I first saw Patti Smith perform in August 1974 at the original Max's Kansas City. They did several shows that month with Television opening for her. (Go to the Television picture for a blurb about them.) At that time the band consisted of Lenny Kaye and Richard Sohl. There was something in the air that night that told you this was a significant milestone event. Lots of scene-sters were in attendance. The short version of my impression of Patti was that she was like a beatnik poetry chick. As beatniks go she would have been of the "hot" school. By "hot" I'm mean extroverted and ecstatic as opposed to cool and mellow. Its hard to say what was new about her but she represented a clean break from the over-ripe hippie stuff that prevailed in 1974. She also would have been major departure from the fading glitter-rock scene.

	As with Patti, I first saw Television perform in August 1974 at the original Max's Kansas City. I went to see them because of their ad in the Village Voice. They looked like demented hillbillies wearing urban (read black or "Negro") clothes. Yeah, I just had to catch their act, they looked so er, ah... fresh. (That photo is on the Television page.) Even more than Patti Smith they represented a staggering departure from the style of the times. (Think ELO or Yes.) For that matter they would have been the polar opposite of glitter, though in their torn-up way they were certainly glam. Their sound was harsh and lo-fi which went perfectly with their looks. It was trashy hard rock (that's good) with an angular edge, a little like Beefheart's Magic Band. Tom Verlaine was intense in a demented, vaguely threatening way. I guess you could say he had an ax to grind with the status quo. Richard Hell was also kind of demented in a goofy, ants-in-your-pants way. Kind of possessed by one of those old-time rock n' roll fever-dreams. Don't get me wrong I LOVED their demented showmanship! Patti's article in Rock Scene magazine (which I'll add to the site soon) describes them perfectly at this time.

	Ah the Heartbreakers, those models of raunch n' roll. My brother Peter and had the luck of catching their very first show. I believe it was June 1975 at the Coventry in Queens. I'm not sure why they did their first gig there, maybe to fine-tune the magic before playing at CBGBs. At this time they were a three piece. Walter Lure had not joined the band, though I believe he played there that night with his band the Demons. The vibe that night at the club was kind of Queensy, which is fine, I'm from Queens. It felt like a glitter-rock show. Johnny was wearing platform sneakers and there were lots of peroxide-blonde NY Dolls groupie types in attendance. I can't remember the performance that well but I liked it. The next time I remember seeing the band (now with Lure) was at the CBGBs rock fest that August. My pals from Metropolis Video and I videotaped them that night. You can see an excerpt of that on the Heartbreakers page.