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Glen Helen Parkway, Devore, CA
Saturday 14th September2002
Levi's Inland Invasion Gig
Letter from disgruntled US fan, Jymie:
Someone please tell Dave and Patricia that they were great at the inland invasion and they wondered why we all just sat there....we were told if we stood up to jump or dance we would be escorted out by one of the 3000 guards that were standing around....it wasn't them....we weren't allowed to be punk rock at the show...and there were several arrests for being punk rock. they looked confused on why the pit didn't move and why everyone just sat there....it was because we wanted to see them and everyone else and if we moved...we were ejected from the seats and forced to play out the rest of the concert in the concession area!!!!!!!
Jymie
Captain's Reply:
I had NO IDEA that was the deal out there.
The 'seating arrangements' were STUPID - most of OUR audience were miles away behind a perimeter fence - presumably in the 'cut price' section. Although at these prices I don't think that terminology is entirely appropriate.
Regardless of all that though we DID have a good time hobnobbing with the other bands (mainly the Pistols and Buzzcocks), the performance was fun and all that and it was generally a pretty good day out in the desert.
Well, it made a change from Sussex anyway,
Cheers - Cap
We started out by meeting up with HandsomeDickTeratoma and the lovely Emily, two really great people. It was a pleasure, guys.
As for the gig itself, it was HOT, and we were surrounded by idiots. At least that's how it felt most of the day, numerous scuffles breaking out all over the place due to a noticeable presence of white supremacist/skinhead morons who later went on to set fires on the back field which then persuaded the security staff to use pepper spray indescriminately. Having said all that, I had a great time. I won't go into detail about each and every band, some were surprisingly good (Pennywise's punk medley and Offspring), some were bloody awful (Blink 182, New Found Glory). But in general most were pretty good.
The Damned came on around 3:30, way too early in my opinion. Nevertheless, they seemed to get a good reaction. The 45 minute set was as follows:
Ignite
Democracy
New Rose
Amen
Disco Man
She
Neat Neat Neat
Love Song
Smash It Up 1 & 2
It has to be said, the band rocked. Dave looking very stylish in black suit with white shirt, Captain appeared to be wearing some sort of cow print on his shirt, Monty however, had the best line of the night when he said "everyone's saving their energy for the Pistols, ever get the feeling you've been cheated?"
Altogether great sound coming out of the PA, especially for a festival type venue.
A few words should be given to the headliners. To be honest I wasn't expecting much. I've seen the Pistols before, and wasn't impressed. But they were good. Sure, they f*cked up a few times, but John seemed to be in rare form, and actually enjoying himself. And again, the PA really did them justice.
DaveB7
Another...
I and an additional 52,000 punk fans turned out to see the Damned and numerous other bands play at Glen Helen Regional Park in Devore, about 50 miles East of Los Angeles this past Saturday. This was an all-day, 13 hour affair. The biggest punk show ever.
First let me say that although it may work for Pink Floyd, punk music was never meant to be played in such huge venues. For the fans up close to the stage, it was probably show-business as usual. There was a pit right in front where a lucky few got to see the bands at a respectable distance and could stand up and jump around to their hearts content. Behind that was a big area of reserved seating, and behind that a huge area of general admission on a grass hillside. The front edge of the grass area was probably 100 yards from the stage. Added to that was an energy-sapping 100º heat, minimal amounts of shade, the additional body heat of 52,000 people, and beer to cool you off for *only* $8.00 a cup... (It was mostly crappy beer too... MGD blech!!!) Conditions were not favorable for optimal enjoyment... I'm sure opinions about this show will vary depending on peoples' proximity to the stage and speakers, and the degree of heat exhaustion they experienced.
That having been said it was quite an event. Kind of like punk rock's 25th birthday party. Although there were some glaring omissions, the lineup was stellar. The performances were mostly good and well received. Some of the music prompted the development of big "mosh" pits in the grass areas in the back. After the sun went down bonfires appeared in the crowd, and we could see people dancing around them like participants in some massive tribal ritual...
The
Damned came out about 3:30 P.M., well before sundown, and played the hell
out of their rather abbreviated set. We were in the back rows of the seat
area, so seeing the stage clearly was a bit difficult, but everything sounded
great. The Captain was resplendent in a natty looking black and white suitcoat,
Dave wore his usual dark finery, and Patricia took the stage wearing a paper
bag on her head as a nod to her original L. A. punk rock band
The Bags. The Captain's playing was superb and Dave still has the best
voice in punk. Pinch, Patricia and Monty all seemed to be enjoying themselves,
particularly Monty who leaped up and down with special enthusiasm throughout
the set. My heat-addled brain can remember that they played "Ignite",
"Democracy", a brilliant "Neat Neat Neat",
"New Rose", "Disco Man", and a great "Smash
It Up" with all the parts. I can't remember the rest. Perhaps someone
else can help fill in the blanks... I hope all the young punks finally realize
that The Offspring didn't write "Smash It Up"!!! The
Captain showed off a bit, playing blistering guitar riffs behind his head
during "Neat Neat Neat", and uncharacteristically remaining
completely clothed throughout the set. This is probably one of the few Damned
shows where the fans wore less than he did... After the Damned finished he
came out to check out the Buzzcocks' set and cheerily chat with the
fans.
