Weird and Wonderful night with The Ramonas + The Weird Things

THE RAMONAS + THE WEIRD THINGS – THE CON CLUB, LEWES 17.03.19

Tonight we were off to one of my favourite venues, the Con Club in Lewes to see The Ramonas on the final night of their UK tour. I have seen them a couple of time before and have their Ramonas original album ‘First World Problems’, which I have played to death. The support band for tonight was ‘The Weird Things’ and I hadn’t heard them before.

We arrived at the venue and there were lots of familiar faces including the UK Subs legendary frontman Charlie Harper. In fact the last time I saw the Ramonas they were supporting the UK Subs, which was an absolute belter.

So first up tonight were The Weird Things who are made up of Leila (vocals since August 2018), Mr Jan (bass guitar) (ex Dogdonfire), Simon Peet (guitar) (ex Riffs / Case), Martin Parrott (aka Marty Love) (drums) (Case/ Blood and Roses / Dirty Love / Los Paraliticos / Age of Chaos / Johnny Moped since 2017) and Dick Crippen (guitar) (ex Tenpole Tudor / King Kurt / Pearl Harbour).

As you can see there are some well seasoned musicians in the band that hail from in and around Croydon, alongside the likes of Johnny Moped and Nuffin’ from around 1976. Leila incidentally is the daughter of Martin Parrott on drums and this was her 5th appearance with the band.

The set kicked off with ‘Our World’, The combination of the two guitars producing a really great rock feel. I have to say that I really enjoy the richness it gave, a great start to the evening. Leila up front is quite captivating and a great deliverer of the lyrics and the crowd around me were appreciating it all straight away.

Next up was ‘Inky’ and this was just as good as the first. The set continued and I have to say that I really enjoyed the sound. Leila had a bit of banter with the crowd, which was really funny and the next song was called ‘Dirty Boys’, which I really enjoyed and possibly my highlight of the set. The other pick out highlights for me were ‘Sinner Or A Saint’, ‘Bubblegum Head’ and ‘Time For You To Go’.

I really enjoyed the set and met the band afterwards, purchasing a copy of their last self-produced album ‘Ten Digit Freak’, which they all signed for me. They are just about to release their next album, which is just going through the finishing touches. I will definitely seek to see this band again and you can catch them at Rebellion this year along with the Ramonas too.

The full set list reads:
‘Our World’, ‘Inky’, ‘Why?’, ‘Dance’, ‘Dirty Boys’, ‘Sinner Or A Saint’, ‘Choking On Life’, ‘Mrs Wilson’, ‘Bubblegum Head’, ‘I Don’t Know’, ‘Dirty Dog’ and Time For You To Go’.

More info on The Weird Things visit www.theweirdthings.com and www.facebook.com/theweirdthings

Next up The Ramonas. I had been looking forward to this and boy I wasn’t disappointed. The band are Lisa aka Cloey Ramona (vocals), Maxine aka Rohnny Ramona (guitar), Vicky aka Pee Pee Ramona (bass) and Camille aka Cammy Ramona (drums). As the name suggests The Ramonas started life as a female Ramones tribute band.

The band formed in in 2004 and have had a number different lineups, The current lineup of The Ramonas has evolved into a fully fledged, razor sharp live band in their own right, touring the whole of the UK during 2018/19. They are always guaranteed to play high energy, full throttle sets that leave you buzzing for more of that 1976 spirit …. It’s 1234 and they’re onto the next hit, and the great thing is that they do it all in their own unique way.

I wasn’t’ quite sure what the set would be tonight, so I was waiting in anticipation. On they came and I thought ‘fasten your seat belt’ this is gonna be awesome. First up ‘Durango 95’. The sound was explosive and fast just as I expected. Lisa was right up there and the goosebumps I felt tell you how great this band really are. 200 miles an hour and song after song. Next up ‘Teenage Lobotomy’. The crowd were really enjoying this. There were no stop gaps in between songs just …1234 and of we go.

