Big Top All Stars play The Ramones, Proto-Punk and More

Big Top All Stars are playing Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge on Wednesday, October 14, with a set built around The Ramones and the proto-punk that came before them. They've got guest Jake Smith joining in for the night, so it's a full-band outing rather than a stripped-back affair.

If you're not familiar with the term, proto-punk refers to the raw, loud, and often aggressive rock that set the stage for the punk explosion of the mid-seventies. The Ramones took that energy and tightened it into the fast, three-chord songs that became their trademark, and that's the core of what the All Stars are working with here. The set will pull from the Ramones' catalog and the earlier records that helped shape that sound, so you'll hear the fast-paced stuff alongside the rougher, heavier rock that paved the way.

Jake Smith is the featured guest for the evening, and the Big Top All Stars are the main act. The whole thing goes down at Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge in Houston, with the music starting at 8 PM. If you've got a thing for the Ramones and the loud, stripped-down rock that came before them, this is a straightforward way to spend a Wednesday night.