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400 Saturdays
We all get misty when we tell the “back in the day” stories about music. Maybe it’s a generational thing, or maybe it’s a natural reflection on how music is packaged and purchased now as opposed to 25...
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“Are You Talkin’ to ME?”
Today is Robert De Niro’s birthday, and what better way to pay a little respect to the man than by watching 3 minutes of his best work set to the sounds of 3 minutes of our guys’ best work? – …...
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A Little Bit of History
The historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, recently reopened for music. What better way to celebrate, Dictators style, than to share these fantastic pictures from their only ever appearance...
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Coney Island High 10/18/96
Today marks the anny of the Dictators’ first-ever appearance at Coney Island High. CIH was the short-lived punk rock clubhouse on St. Mark’s Place in NYC, and was a precursor to the Bowery Electric....
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The Terror of Middletown
October 1999: The WMBR concert report for the week ended with “Oh yes, there’s a Dictators show in Middletown, Rhode Island, on Saturday.” What better excuse could there have been for a road trip!...
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Malarkey in the UK!!
This week in 1977 found the Dictators at the mid-point of their first-ever European tour. In support of the Stranglers, who were the biggest band in England at the time, the guys were stuck in the...
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Eric’s in the Mud, and He’s Got No Shoes!!
Here’s a great-looking poster from a gig that never actually happened. The Dictators were on their way to this show when they were mistaken for a then-prevalent German terrorist faction called the...
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2 for Feb. 1
Feb. 1 means two things to us in DFFD land: 1, winter is halfway over, and more importantly, B, we have an excuse to run a couple more of these fantastic pictures from the Dictators’ first-ever New...
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The Night Yale Trembled
Yale University, the epicenter of Yuppiedom. A student population dominated by Biffs and Muffies, getting edumacated on daddy’s dime, all the while planning their next excursion to the Hamptons to...
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Lost in the City of Brotherly Hate
This date in 2003 once again found us taking a road trip to see the Dictators. Being longtime fans, we were aware that there were often long gaps between gigs, so we tried to see as many as we could …...
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Dictators at the 9:30 Club, Washington, DC (6/7/91)
This date in 1991 found our guys on their second weekend road trip of 1991. After a couple of tentative shows in Providence and Boston the prior w/e, this show in Washington, DC, presented a confident...
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Dictators at the Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto 6/21/78
This nifty flier is from a weekend of gigs our boys did in Toronto, one of the final tune-up weekends before the June 25th release of “Bloodbrothers.” I bet these were fun gigs. The pre-”What I Like...
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It Was 40 Years Ago Today!*
On November 30, 1973, the Dictators played their very first gig, in the gym at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland. They were the opening act for Blue Oyster Cult and Iggy + the...
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‘Manifest Destiny’ — Yay or No Way?
Welcome to today’s edition of Point/Counterpoint. We will be debating the merits, or complete lack thereof, of the Dictators’ second album, “Manifest Destiny.” The “pro” argument will be presented by...
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Rock and Roll’s Big Bang
Feb. 9′s well-deserved fuss over the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” serves as a reminder that Feb. 2 was our very own equivalent thereof. That date marked...
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NYC’s First Time With the Dictators!
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the very first Dictators gig in New York City. Our boys invaded the Coventry on March 13, 15 and 16 of 1974. The Coventry was the only club in NYC that allowed...
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On With the Show, This Is It!!
Note: Last month’s lively discussion about the merits of ‘Manifest Destiny’ led to a comment of “it would make for a great musical on Broadway!” This, to me, was sheer genius, so with no further ado,...
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Fall Preview, Dictators Style
It’s always either feast or famine with these guys. After a year of not much of anything to report, we have 4 major happenings on the immediate horizon. In order of appearance, and in no order of...
View Article40 Years of ‘Bloodbrothers’!
September 2018 is a monthlong celebration of the 40th anniversary of the ‘Bloodbrothers’ tour. After the huge misstep that was ‘Manifest Destiny,’ aka ‘The Dictators Get Housebroken,’ ‘Bloodbrothers’...
View ArticleThe First Time Is the Best Time
To continue with the 40th anniversary celebration of ‘Bloodbrothers,’ here’s a piece we ran a while back about my first time seeing the Dictators, which was 40 years ago today. My First Time With the...
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