Live Report: Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg deliver Ramones hits set at the Button Factory

The line outside The Button Factory last night was not exactly the crowd you might expect to see waiting for a punk show. Yes, there were a lot of people in Vans, and jeans, and Black leather jackets, but there were also a lot of people wearing sweaters, and reading glasses, and colorful, puffy winter coats. But then again, this crowd wasn’t here to see just any old punk show. This crowd was waiting to see Marky Ramone.

Marky Ramone is the former drummer for The Ramones, and, at 73, is one of only three remaining members of the legendary punk group. His band, Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg, is what everyone is here to see tonight.

Punk, as a genre, is about challenging the establishment and pushing the envelope, about audacity and energy. The Ramones themselves helped to define it that way. With their simple, three chord, raw-sounding songs, they paved the way for the entire genre of punk rock. Their legacy stretches from their founding in 1974 all to way to the present day, seen in modern bands like Wednesday night’s openers, Shark School, a young female-fronted punk band from Galway. Marky Ramone himself has been in bands ever since he was in high school, and has garnered quite a legacy himself, not least as the Ramones’ longest serving drummer. As a result, a lot of the fans here tonight are people who have loved the Ramones their whole lives, some of them since the band’s heyday back in the 70s and 80s, and are now mature, professional adults in middle age.

Finally, at 7:30, the doors open, and everybody files in.
The audience check their coats, then move into the theatre where the show is to be held. People are milling about, holding drinks that they’ve gotten at the bar in the corner, chatting and laughing. If it wasn’t for the stage, and the giant disco ball suspended from the ceiling, you might mistake it for a cocktail party.

Eventually, once the room is full, the lights dim. Everyone turns to face the stage, which is decked out with massive amps. The lights on the stage glow red. Onstage, there are two drum sets: one lower one, set up for the opening act, Shark School, and a higher one, up on a platform in the center of the stage, rising above all the amps and speakers and wiring.

Shark School comes out and deliver a fun, energetic set, only stopping briefly to introduce themselves (and later for a quick joke about why their pyrotechnics didn’t show up: they were fired). There are a few devotees to the up-and-coming punk band in the audience, who sing along to every song elatedly, filming the band on their phones. Standing close to the front, you can feel the nonstop pulse of the drums and bass in your chest. Even the tamer audience members are bobbing their heads by the end. Shark School, who are visibly enjoying themselves onstage, grinning at each other as they sing, close out their set with a lively rendition of their song ‘Choose Life’.

Shark School opening for Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg at The Button Factory on January 28 2026. Copyright Maizy Kharrazian/hotpress.com

Then comes the main event. The lower drum set is moved off, guitars are brought on. Finally, Marky Ramone comes onstage, followed by the rest of his band.  The crowd comes to life. People start pushing through to the front, whistling and shouting. Then the band starts in with ‘Do You Wanna Dance?’.

A mosh pit breaks out in the front, with people jumping, shoving, bouncing around like pinballs. Anyone caught in the crossfire had better be prepared to get knocked around a bit. Cups of beer that were held casually just a few minutes ago as people chatted are now flung in the air, splashing down on unsuspecting audience members who find themselves too close to the chaos.

The night is insane fun. As the band moves through ‘Havana Affair’, ‘I Don’t Care’, and ‘Sheena is a Punk Rocker’, drums pounding, guitars pelting away, the crowd gets more and more into it. By ‘Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue’, everyone is singing along. Middle-aged men and women push their way into the throng, so that the mosh pit grows to encompass a huge arc in front of the stage as the band scorches through ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘Brain’, and ‘I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.’ ‘Gimme Shock Treatment’ and ‘Teenage Lobotomy’ are ecstatic, flying chaos. ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ is anything but sedate. At one point, there’s a great, racing cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’. The band feeds off of the crowd’s energy, lifting their mic stands above their heads, throwing guitar picks into the crowd after every song.

Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg at The Button Factory on January 28 2026. Copyright Maizy Kharrazian/hotpress.com

From the platform above the stage, Marky Ramone presides over it all, steady, relentless, undeniable. He is the engine that drives the band forward through the whole set, a calm expression on his face as he tears away on the drums. There are no breaks between songs, with the end of one going directly into the start of another, and Marky Ramone is handling it all with ease, having a great time. At one point, during a drum-less opening to a song, he stops to grin at the antics of his singer, Iñaki “Pela” Urbizu, who is standing on one of the onstage speakers and crowing like a rooster.

At five minutes to 10, Marky stands up behind his drum set, and, with a broad gesture, like a conductor at the end of a symphony, signals the end of the performance. The band walks offstage. Stage hands come out to tend to the instruments. The crowd begs for an encore, shouting, “One more song!” over and over again, as one. The chant soon turns into the chorus of Blitzkrieg Bop: “Hey, ho, let’s go! Hey, ho, let’s go! Hey, ho, let’s go!”

Finally, after what feels like an hour (but is really only about five minutes), a man comes halfway out from behind the curtain, and gives the audience a quick thumbs up. The crowd cheers.
Marky Ramone comes out and walks downstage, out in front of the audience, and spreads his arms wide, greeting the crowd. The crowd’s cheers grow even louder. Marky turns and returns to his center stage post behind the drum kit, as the audience starts chanting again.

Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg at The Button Factory on January 28 2026. Copyright Maizy Kharrazian/hotpress.com

“Mar-ky! Mar-ky! Mar-ky! Mar-ky! Mar-ky!” There are men in sweaters worn over button-downs, women in scarves and sensible cardigans, all screaming for Marky Ramone.

The rest of the band comes out to join him, and they launch back in with ‘You’re Gonna Kill That Girl’.

The mosh pit is back on up front and the whole crowd is singing along. That song is followed immediately by a spirited rendition of ‘Chainsaw’ (albeit without the opening sound from the title tool), and then the band plays the late Joey Ramone’s version of ‘What a Wonderful World’. People are dancing, and crashing into one another. One woman gets up on another man’s shoulders. A quick glance reveals that Shark School, the opening act, is in the crowd, laughing and shouting with all the rest. Urbizu, the singer, is crouched at the edge of the stage, reaching out to the audience as he sings.

Near the end of the song, Urbizu cuts out, allowing the audience to carry the end of the last chorus - “What a wonderful world!” - and the whole theatre rings with the sound of our singing.

The band finishes with ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’. The crowd knows all the words by heart, and screams along with abandon, jumping up and down. The song ends, the crowd cheers, and the band walks off stage. Marky stands up from behind his drum kit, raises one hand in farewell, and follows them. As the audience files out, walking across a floor made sticky with beer, Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ plays over the speakers.

Punk is about defying norms, rejecting expectations. This show absolutely did that. To see all these buttoned-up, mature adults letting loose was incredible, and exhilarating. Most of all, punk is about not caring, and having fun. Everyone in the crowd, from the newest 20-something fan who just discovered the Ramones to the oldest grizzled Ramones veteran was having the time of their lives, letting go and not giving a damn about anything for an hour and a half.

Even at 73, Marky Ramone is still punk as hell.