Brash, violent, and utterly nasty, The Dead Boys took punk rock ugliness to new heights with their audience incitements and fast, three-chord songs that were the epitome of aggression. Featuring former members of underground art-rock band Rocket From the Tombs Cheetah Chrome (Gene O'Connor) and Johnny Blitz (John Madansky), the band was the logical extension of bands like The Stooges, upping the ante tenfold with their excessive brand of menace. Originating in Cleveland, OH, the group moved to New York and joined the punk scene that surrounded the legendary Bowery club CBGB's in the late 1970s after befriending The Ramones, who scored the Boys an audition at the club. Their first record, YOUNG, LOUD, AND SNOTTY soon followed, which floundered in terms of sales despite its contribution of the punk anthem "Sonic Reducer." Their follow-up was a victim to record label restrictions that attempted to soften the group's image, making them palatable to a wider audience. Ahead of their time, the band soon broke up, but remain one of punk's most influential early innovators; this document captures a 1977 performance at CBGB's, where their power is fully in evidence. Recorded by Rod Swenson using a three-camera color setup, LIVE AT CBGB 1977 provides a window onto a past when, for a brief period, the voice of unabashed punk rock nihilism and abandon was heard loud and clear.|

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