While this wasn't the first Ramones trip to Chicago, this was by far their biggest show. Headlining a stacked bill with the Runaways and the Diodes, The Ramones returned and hit the biggest stage they could find, no longer delegated to such despots such as B'Ginnings in Schaumburg (first Chicago show, early 1977) or the Ivanhoe Theater (with the Dictators in Summer 1977), this was the BIG TIME, the Aragon Ballroom, where bands as big as Roxy Music and Alice Cooper had graced the stage, even recently. For all I know, this video has not surfaced before, and appears at press time to have less than 300 views, so you dear reader are one of the lucky ones.
And while the film quality is as crude as Dee Dee's denim, the sound is just as raw and alive as you'd expect from the Ramones in their prime. Tracks from their 3rd LP Rocket To Russia are already in the set list as well, as they'd been playing those since the beginning anyway. So kick this Chicago punk history rarity into full-screen mode and BLAST!
