All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: All-Star Punks Honor Ramones at 50

Onstage in a red — though not raspberry — beret, a bearded John Travolta introduced the inaugural performance from punk all-stars Cretin Family for the Ramones 50th Anniversary Tribute by resurrecting the geriatric cemetery joke: people were literally dying to get in. There was no rim shot from Blink-182-Cretin drummer Travis Barker, but the raucous performance by the Cretins, rounded out by Rancid guitarist (and the event’s musical director) Tim Armstrong; Green Day singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong; and Ramones bassist CJ Ramone, could have raised the dead.

In this legendary internment oasis in the middle of a gritty Hollywood neighborhood, the departed “audience members” include classic cinema stars Rudolph Valentino and Jayne Mansfield, along with classic punk rock star Dee Dee Ramone, who rests not far from the imposing 8-foot guitar statue/cenotaph honoring his musical brother, guitarist Johnny Ramone.

The onstage vocal guests were as diverse as those below ground, and the confused curiosity about Travolta’s participation and the post-concert screening of his amiable autobiographical film, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, faded as the nascent band kicked off their set with “Rockaway Beach,” marking, as Billie Joe noted, the first time he’d ever performed with hard-hitting superstar drummer and multi-hyphenate celeb Barker.

From “Cretin Hop” into “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment,” West Coast punk honored their East Coast legends and forefathers, the revered and influential Ramones tied only with Motorhead in the cool and ubiquitous T-shirt category. The Ramones ’ appeal and fame crosses genders and ages, as onstage vocal guests — and an audience that included toddlers on shoulders — proved. Fred Armisen, who has his own Ramones covers band, delivered 1980s lyrically detailed and poignant Joey Ramone tune “Danny Says” as the first guest star of the 20-song set.

If the Ramones have been covered and honored by everyone from U2 to Rob Zombie to Sonic Youth, their own covers are likewise diverse, leaning into old American gems including the sped-up wonder of Bobby Freeman’s 1958 “Do You Wanna Dance.” The Cretins were doing a cover of a cover. It’s easy to imagine the late classic Ramones lineup of Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny, and Tommy appreciating the evening’s aural tributes in their own decidedly Noo Yawk manner, but it was especially hard to resist L.A.’s the Linda Lindas, whose vocals and youthfully energetic goofiness shone on the Riveras’ surf-rock hit “California Sun.” Editor’s picks The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century

Following her onstage stint and hanging with her mom, Linda Lindas guitarist-singer Lucia de la Garza, 19, tells Rolling Stone , “We grew up listening to the Ramones in the car and at home.