Impact Fusion

This is the city where it all started, as far as I’m concerned.  Most of the critics I know also agree, and that’s not necessarily because of any kind of first in the temporal sense, but only for the density.  In terms of punk bands, really good punk bands, New York had the best of them.  I love the Clash, and the Saints always get short-changed, in the history of music, but for all that I know, and all that I learn, there’s no other place that gives me the same raw energy and excitement as New York, and that’s why I always keep it on the top of my list.  It’s one of the reasons I like to visit the city.

There are places to stay in the city that are truly spectacular without paying the executive suite rate, and this is important, because rock and roll  isn’t what it used to be, and these days, you can’t count on the kindness of strangers after a show.  It’s still a great place to see music, however, and any night of the week is a good night. But like anyone as interested in early punk as me, I’d give anything to hear the bands in the late 70s.  CBGB’s was by no means the only place to go, but sometimes, looking at their roster, it may as well have been the only one.

Lots of the coolest bands played here, like the Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, and the Talking Heads.  Some of these have faded away because of lack of interest among the members or the public, some fade because of the short lives that sometimes follow rock and roll stereotypes, and some because they seem to have just forgotten.  These were hard years on some people.  It’s sometimes easy to forget that bands from other places also had their beginnings in punk here at CBGB’s.  The Police had their first U.S. show here in 1978.  When I think about that year, and who crossed the stage at that time, I start to feel hungry for participating in my own history, here and now.

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