Action House, Electric Circus, Ritz Theatre - Sep/Oct 1970

I've seen mention of Electric Circus gig(s) aside from the infamous May 71 gigs, so I thought I'd post this brief excerpt, on some lesser-known NY gigs in the latter part of 1970 - Per Nilsen

The continual heroin abuse gradually took its toll on the band. Their live set, which was where their strength lay and which, even at its worst, had been mostly exciting, soon became a sloppy, confusing affair. They needed money to support the drug habits, but concerts became fewer and farther between as the band developed a reputation for unreliable and inconsistent performances. New York was the only city outside Michigan that showed an interest in the band. They performed at the Action House in September, a rock club in Island Park, near Kennedy Airport and the Nassau-Queens border. Returning to New York for a week’s stay in October, they played at the Electric Circus, a 600-capacity psychedelic-influenced rock club in the middle of St. Mark’s Place and the East Village, on Saturday, October 23rd and a Halloween show at the Ritz Theatre, a converted, large old movie palace that tried a few rock concerts, on Saturday, October 31st (their sixth New York residency in little over a year). The band’s many loyal supporters turned out, including Natalie Schlossman, Danny Fields and his friend Steve Paul, Elektra’s Josephine Mori, as well as writers like Lenny Kaye, Lisa Robinson, Ed McCormack, and Karin Berg. MC5 opened the Ritz show for the Stooges, one of the few times the Stooges headlined over MC5, a clear indication of the Stooges’ New York status. The Stooges’ Ritz performance ended prematurely after only 10 minutes when hostile audience members began throwing eggs at the stage. Iggy was hit by several eggs and promptly walked off the stage halfway through their second number, “1970.”

cool they were above/before MC5

pity about the eggs n 10 mins of play

also do ppl actually bring eggs to a gig? lol

if they hate them that much y buy the the tikt lol

thank god for overpriced tickets, theyre a blessing for us real fans! haha (joking)

That nails down the gig with Bill C. on guitar, Oct. 23.
Best guess on the Action House gig is still up in the air.
Must have spent 30 hours searching for that damn gig and have seen no mention of it in New York's top underground papers.

Action House was reported to me by BRIAN ZABAWSKI, a writer who saw several NY gigs and wrote detailed descriptions of the diff. shows. I do trust his recollections, so I think it did happen. Exactly when is another question. Per

[quote="pernil"]I've seen mention of Electric Circus gig(s) aside from the infamous May 71 gigs, so I thought I'd post this brief excerpt, on some lesser-known NY gigs in the latter part of 1970 - Per Nilsen

The continual heroin abuse gradually took its toll on the band. Their live set, which was where their strength lay and which, even at its worst, had been mostly exciting, soon became a sloppy, confusing affair. They needed money to support the drug habits, but concerts became fewer and farther between as the band developed a reputation for unreliable and inconsistent performances. New York was the only city outside Michigan that showed an interest in the band. They performed at the Action House in September, a rock club in Island Park, near Kennedy Airport and the Nassau-Queens border. Returning to New York for a week’s stay in October, they played at the Electric Circus, a 600-capacity psychedelic-influenced rock club in the middle of St. Mark’s Place and the East Village, on Saturday, October 23rd and a Halloween show at the Ritz Theatre, a converted, large old movie palace that tried a few rock concerts, on Saturday, October 31st (their sixth New York residency in little over a year). The band’s many loyal supporters turned out, including Natalie Schlossman, Danny Fields and his friend Steve Paul, Elektra’s Josephine Mori, as well as writers like Lenny Kaye, Lisa Robinson, Ed McCormack, and Karin Berg. MC5 opened the Ritz show for the Stooges, one of the few times the Stooges headlined over MC5, a clear indication of the Stooges’ New York status. The Stooges’ Ritz performance ended prematurely after only 10 minutes when hostile audience members began throwing eggs at the stage. Iggy was hit by several eggs and promptly walked off the stage halfway through their second number, “1970.”[/quot

IN HIS BOOK SURVIVING THE RAMONES DEEDEE SAYS A FRIEND RECORDED A NEW YORK STOOGES SHOW AND THEY PLAYED IT IN HIS CAR,THE GUY LATER BECAME A RAMONES ROADIE,I FORGOT HIS NAME BUT I HAVE IT SOMEWHERE.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 14-15 MAY 1971 - Per Nilsen

The Stooges went to New York for two concerts, Friday and Saturday, May 14th and 15th, at the Electric Circus. Prior to the gig, Iggy and Scott took Ron’s vintage Stratocaster guitar and traded it for 50 dollars’ worth of heroin. “They said it got ripped off,” recalls Ron. “I was heartbroken, man. Years later, my brother, Scott, told me what really happened. Yeah, by the time of the Electric Circus gigs, I’d given up.”

They opened the Electric Circus residency by giving an inspired, nearly hour-long performance. As the crowd applauded at the set’s conclusion, Iggy recited a few lines from the movie Dracula’s Daughter, “Children of the night… oh, what beautiful music they make! Flies… big juicy flies… and spiders.” The show was recorded by an audience member and Dee Dee of the Ramones recounts in his autobiography Poison Heart how he and his friends used to listen to the tape over and over in their car.

Fields threw a party after the show, inviting Tony Zanetta, Jamie Andrews, Cyrinda Foxe and other members of the cast of Pork, a play based on Andy Warhol’s taped phone conversations, who were rehearsing nearby in New York. “It was a big party and somebody was passing out these little pills, some kind of Spanish pill,” says Zanetta. “Everyone was taking them. They were either Quaaludes or Mandrax, but they made everybody sick because people were throwing up. It was disgusting. That was my introduction to Jim.”

The second Electric Circus show was a disaster, being delayed a few hours because Iggy didn’t want to perform until he had injected heroin backstage. When he finally came onstage, he was glassy-eyed and his speech was slurry. He was displeased with the playing on “You Want My Action” and had the band stop and re-start the song several times. “They were loud and angry,” observed Dee Dee Ramone in his book. “Iggy didn’t seem to like New York. He told everybody off.” At one point, Iggy went behind one of the amplifiers to throw up (although it wasn’t much more than a retch despite wildly exaggerated reports that he threw up on the audience). “Iggy had gotten an outrageous reputation for self-destruction and being a junkie onstage,” says Leee Black Childers. “Geri Miller was right down in the front again. She had this horrible little voice and she was right down in the front screaming, ‘Throw up! Throw up! When are you gonna throw up?’ And he did! He threw up. Iggy always satisfied his audience.” The show lasted only 20 minutes. According to Dee Dee Ramone, an audience member shouted “it’s the ghost of Mick Jagger” which upset Iggy, causing him to walk off the stage.

Comment on the Electric Circus report:

Descriptions above are based on recollections by Brian Zabawski (who saw both gigs and interviewed Iggy afterwards) and from various reports. Note that the descriptions differ somewhat from other takes on the gigs. I'd really like to hear more from people who attended!

Per

Is "You Want my Action" just an alternative name for "You Dont Want My Name"?

sure, it's just an alternative name; I confuse the them. Per