As to the rest of the show, the separate small stage featured amazing sets by SoCal legends the Adolescents and the Circle Jerks. Also great were GBH and TSOL. On the main stage there were good performances by X, the Offspring, Social Distortion and Bad Religion, but the best non-Damned main stage moments were a kick-ass set by the Buzzcocks, and Pennywise who added a Ramones song, a Germs song, a Dead Kennedys song and a Minor Threat song to their rousing set in honor of the day. "Punk?!!!" weenies Blink 182 were simply awful. The "headlining" Sex Pistols played their snotty best, even though by then much of the crowd was too tired and heat-blasted to appreciate it...
All in all, it was quite a show. It was several shows... I'm glad I went, but I'm looking forward to the next Damned show held in a venue with more Damned, less sun and better beer...
Cheers! Chris M.
And another...
I was very disappointed with the way The Damned were treated at the Blockbuster Pavillion.
First, The Damned should not be seen in daylight. It was like having a haunted house in an open field.
Secondly, they have seniority (as well as just plain being tons better than most of the other bands) and should have gone on just before the Pistols.
Most importantly, the sound sucked(you couldn't hear Monty's keyboards at all) because they were second on and hadn't gotten the levels set yet. Captain's guitar volume went up and down the entire set.
I traveled 2,500 miles to see this show and am just glad that I've seen The Damned before and hopefully will have many more chances to see them again.
I loved the sets from The Buzzcocks and X. I finally had my chance to see the Pistols and am glad I did although 25 years worth of expectations weren't quite fulfilled.
This
event should answer the age-old question of whether Dave is a vampire or not.
The sun was definitely out-I'm still peeling.
---Skip Oyler
And another...
I'm glad to have read why the people down front were sitting down [See top - Ed]. I thought they were just impossibly lame. It put me in a horrible, depressive mood to see so many people sitting down during Smash It Up. I wanted to explode and dance and shout and scream along, but I wasn't for certain that I wasn't dreaming when I looked and saw rows and rows of putative punk rockers sitting on their butts during the greatest Punk rock anthem of all time.
I flew in to see The Damned, Buzzcocks, and the Pistols, and I got in late. Apparently I missed the first two songs, because Neat Neat Neat was the first song I heard playing as I was rushing through the gates and the crowd to get to the stage. I ended up mistakenly going to the gated-in area, and I didn't have a ticket for that part. The security dorks said I couldn't stand where I was at, so I was faced with fighting the crowd again to get the lawn area or walking up and down the little area I was in and taking in The Damned secretly--because my ticket didn't allow me to enjoy myself where I was at.
The band started playing Smash It Up, and I saw the rows of Punk mannequins observing The Damned as if through a microscope and my head began spinning. It may have been the heat, but the whole thing made me want to vomit.
I ended up fighting the crowd again, hoping to make the best of what was remaining of the set, and by the time I got to a spot where people seemed to be alive--X was playing.
I was miserable at that point, and gave $5 for a lemonade despite the fact that it goes against my beliefs to support someone greedy enough to fleece another human being who's unhealthily thirsty. Now, I'm actually relieved to hear that people wanted to dance and have fun, though, and that the Damned didn't have any part in that stupid rule. At the time I thought that the world's last few drops of sanity had evaporated in the California sun.
Buzzcocks played a blazing set later on, and I was in a the lawn area where people could actually show some enthusiasm. Later on I got a VIP pass, and I had a great view for the Pistols--and, mysteriously enough, no one stopped me from dancing when I was down there. I saw Captain, Dave, and Patricia back stage. I didn't say anything because at the time I thought they had played a short set on purpose and I was a bit let down, since The Damned are absolute favorites of mine.
It must have been the heat, because I wasn't thinking clearly. If I was, I would have known that The Damned do their best for their fans, always, and that they did the best that they could do.
In closing, I have to mention how the running order of the bands was all backwards. There is no way, no way, that the Damned should have been that far down on the bill. It should have been the Pistols, and then a toss of the coin between the Damned and Buzzcocks, and then everyone else, with Blink 182, Pennywise, and Offspring finding a nice spot six feet underground somewhere. Also, on a side note, how in the world was there a Punk rock show of this nature in *Californina* without The Dickies? They deserved to be there.
Plane tickets are ridiculously cheap right now, so I'll be coming up to the Chicago show next month, where I won't be sitting down during the Damned. I'll be smashing it up with--I hope--the rest of the crowd. I can't wait!
Tim