Project Mayhem are a slickly-greased rock machine of a band, with catchy riffs, memorable choruses, and solid professional musicians. Also in the mix is a slightly obnoxious rock star of a singer who insists in taking his shirt off at every opportunity and spitting beer over the audience (they ducked). But love ‘em or hate ‘em, Project Mayhem always sound great and tonight was no exception.

By the end of the opening act, the venue was starting to fill although it was still a long way from capacity. If the last surviving Ramone “brother” from the classic lineup can’t draw out a crowd on a Saturday night, it’s possible all hope is lost for Perth. Still, it was good to see a selection of true Ramones fans – not the ironic-tshirt-clad hipster brigade – out to pay their respect to a living legend.

Living up to their name, Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg took the stage and with little more than a Dee Dee-inspired “1-2-3-4” from bass player Clare (borrowed from UK glam punks AntiProduct, along with guitarist Alex Kane) kicked off a blistering hour and a half of back to back Ramones classics with no time wasted on idle chatter between songs. Singer Michale Graves, well known for his stint in the reformed Misfits, rendered each song with energy and respect to the original. And Marky Ramone himself – sitting ageless behind his kit – certainly hasn’t slowed down in the slightest.

The hits stacked up: Do You Wanna Dance, Sheena is a Punk Rocker, Havana Affair, Beat on the Brat, 53rd and 3rd, Rock n’ Roll High School, Judy is a Punk among others in rapid-fire succession. The mood slowed slightly – as much as it ever does for a Ramones song, anyway – for Poison Heart, I Believe in Miracles, The KKK Took My Baby Away and Pet Cemetery, then it was back into it with I Wanna Be Sedated and Chinese Rock. Pinhead signaled the end of the first part of the set, but with chants of “hey ho, let’s go” from the crowd it wasn’t long before they were back for not one but two encores. A brief salute and drum solo from the star of the show preceded What a Wonderful World, and then Blitzkrieg Bop was the fitting final song.

The original Ramones toured almost continually for 22 years with Marky behind the kit for 15 of them: this tour was not a cash-in, this is what he does. These are songs that need to be heard and there’s a whole generation of Ramones fans grateful they got one last chance to hear them.