NEW YORK -- When Joey Ramone stepped on the stage with Nada Surf to do a

cover song by Iggy Pop and The Stooges Wednesday night, Iggy himself would have

reveled in the moment.

Just the sight of the three young boys of Nada Surf, dwarfed in size by the

towering Ramone, whose face was barely visible by his trademark rose-colored

glasses and a shroud of black, heavy shoulder-length hair, was a moment of pure

rock bliss.

"I asked Nada Surf what Ramones tunes they wanted to play," the lead Ramone

told the audience who had crowded into Coney Island High for the concert held

in honor of '70s rock legend Pop known for his misfit antics as well as his

musical influence on punk and grunge. "They picked some obscure ones," he said

dryly, "Here's 'I Want To Be Sedated.' "

Mayhem ensued and the dancing didn't stop as Ramone and Nada Surf rolled out

classics such as "Judy Is A Punk," "Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio?" "My

Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg)" and "Teenage Lobotomy."

Without forgetting, of course, that the night's performance was a tribute to

Pop, part of the promotion for the various artists' compilation We Will

Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute, Ramone and the three fresh-faced boys from New

York City played a rousing version of the Stooges classic "1969."

"Iggy Pop and the Stooges were nominated to the Rock And Roll Hall

of Fame today," Ramone told the audience who screamed and clapped wildly.

Dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt, Ramone's presence on the stage was

awe-inspiring, both for his musical reputation as one of the original punk

rockers and his sheer physical size.

The energy from having new, young musicians paired with rock

legends such as Ramone was infectious to say the least, for the bands as well

as the crowd. Nada Surf bassist Daniel Lorca and lead singer and guitar player

Matthew Caws ambitiously played and hopped around the stage, while the gangly

Ramone, standing at center stage, stammered and nodded his head. Even drummer

Ira Elliot, obscured by bad lighting and his drumset, ran out to the front of

the stage to garner some attention.

The "No Dancing" sign on the club's wall served little purpose as the audience

moved with blind enthusiasm.

The show also included Iggy-inspired performances by Bush Tetras, who turned

out a superb and mournful version of "Sister Midnight." Other original songs

by the all-girl punk band included "Heart Attack," "Flowers" and "Satan."

But it wasn't only the musicians who seemed to be in Iggy-like moods as the

200 or so black-wearing, pierced, a bit dazed and tattooed audience members

filled the East Village Club with a pure Pop-infected energy. While Broadway's

Tower Records, in a CD signing promotion earlier that day, had given away free

passes to the show, there was no evidence of a non-fan, tourist contingent in

the house.

And Joey Ramone wasn't the only guest to appear on stage next to Nada

Surf.

Superdrag's Tom Pappas sang a rousing version of Iggy's "1970," one

of the highlights of the Ramone-less Nada set, which included seven songs off

their Ric Ocasek-produced Hi/Lo album. New songs "Firecracker" and

"Bacardi" were showcased, as well as Nada Surf's MTV pick "Popular," which

singer Caws abridged by commenting that he hoped people weren't taking the

song seriously.

After the show, Caws spoke about playing beside, or more accurately, below

Ramone.

"We practiced two weeks ago, and a couple of days ago," said an

exhausted and exhilarated Caws, before taking a well-deserved seat

on the staircase to catch his breath.

Apparently, the whole thing was a bit overwhelming.

[Thurs., Sept. 18, 1997, 9 a.m. PST]