Fangbase - Reviews

Metro, Chicago, IL

Wednesday 16th October 2002

First the bad news, then the good news, then the great news:

I will never again arrive at a Damned concert promptly. I have seen this band many times and never have they had a decent support act. Tsunami Bomb brought out every modern "punk"/rock cliche and offered nothing original in their sound or performance. Tiger Army, who proclaim themselves Psychobilly, are in fact a thrash band that happens to have a double bassist and a guitarist with a Bigsby. A word on their guitarist is in order: He does not know how to play any chords. At one point they announced a "slow country and western song" and the man continued with his two-fingered, open fifth "power chords". Not one of their songs was a twelve-bar. They are a thrash band and an average one at that.

The Damned played very well but didn't say much (even Captain). Street of Dreams is an excellent opener, Amen sounded better than ever, and we were treated to "Under the Floor Again" and "Nasty". The sound was horrible, just too loud, and the keyboards were mostly absent from the mix except for "13th Floor Vendetta" in which they were in fact much too loud. The Damned put all they could into the performance and their enthusiasm outshone the technical problems. They ended with Smash it Up, with a phenomenal feedback outro, with Captain descending, guitar in hand, into the crowd and out of sight.

After the show, a friend of mine who knows a Metro employee produced a gift for me: The wine glass Dave drank from onstage. Outside I met David and Patricia (for the first time) and Dave signed the glass and Pat signed my ticket stub. My girlfriend joked with Patricia and she was very nice.

All in all an excellent night! Thank you to The Damned!

Anon

Another...

I was fortunate enough last night to attend the DAMNED show at the Metro in Chicago. I live in Indianapolis, Indiana and it was nearly a four hour drive and to be completely honest, I would have driven another four hours to see this show.

I was extremely fortunate to attend INLAND INVASION in Los Angeles and saw the DAMNED play a few songs, which was great, but the show at the METRO last night was probably one of the best shows I have ever seen..period.

My friend Tracie and I arrived at the Metro at 7pm, after trusting YAHOO MAPS and getting lost miserably in Chicago. Next time I'll buy a map. The Metro is a pretty small venue, but it was packed. The crowd was a good mix of youngsters and old timers, me being 28 years old, I don't which one I would have fit into better.

We got to see Tiger Army, which was much better than I expected. They seem like a cool young band and the dude playing the stand up bass was a complete freak..extremely cool. Tiger Army gave the DAMNED many props and put them over alot during their set.

The DAMNED were scheduled at 8:30pm and went on right on time. The first song they played was Street Of Dreams, which rocked like no other. David Vanian, who I got to met in LA by chance at a used record store on Melrose Ave the day after Inland Invasion, has a stage presense that is equal to or better than any other front man is music. He was also really cool to meet, a very nice guy and very gracious. Vanian possesses such a presense and is such a great performer, I can't say enough about him. His voice was just spectacular, better than any of the CDs he has put out, just outstanding.

The band played extremely tight, the Captain seemed a bit low-key, not very obnoxious and no arse, but he is a great guitar player and never missed a note (with the exception of Eloise, they had to start the song over because the Captain was trying to tell a story about all the 12 year old girls in England named after the song and flubbed his part).

The set list is very similar to the other gigs played recently, the only exception was that they didn't play Plan 9, which was a bummer but the rest of the gig made up for it.

I simply cannot say enough good things about this show, if I could see the DAMNED every night I would. I also have to give props to Patricia, Pinch, and Monty...they are professionals and deserve and need to be in the DAMNED and I hope they make many albums together and continue to tour extensively. With all the DAMNED live albums on the market, they really need to record this tour and put something out...it is remarkable how good the new material matches with the classics (Disco Man was the highlight for me, I was jumping around like a freak! It was great!)

If you get the chance, go see THE DAMNED!

Anon 2

And another...

The Damned caused an avalanche of rock fun and fury in Chicago.

