As a result of various searches and links off searches for my last post, I found, on a blog by and for fans of Jonathan Richman, a video that surprised, delighted, and embarrassed me.

It is a video of Richman, his current drummer Tommy Larkins, and original Modern Lovers bassist Ernie Brooks performing "Roadrunner" at Joey Ramone's birthday party at Coney Island High in May, 1998:

I am surprised that this video exists. I am delighted because it is a record of one of the most joyous concert experiences I've been at.

Now . . . this is by no means the world's greatest version of "Roadrunner" - a song that, to be sure, exists in no "definitive" version - it's rather perfunctory and under-rehearsed.

(for a beautiful essay on "Roadrunner" and Richman, by Laura Barton of The Guardian, who made a pilgrimage last year to all the Massachusetts sites mentioned in all the many versions of the song, see HERE)

However, on this occasion, the joy was simply in the fact that Richman actually DID this song, one of his early ones he has been very insistent on never doing live, as he says he isn't the angsty 19-year-old he was when he wrote it, and it doesn't speak for him anymore. I'd seen JoJo about three or four times before this, and it had always been a great experience, but I was well aware that I wasn't going to ever hear him do my Favorite Song Of All Time.

But, after doing a couple of songs from the not-yet-released There's Something About Mary, he brought up Ernie Brooks and announced that Joey had asked him to do some of the early songs, and he wouldn't normally, but it was Joey's birthday, so . . . First, they did the classic, "Girlfriend" (or "Girlfren" as it is sometimes known). Then, what you see above happened.

Now, I am embarrassed because I am the loudmouth you can hear screaming "YES!" twice at the top of my lungs during Richman's countdown. I think I was leaping about four feet in the air straight up at the same time, just off camera right.

Well . . . what the hell, it meant a lot to me. Didn't think I'd ever see it. I don't think Joey Ramone did either. I looked back at him, perched over the sound board, during the song, and I swear to god, he was crying in joy. I can't be sure, 'cause of the shades, but he looked like he was crying, but with a big silly grin on his face.

A short time later, Uncle Floyd (the host for the evening) brought out Ronnie Spector, who did two songs from the EP Joey was producing for her (Joey's "She Talks to Rainbows" and Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory") and finished up with, of course, "Be My Baby."

Well, at that point, having heard my two favorite songs of all time performed live by the original singers, I left. I didn't see how the evening could get any better for me, and I was walking on air.

I'm glad there's a record.