll just cuts through all of the crap that passed for music back in the 1970s and it's just as powerful and necessary today as it was way back then. The area in the front of the stage is soon filled with slamming bodies and an inevitable fight or two breaks out. I feel that I should be in the middle of that pit again, but I don't want anything to disturb me - I just stand there and let those songs soak through me one more time. All the "hits' are here: "Nothing to Do in Detroit", "I Ain't Going Nowhere" and the immortal sounds of "I'm a Ramrod". This one song symbolizes the power that music holds over us - I've listened to it a million times since it was released on the Motor City's Burning comp, but the live version just blows everything else away. Fittingly, the Ramrod's encore is a second rendition of "I'm a Ramrod" with a lot of assistance from many other Detroit rock & rollers. And just like that it's all over - the Ramrods have come and gone. All great shows seem to end in an instant and you always want more.
When I first saw the Ramrods back in the 1970s I knew immediately that punk rock was going to be a major part of my life and would guide a lot of the decisions (both bad and good) I made over those intervening 25 years. As I was leaving the Magic Stick on Saturday night I congratulated myself for being smart enough back then to realize how good this band really was. Thanks to the Ramrods for getting back together one more time so that the rest of Detroit can also have the chance to realize that too.
Pictures from the Ramrods Show