After the first few songs I pogoed my way toward the front, ending up bouncing in between the dorky-looking fans like myself intent on pogoing and asserting that we were Damned aficionados, and the pit, which wasn't too bad as everyone stopped and helped each other up whenever someone fell. That Boy Scout-crap must have sunk in pretty deeply as a kid as I felt protective over the girl up front in the Vibrators shirt, and tried to keep the people careening out of the pit from smashing into her, which was hard because I was mostly paying attention to the cascades of rock'n'roll bliss coming off the stage and bouncing up and down along with them. It was pure fun. The Damned were on fire, and the music just got down into my sinews, and I savored every second of shouting, sweating, and bouncing along with the other Damned fans. To borrow a line from Woody Allen, it was the most fun I've had with my pants on.

In sum, I'm glad to say it was the exact opposite of my experience in CA last month, where everyone was forced to sit down up front, which is just an abomination. The Damned is like a rock'n'roll feast and holiday rolled up into one--a cause for screaming and jumping up and down and having the best time possible, a celebration, which is what it was in Chicago.

Miscellaneous memory fragments: Monty bouncing in front of his keyboard, and behaving like a burning demon during the intro to Amen.

Patricia just rocking throughout the set, whaling away at her bass.

The crowd having as much fun as I was.

I wish I could recall most of the set list exactly as it was, but I was drunk and having too much fun. Here's what I remember, though.

Street of Dreams
Amen
13th Floor Vendetta
Neat Neat Neat
New Rose
Would You Be So Hot
Ignite
Eloise
Smash it Up

Wait for the Blackout?
Democracy?

I would have liked to have heard more, but I was dead tired at the end. I'm sure adrenaline would have carried me through a few more, though. As it was, I was sad that the show was over, and that all of the comradery amongst the fans up front was over, too.

Waking up this morning, two days later, reminded me that I need to do some leg exercises and build my legs up because they're still sore after all of the pogoing I did.

Recalling it all is giving me Damned-withdrawal. Life should be that much fun everyday.

Tim / Appleseed

Biggie....

Alright, the sun was just starting to set, turning a cold autumn day into a cold autumn night, as I pulled alongside THE METRO in Chicago, searching for a place to park.

I had just stolen away from work in downtown Chicago, called my wife to tell her I wasn't coming home until 11:00 and now found myself anxious to do nothing more than release the anxieties of the day. I found a $10 parking lot across the street, and although the idea of paying $10 for 3-4 hours of space would otherwise strike me as absurd, I had gone beyond the point of caring. It had been that kinda day.

I locked up my car and as I pulled on my long black wool overcoat, the kind that teenagers aren't allowed to wear in post-Columbine high school, I came upon the half-block long line that snaked down the sidewalk from THE METRO's main doorways. Looking over the groups of old school punks, nu-school punks, goths, skaters, metalheads and more, I felt about as out of place as a hooker in the Holy Land. My 31-year old thinning hair, white button down oxford shirt and pleated slacks made me feel a bit self-conscious. What the hell though, I had come to see The Damned and I didn't care who else was there or what they looked like. I stood in line by myself for about 25 minutes or so with these "Children of the Night", casually taking a glance over at The Damned's large tour bus every once in a while to see if I could catch a glimpse of the band. They were probably already inside. Like everyone else, I wanted to get inside too.

Based upon the discussions we've had on the messageboard, I was on the lookout for Miskatonic, Gringo Starr or Ken The Great. Nobody resembled them, from what I could tell, although once the doors opened and the line started moving, I did see someone who looked like Ken The Great crossing the street to go to a hot dog joint. Good idea, since I hadn't had anything to eat since lunch and was starving but the line was moving quick, so I kept my mouth shut and headed inside.

The Metro is pretty cool place to see a show - probably an old movie theater at one time that had been converted for live performances. The venue has two bars, one on the first floor and one on the second floor (balcony) and while the beer is pricy ($5 per cup!) it hit the spot pretty quickly. I ordered one on the first floor and walked up the sticky steps to the second floor, where Miskatonic and Ken said they would try to catch up with one another. It was fairly empty when I got that, and I quickly spied Miskatonic (based on the description he had sent me). Since I'm naturally shy by nature, it took a moment or two to work up the courage to introduce myself.

