Dead Boys-Return of the living dead boys

MVD Visual
2008


Punk/glam legends the Dead Boys were a band that influence a lot of bands including the such varied artists as Hanoi Rocks and Overkill. This is a reunion show they did in New York on Halloween, 1986. Joey Ramone introduces them and they slash into Sonic Reducer and just keep moving from there. The music very much of that mid-late 1970's style of early punk rock, but the Dead Boys were probably a bit more into early 70's glam than were some of their peers. Stiv Bators comes over as a bit more moody and low key than I figured at first however he guides the chaos and keeps things going. The set is tight and straight forward and they waste very little between songs and instead just charge ahead making the most of their simple approach. The crowd seems to be a mix of people who like they could have been fans in the 70's plus teenagers who constantly dodge bouncers as they spend their second or two on stage before diving into the wiggling mass of fans. The sound quality is strong enough and fairly consistent through the entirety of the fifty minute set. The picture quality is okay enough, but flickers in and out a few times early on. The Dead Boys probably relied as much on swagger as they did on angst in their performance and that's largely what makes them different from a number of other early punk bands. Guitarist Cheetah Chrome moves back and forth never coming close to showing much expression, but his music speaks for him and he twists and pulls notes at will. The rest of the band bounces here and there with a fairly constant amount of energy. By the end of the show Stiv Bators comes dangerously close to exposing himself, but neither he or the audience seems very shocked and the show wraps up. The disc also includes a 1980 interview and a rare early video for "Sonic Reducer". A really cool show overall that makes me wish I had be there to see them then and earlier to soak in all that they were really doing.