They were really raw at that time, too fast and too loud.

pdf, with thanks to the original sharer

There was a new energy going back then. I went to parties, like someone's basement, and they'd charge you two bucks and there'd be this electric band playing and they'd be passing out acid, just little things in garages, the back of a church, wherever. The Flamin' Groovies played incredible gigs in gymnasiums, garages and the middle of fields, it was real makeshift but everybody wanted to make music and it was real exciting at that time. I still have a lot of live tapes of that era that are really funny because you can really see what the group was like back then. We wore sunglasses and had jackets, drank a lot and screamed. A lot of groups weren't in the same direction as that then, our crowd was always a lot rowdier.