"Excuse me, is your name Jeff or John or ..." I blurted with my hand outstretched. I have always had a bad memory for names.

"Jeff," he replied.

"Great, I'm Mike ... I sent you that CD-ROM, remember?"

He remembered and shook my hand. We chatted up a little bit about the space (he had been here too when The Damned played Chicago last year until like 2:30 in the morning) and talked about some of the punk bands he had seen in the past. We grabbed some beer, and I quickly gulped it down to ease some of the tensions. I then happened to mention that I thought I had seen Ken cross the street and that maybe he'd show up upstairs. And pretty soon he did, with a female companion by his side on the other side of the bar.

"There's Ken" I mentioned, glancing over to the other side of the bar.

"Oh, do you know him?"

"No, but that guy fits his description pretty well, with the Motorhead jacket and all. Do you think we should go over and say hello?"

Jeff agreed and we headed over there. Jeff introduced himself to Ken, and I introduced myself as "Mike". Jeff and Ken started talking about Chicago and life in the Plains States, and Ken introduced his companian as Jen. "Ken and Jen." She was very cool and nice, dressed in a black and white faux-fur (?) coat/dress thing. Ken and Jeff continued talking, and I listened along, drinking my second beer of the night.

Pretty soon, the first opening band, Tsunami Bomb came onstage and the ability to hold a conversation disappeared in the guitar and drum assault eminating from downstairs. Tsunami Bomb, for those who don't know them, are a four-piece hardcore (?) band fronted by a girl I later learned is called Agent M for reasons probably only known to her and Headquarters. She can sing when she's not yelling, but that was not her MO last night. It was yelling. A lot of it. And although the average age of the audience was between 19-24 (based on my estimate), the response to Tsunami Bomb for the most part resembled something akin to a funeral mass. People just stood there. It was over in a half hour.

Retreating from the balcony, Ken mentioned that he expected to see Gringo Starr and Highgate Vampyre here but was wondering where they were. Jeff quickly pointed out that I was Highgate Vampyre - Ken thought that I was just a friend of Jeff's who came for the concert. In my typical smartass way, I mentioned: "Well, whaddya expect? Fangs and a cape?" to which Ken responded, "Well, you certainly don't look anything like your photo online!"

The next band to come on was Tiger Army, which we originally thought was a kind of Rock-a-billy band based upon the fact that the bassist uses an upright bass. Well, we were wrong. Besides the fact that the bassist has a mohawk, this three-piece rocked pretty hard, although they did do a couple of "slower country and western" songs (in the lead singer's own words). The audience was much more receptive to Tiger Army, and a few people had brought a banner (but what it says I had no idea). They lasted for about 45 minutes, and there was a good bit of moshing at times. Memorable moment: the bassist climbed on his bass, balancing on it as it was tilted at a 45 degree angle while he was introduced to the crowd. Neat trick.

Well, during this time, we finally realized that the guy standing next to us was Gringo Starr with his girlfriend, so we introduced ourselves and chatted a little bit after Tiger Army left the stage. I had decided that I was going to watch the show from the first floor, as were Ken and Jen, and so after a few minutes, we headed down the stairs into the crowd.

The crowd on the first floor stage side was fairly dense before The Damned came on stage. Ken suggested that we wait until some moshing commenced so that we could use the disorder to make our way to the front. Sounded like a good idea.

In a few minutes or so, the lights dimmed and the smoke machine started spewing out its noxious mix. In the darkness, we could see Monty, Patricia, Captain and Pinch walked out onto the stage. Finally, Dave walked onstage and the opening notes of "Street of Dreams" came through loud and clear. The crowd went bloody crazy, and to my amazement, people all around me with leather and chains and funkily-colored hair were signing along with Vanian and the group, totally getting into it. I was really surprised - this wasn't a song from Machine Gun Etiquette or Damned Damned Damned. This was MCA pop stuff and the place was still going ballistic.

