Johnny Ramone Tribute @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Linda Ramone honors her lost husband at her annual Johnny Ramone Tribute concert
Even in a crowded lawn filled with multitudes of people, it is hard to miss the woman of the hour. Dressed in her eccentric outfit, Linda Ramone greets her guests and fans who came to honor her beloved deceased husband Johnny Ramone at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where he is buried. The crowd started to claim their spots on the lawn early in the night to commemorate the legendary rockstar who has made a great impact in the music history. Looking around the cemetery, you either saw fans wearing a Ramones’ t-shirt or dressed as one of the characters from the 1979 movie The Warriors which was being shown that night. Ramones fans rushed to booths to get the band’s merchandise before it sold out and took pictures by the Johnny Ramone statue (I mean, if you don’t have pictures, were you even there?). The event, held annually, is known for having well-known celebrities attend each year. With last year’s attendees including stars such as Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day and actor Johnny Depp, both media and the crowd anticipated seeing big-name celebrities this year as well.
On stage with four Johnny Ramone cutouts, Linda Ramone formally welcomed the crowd and personally thanked everyone for attending the event that commemorated her husband’s legacy that he had left behind. Every year, funds raised from selling the Ramones’ merchandise are donated to a charity of her choice. This year, Linda announced that she was donating the funds to support prostate cancer research and encouraged the attendees to pick up a shirt to support the cause with her. She, then, introduced our first event of the night with Starcrawlers, Fred Armisen, and Jonesy. Fred Armisen on drums brought humor that night as he interacted with Jonesy who played the guitar. Both of them were appropriately dressed for the occasion as they each represented different gang groups from the movie. They covered “In The City”, a song from The Warriors, and two of Ramones’ songs “Pete Sematary” and “California Sun”. Lead singer of Starcrawlers Arrow de Wilde and its guitarist Henri Cash, along with Armisen and Jonesy, performed these songs with great respect by giving all they’ve got, especially Arrow de Wilde. Despite being surrounded by a legendary member of Sex Pistol, her stage presence was evident in her performance as she showed her passion for punk rock through her entire body. Crowd listened endearingly while being reminded of the greatness of the Ramones’ music.
After their show, Linda returned on stage with director Allan Arkush as they introduced The Warriors director Walter Hill who was later joined by cast members Michael Beck and Joel Weiss. Linda shared that this movie was Johnny’s favorite movie because he always related Ramones to the Warriors. It must have been a special night for both Linda and the crew from the movie knowing that Johnny would have been pleased to see his beloved wife partner together to watch his favorite film to the fans that he loved. The final individual who appeared on stage was Vincent Gallo, the host of that night’s tribute, as he concluded the night before starting the movie.
This unique event curated by Linda Ramone to commemorate her husband consisted of laughter, music, joy, and remembrance of who Johnny was as a person. Both fans and friends of Ramones had the opportunity to remember their long lost friend as one family. Thought it may be another year until the annual tribute, the legacy of Johnny Ramone will continue to live in our hearts every single day.
(5 / 5)
Review and photos by Shion Uza
