The Dragons

As the title suggests, this is a live and raunchy account of a smoky and hot set by San Diego's the Dragons. Their sound is a muscular ode to Johnny Thunders and all things related to his Lower East Side, '70s hard luck lifestyle. The sound quality of the disc is pretty good for a second string rock/punk band like this, but you're sure not going to forget that this is in fact a live record. The Jack Daniels and Coke fuelled performance's tone gets set right from the start, with the mid-tempo cruncher "Gimmee Some Luv" and just keeps on rolling with "Painkiller" and "Drunken Babble." There are some crowd pleasing covers here, like the Dolls' "Puss N Boots," Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" and the Ramones' "Sniff Some Glue." For all the claims in the music about how crazy and messed up they are, the Dragons play it pretty safe, musically, and this fact always keeps the rock on a low simmer that never really reaches a full boil. There's a dry seriousness in the music that recalls NYC bores Degeneration, and the Dragons would do well to lose this stiffness and really let loose in more of a savage Devil Dogs style.