Barb Kitson was the dynamic front person for the Thrills, one of the staple bands on the Boston scene during the seventies. Barb brought her musical acumen as a college DJ to her own band, formed in the "anything goes" year 1977. Soon she found a perfect partner in John Carmen, better known by his nom-de-guerre Johnny Angel. They played straight ahead punk, and their style leaned more towards New York and the CBGB scene than it did toward the Boston Tea Party or the Kenmore Square roots-rockers. Johnny was a fucking madman on stage, giving a hundred and ten percent and feeding off the energy of the crowd. I always thought he would have made a perfect fifth Ramone. Before long Thrills had a good draw and a profile befitting their high energy sets. The addition of drummer Mike Collins and bass player Merle Allin (G.G.'s brother) rounded out the band.

The band was later renamed City Thrills due to a copyright issue, and by the start of the 80's they'd become much less hard-edged, moving to a more pop sound. Perhaps it was due to getting a taste of local airplay, and a desire for more of the same that motivated their increased focus on "serious" songwriting. Or, like many bands of the period, they may just have been growing up and becoming better players capable of more sophisticated arrangements. Their relationship with Star Rhythm Records allowed them to be among the first crop of Beantown bands to release material on vinyl. Barb reminded me a bit of Chrissie Hynde. She was a tough cookie, a wild child at times, and she had no problem hanging with the boys at a time when there were very few women prominent in the scene. That may be why the women that were playing with those early underground bands , including Lorry Doll of the band Tracks and Pseudo Carol of the Rentals, were such a cut above. The band's popular song "Not Another Face in the Crowd" might have been Barb's own personal anthem, demanding "Hey! C'mon and look at me, baby, 'cuz I'm not another face in the crowd!" There was no doubt about it, either, Ms. Kitson was definitely not your average, faceless citizen. And as far as paying attention, there was also no doubt that most eyes in the club were on her as she led the band through their paces.

One night I happened to be out with two friends, both guitar players, one of whom was a local hearthrob who seemed to be screwing every woman on the scene. It was funny to watch as he tried to lay his usual big-baby-eyed moves on Barb. She made it clear she was not going for that shit, but she was interested if he wanted to enjoy an hour or two of recreational...activity. He explained he wasn't alone, and she said "bring your friend up". He rang the doorbell of her Beacon Hill apartment again, and said "there are three of us". She laughed over the speaker. "Too weird...two I can handle, but not three!" She may have been kidding, of course, but it didn't sound like that. I had visions of Emergency Room treatment for exhaustion, and I had a feeling we were getting off easy. Barb was a take charge gal- she gave as good as she got, and you had to respect her for that.

Seven hours of rock and roll, one of the Katman Elektric Productions events that featured the Thrills. It was held at the Mad Hatter, the disco that later became the Channel rock club.