An article recounts a chaotic night at the New York punk venue CBGB in 1977, when electronic duo Suicide were booed relentlessly while supporting the Ramones, illustrating how divisive the club's eclectic booking policy could be. Venue owner Hilly Kristal was known for programming acts based on his own judgement rather than crowd expectations, which meant wildly mismatched bills sometimes provoked hostility from audiences expecting a uniform sound.

Suicide, then preparing to release their icy, synth-driven self-titled debut, were a jarring contrast to the raw, fast guitar punk of the Ramones, who had risen to prominence with their 1976 debut and the January 1977 follow-up, Leave Home. In a 2015 interview with BK Mag, Suicide's Alan Vega recalled being forced to extend their set because the Ramones arrived late, resulting in continuous booing from the crowd that he described as "endless". Although Suicide's album is now regarded as a pioneering influence on the New York punk scene, at the time their sound was a hard sell to fans who simply wanted the Ramones' high-energy guitar assault.