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Gabba Gabba Hey<\/em> I was intrigued to see how the Ramones set would be pulled off and who would be the special guests. There was applause when CJ Ramone, holding a beer, took the stage. He would announce each song before playing and I must admit, they sounded great. It was really special to hear the Ramones music played live and loud. The crowd was pretty subdued until the end when the music picked up and there was some crowd surfing. There were great special guests that took turns singing the nostalgic songs. Trigger took the stage to play the final song after giving a short speech saying good bye to the music in his club. Throughout the night, the musicians bid farewell and pointed the blame for the loss of the soul of music and it\u2019s venues to Corporate Condo America and especially to NYU which has gobbled up, destroyed, and created nothing that attributes to the essence that is New York Fucking City. It\u2019s such a shame to lose so much history in such a small amount of time. It\u2019s crazy to bring my friends to my old parts of this city and to reference all the good things that once<\/i> were in the past tense. The night ended with \u201cI Wanna Be Sedated\u201d, and I wished that those short 2 minutes could have lasted just a little bit longer.<\/p>\n
\nThe Continental has been home to many local and global bands that have shaped the landscape of music. The Heartbreakers, Jesse Malin, to Iggy Pop played here and it later became the home for the Ramones. Joey even lived across the street from the club. For it\u2019s last hurrah, this punk venue hosted live music from Handsome Dick Manitoba<\/strong> (Dictators), Lenny Kaye<\/strong> (Patti Smith Band) and a full Ramones set played by CJ Ramone<\/strong>, Daniel Rey<\/strong> and Walter Lure<\/strong>.
\nApproaching St. Marks, I am always struck by the dichotomy that occurs on this street that made up my musical upbringing. Seeing the grungy historic Continental sign buttressed against McDonalds, rising condos, and scaffolding. I walked into a very crowded and smoky club and felt the energy in the room. A melancholy excitement as this would be the last time anyone would hear live music in this tiny room.<\/p>\n