Fangbase - Reviews

Magic Stick, Detroit

Thursday 3rd October 2002

Helluva show! No stupid barriers provided for a more intimate show. Not that there was lots of love going on (a few fights but typical for a Detroit show).

Crowd was lame for the first 3-5 songs then all of a sudden starting going ape shit wild during Street of Dreams! It was like someone turned on a switch and it was crazy the rest of the nite. The pit was lively and beer, ice, water, t-shirts, bras etc.. were being tossed about.

Also the sound mix was good. Sound - Capt. guitar had a good heavy sound. They seemed really tight. Patricia was really into it. Monty welll...what can I say....Overall an excellent show.

The crowd was into it from then on - it was a good mix of old school and younger Damned fans. Capt. asked how many saw them at the Warped tour and half the crowd raised their hands. Good decision to go on that tour I think. The crowd seemed a lot livelier and bigger than last time.

So it looks as though things are starting off good for this tour. Can't wait to see them in Toronto on Saturday.

Blackout
Democracy
Song.com
Would You Be So Hot
Disco Man
Ignite
New Rose
Neat Neat Neat
Street of Dreams
She
Absinthe
Eloise

Encore - Curtain Call , Smash it up.

Dresden Wulf

Another...

Before babbling on about this gig, let's back-up to August 18th in Detroit. It was a very hot summer day, and The Warped Tour was in town. I'm from Alpena, 250 miles north, and drove down in a van with my wife and a bunch of friends. I had heard The Damned were going to be at Warped Tour, so I spent about $300 US dollars buying people tickets to see this fucking brilliant band - otherwise they wouldn't have a clue!

We arrived in Detroit, rummaged through the crowd like cattle (yes, we were mooing), grabbed as many beers as we could carry...then suddenly I heard Vanian's voice, and I screamed out: "The Damned! The fucking Damned! Right now! On stage! RUN!"

We all hurried to the stage and there they were, in scorching hot weather, performing better than ever and making all the other bands look schoolkids paling in comparison. Anyone reading this should already know what it's like to see The Damned live, so I'll leave it at that. Afterward, we searched out The Damned's tent to buy some shirts, and we met Jed for the first time...she told us that The Damned would be there at the booth shortly. So, we went and got more beer, and returned to find Captain, David, Patricia and Monty haging out with the crowd - how cool is that?

For me, in my smalltown Alpena, MIchigan world, I had just died and gone to fucking heaven! They were all very cool about autographs and chit-chatting, and I bugged the shit outta Captain with my babbling and taking pictures - thanx Captain, for putting up with me! Prior to all of this, I was telling my wife on the way to Warped Tour, that the best way to see The Damned is in a club. Well, the gods were smiling over me on August 18th, because I discovered that The Damned were returning to Detroit on October 3rd for a small club show, and Oct 3rd is my birthday! HOLY SHIT pretty much summed it all up!

So we returned to Detroit on 10/3 and witnessed another great show from The Damned at Detroit's Magik Stick. A picture of my wife and I at this show can be seen in the Rogues Gallery pictures. The opening bands were killer: Detroit's very own The Jollies, followed by an amazing set by Tiger Army (kick ass!), and then The Damned came out to play - by then I'd had quite a few beers and some shots of tequilla. Once The Damned started, we moved from our table down to the front (in front of Captain). My wife and I were wearing feather boas (mine was black, my wife's white)...I took off our boas and threw them onstage just for giggles (we got the idea to do this because of the feather imagery in the Grave Disorder package), and they landed in front of Captain & David.

Captain picked up the white feather boa and wore it for several songs, which made for some great pictures that I'm very proud of! I was taking pictures, getting beer splashed all over me, and was genuinely in awe of what I was witnessing - rock's coolest band in the world right in fucking front of me! I encountered no fights in my area, no bad attitudes, just lotsa smiling faces just as mezmerized as I was, and lotsa mohawks and pointy-colored hair, and even a few transvestites.

Afterward, I talked with Captain, Monty, & Pinch - all very cool. Got more autographs (on my Grave Disorder cd). Monty remembered us from Warped Tour (Dr. Seuss t-shirt - red fish, blue fish). Monty is my wife's favorite now. We talked to Jed again...whatta cool bird! You rule Jed! And after all was done, my wife and I returned to our hotel, and we were bummed it was all over.

The Damned are so kick-ass onstage, I never want it to end. Vanian is like Jim Morrison on stage, but much better - he's alive and functioning very well. Captain is one of the most underrated guitarists I've ever seen - a wildman! And the new songs are fantastic - even Richards and Jagger can't write a good song anymore, but The Damned have certainly proven that they're aging very, very well. The best band for a good buzz & a great time, I always tell my friends here in Michigan! I will eagerly await their return to Detroit.

Cheers - David Rude

Thanks to David Rude for the photos!