I was right up the front with an amazing view of the stage and the difference between the last time I saw this band was amazing. They were good before, but this was just fantastic. Each band member just brilliant, combining their instruments perfectly. Camille on drums is something to watch as she effortlessly drives the beat of the band. Vicky on bass is just brilliant and supports Lisa on the vocals. Maxine has a powerful way of making the guitar sound brilliant, almost like having two at her disposal, when using the pedals. Lisa, what can I say! She is one of the top female vocalists in the UK. Her performance is so fast and energetic. The vocals are fast and clear and she absolutely nails each and every song. I particularly liked it that when the band were performing a Ramones number she would don her Joey Ramone style sunglasses and then when they were playing one of their own compositions, she would take them off again. This is the best I have ever seen them and they have left me wanting more.

There was a real mix of The Ramones and The Ramonas tonight, with original Ramonas songs mixed in. Charlie Harper did a guest appearance with his Harmonica for the song ‘Tearaway’ (‘First World Problems’ – Album 2017).

At the end of the set tonight, Lisa asked the crowd to choose the next four songs and Charlie Harper standing behind me requested ‘Pet Cemetery’, which made the crowd go wild again. Well what a night and I for one was glad I didn’t miss this one. If you haven’t seen The Ramonas then you should. Tonight they were on fire and they blew us all away. Thank you girls that was just awesome.

The full set list reads::
‘Durango 95’ (Ramones – ‘Too Tough To Die’,1984),
‘Teenage Lobotomy’ (Ramones – ‘Rocket To Russia’, 1977),
‘Beat On The Brat’ (Ramones – ‘Ramones’, 1976),
‘Go Mental’ (Ramones – ‘Road To Ruin’, 1978),
‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ (Ramones – ‘Road to Ruin’, 1978),
‘Judy is A Punk’ (Ramones – ‘Ramones’, 1976),
‘Spiderman’ (Ramones – ‘Adios Amigos’, 1995),
‘So Called This, So Called That’ (Ramonas – ‘Acoustic Problems’, 2019),
‘Money’ (Ramonas – ‘You Asked For It’ EP, 2016),
‘Poser’ (Ramonas – ‘First Word Problems’, 2017),
‘First Word Problems’ (Ramonas – ‘First Word Problems’, 2017)
‘California Sun’ (Ramones – ‘Leave Home’, 1977),
‘Do You Wanna Dance’ (Ramones – ‘Rocket To Russia’, 1977),
‘Listen To My Heart’ (Ramones – ‘Ramones’, 1976),
‘Havana Affair’ (Ramones – ‘Ramones’, 1976),
‘Sheena Is A Punk Rocker’ (Ramones – ‘Leave Home’, 1977),
‘Poison Heart’ (Ramones – ‘Mondo Bizarro’, 1992),
‘Take Me Home’ (Ramonas – ‘Acoustic Problems’, 2019),
‘Sue Me’ (Ramonas – ‘First Word Problems’, 2017),
‘Tearaway’ (Ramonas – ‘First Word Problems’, 2017),
‘Quarter Life Crisis’ (Ramonas – ‘First Word Problems’, 2017),
‘53rd & 3rd’ (Ramones – ‘Ramones’, 1976),
‘Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue’ (Ramones – ‘Ramones’, 1976),
‘The KKK Took My Baby Away’ (Ramones – ‘Pleasant Dreams’, 1981),
‘Somebody Put Something In My Drink’ (Ramones – ‘Animal Boy’, 1986),
‘Bonzo Goes To Bitburg’ (Ramones – ‘Animal Boy’, 1986),
‘R.A.M.O.N.E.S’ (Ramones – ‘Animal Boy’, 1986),
(encore – requests from the audience)
‘Pet Sematary’ (Ramones – ‘Brain Drain’, 1989),
‘I Don’t Care’ (Ramones – ‘Rocket To Russia’, 1977),
‘Chinese Rock’ (Ramones – ‘End Of The Century’, 1980),
‘Cotton Wool Kids’ (Ramonas – ‘First Word Problems’, 2017),
‘2016 (F*** This)’ (Ramonas – ‘First Word Problems’, 2017)

Their 2017 debut album ‘First World Problems’ and 2016 EP ‘You Asked For It’ are out now via their website HERE and iTunes etc along with their latest release ‘Acoustic Problems’ released February 2019! Gabba Gabba HEY!!!

For more information visit: www.ramonas.co.uk and www.facebook.com/ramonasuk

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