After their first song thundered to a close, Captain walked up to his microphone and asked "Do you know what time it is?" And then the opening Parliamentary clip from "Grave Disorder" rang through loud and clear. Once that song started, the crowd started getting a bit crazier and soon enough, Ken and Jen snaked their way to the front of the crowd while I was still in the middle. I'll get my chance, I thought, and the guy next to me offered me a toke of his joint. I demurred, having a nice buzz from the three beers I had very quickly drunk on an empty stomach. Dave had taken off the overcoat and now had his sparkly silver shirt on.

The next song was "Ignite" and the crowd really took off then, with idiots in black spiky hair roaming around the crowd, pushing people around, etc. I took that opportunity to get up to the front of the stage, near to where Ken and Jen were, and right between Captain and Dave. By that point, the activity level of jumping up and down to the music coupled with my lack of nutrition and the heat of my wool coat left me pretty exhausted and very sweaty but by that time, I was simply running on adrenaline.

Now, I'm sure the others who attended the show can provide a detailed set list, cause I can't. I remember they played some classics like "Video Nasty", "Under The Floor Again" (which Ken repeatedly yelled to the band to play, congrats) as well as an unexpectedly large number of songs from Grave Disorder, including: Democracy, Song.com, She, Absinthe, Amen, and Would You Be So Hot. Technically, the band played very well (save for a glitch in launching Amen and some off playing in Smash It Up Part I) and unlike the last time they played Chicago, Monty was more animated, contributing more with his keyboards and doing a little bit of verbal sparring with Captain and the others. And I must confess that it's kinda funny to hear Captain and Pinch talk, because their voices are a bit higher than I imagined them to be.

To be honest, though, the show they played last year in Chicago, since it had started so late (midnight), had a much more energized feeling (Captain had noted it was one of their best shows of the tour in his diary) and this time, given the early hour, it felt a little more by-the-book. I had hoped they'd play Plan 9 Channel 7 (my favorite song which they had played at other shows but I had never seen) but that was not to be. And I will never forget the surprise when I saw punks slamming to "Eloise" which was the second-to-last song of the concert. At the denoument of Smash It Up (the last song), Captain jumped into the crowd with his guitar and walked right through the crowd. Pretty cool.

As the show ended, I looked at my watch and saw it was 10:00 pm. On a weekend night, this would have just been the beginning but I had to be at work at 6:30 am the next day, so I quickly stole out of The Metro, past the band's tour bus, across the street, into my car and back across town to the quiet confines of my neighborhood. This morning, as I walked amongst the canyons of Chicago's financial district, my overcoat still smelt of smoke and beer. And as I write this down one day later, the ringing in my ears has yet to go away.

Highgate Vampyre

(Phew! - Ed)

And another...

To me, the coolest and most memorable part of The Damned @ The Metro happened long before the show even started. I was standing infront of the venue waiting to go in when all of the sudden, the door of the Damned's tour coach open to reveal one tipsy Captain Sensible puking something up on the sidewalk. It was classic.

I've known Captain on and off for about six years now. I first met him as he was leaving the House Of Blues in Chicago before a '95 show. Since then we've kept in touch from time to time. He's actually done me the very distinguished honour of making me an honourary member of The Damned. He's even dubbed me Major Mistake (a sort of spinoff of his well known stage moniker). For those of you at the show who were listening closely, you may have heard him to tell me to take a bow. I was and probably will always be situated right in front of him up against the stage.

After the show (which was phenomenal) Cap and I met up outside the Metro. After taking a pic with me and signing one of my Damned cds, Capt. could be seen walking around with a veggie platter in one hand and two carrots stuffed up his nose. It was hilarious. Typical Cap. We talked for a while and I had the time of my life. Eariler that day, I met up with Pinch and Monty who took pix with me and signed autographs. I'll never forget what Pinch scribbled on my Grave Disorder cd. It reads..."Fuck off Jeff...love Pinch". Classic. By the way Pinchy...you still owe me that drink ya bastard.

By far one of the greatest days of my life. My fave part was getting together with Captain again. I consider him a friend and I can't wait for The Damned to come back to Chi. town.

Jeff

Thanks to Highgate Vampyre for the photos above!