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| Ross the Boss (left) & Handsome Dick Manitoba |
The Dictators formed
in New York City in 1973 in the shadow of hammering Detroit-styled rock and
roll bands like MC5 and the Stooges. In short time, the band's
roadie and occasional singer, Richard
"Handsome Dick Manitoba" Blum, was given a more prominent role
and became the proto-punk band's iconic front person. The band experienced breakups
and several significant personnel changes, and now the renamed Dictators NYC consists of Manitoba,
original guitarist Ross "The
Boss" Friedman (aka Ross
Funicello), guitarist Daniel Ray
(formerly of Manitoba's Wild Kingdom),
bassist Dean Rispler, and drummer JP “Thunderbolt” Patterson (formerly of
Manitoba's Wild Kingdom).
The Dictators NYC has not recorded music, but in concert
revisits the catalogue of the earlier band. At the Bowery Electric tonight, the Dictators NYC performed the Dictators'
entire third album, 1978's Bloodbrothers,
plus additional songs from the Dictators catalog. Two nights earlier, the
Dictators NYC recreated the Dictators' 1975 debut, Go Girl Crazy, at Berlin.
As such, these shows required the new band to learn songs that had not been
played live by any band in decades. Fortunately, neither the Dictators nor the
Dictators NYC are known for precision. Tonight's concert started with the nine
songs from Bloodbrothers and
concluded with five songs from the band's regular set. Manitoba introduced most
of the songs with a humorous anecdote or a loose cannon rambling. Led by
Manitoba's wry personality and able musicianship from the rest of the band, the
Dictators put on a show that both rocked and generated laughs. That is what the
audience gets at a Dictators NYC show, and that is good.
Setlist
- Faster and Louder
- Baby, Let's Twist
- No Tomorrow
- The Minnesota Strip
- Stay with Me
- I Stand Tall
- Borneo Jimmy
- What It Is
- Slow Death (The Flamin' Groovies cover)
- Who Will Save Rock and Roll?
- Weekend
- Two Tub Man
- Next Big Thing
- Kick Out the Jams (MC5 cover)
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