Rocket from the Tombs - The Village Underground, New York City, June 7, 2003 / Cafe Nine, New Haven,…

Rocket from the Tombs - The Village Underground, New York City, June 7, 2003 / Cafe Nine, New Haven, Connecticut, July 28, 2006So long to punk legend Cheetah Chrome (AKA Gene O'Connor), the Rocket from the Tombs / Dead Boys guitarist / co-founder. I only had one chance to see Mr. Chrome, but it sticks with me — the reformed RFTT at TT the Bear’s during a hellacious snowstorm in late 2003. It all felt very unlikely. This was a band that had never released a proper album, didn’t play outside the Cleveland city limits, and only lasted about a year before splintering into Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys … but there they were somehow, raging like old, angry gods, tossing thunderbolts and laying waste. It was awesome. So! Here for a limited time are two killer Rocket from the Tombs tapes from the Alex Butterfield Archives. The first comes from early on in their reunion in the summer of 2003. RFTT never played NYC during their original run, and the band — with Television’s Richard Lloyd filling…