Fangbase - Reviews

The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent

Saturday 14th December 2002

After feeling unwell for most of Saturday (too much to drink on Friday Night) there is nothing quite like a Damned gig for clearing the head.

The Sugarmill is quite a small venue and not the most inviting place but I quite like it. The pit is almost square with a balcony above where I positioned myself. I don’t know if the gig had sold out but I can tell you both the floor & balcony were packed. The Sound despite the fairly high ceiling was good, Dave Vanian commented after that they had a few problems on stage but I can tell you we didn’t notice.

The support came from Retalik a girl singer and a backing track. Looking at her website she claims that playing without a band releases her from the constraints of a band situation unfortunately I must disagree her performance was cold and uninspiring despite the fact that she had a strong voice. She came across in the same way that Siouxsie would on pop idol. I would imagine her recorded work would come across much better and I will listen to one of her MP3’s available at her website Retalik.com It would have been nice to have seen a local support band as Stoke has a reputation for producing cutting edge Punk bands who can forget Discharge or the Platinum Needles for example.

After Retalik we were treated to a number of pop classics obviously played on a bontempi organ over the sound system before a familiar piece of classical music started playing (the title escapes me) and the house lights dimmed.

Following Pat, Monty, Pinch & Dave on stage the Captain announced the arrival of the Damned through a megaphone before striking the opening chords to "Street of Dreams" the next 3 songs followed very quickly all being played at pace and from my vantage point on the balcony I could see the fans in the pit going crazy. Good to hear "Nasty" again after all these years. During the course of the show Captain gave us his views on various topics such as the fire strike and why it would be stupid to attack Iraq. He also gave his opinion of Tony Blair which was less than complimentary! "I Just Can’t be Happy Today" was dedicated to Liam Gallagher who as Captain put it can’t be happy Any fucking day.

The band were obviously enjoying themselves with Pat taking centre stage more than once and I don’t think she stopped smiling all night. Monty was dancing (?) like a demented madman all night but this did not detract from the fact that in my opinion he is the best ever keyboard player the Damned have had. Pinch excels on the drum stool and during "13th Floor Vendetta" in particular the sticksmanship was quite breathtaking alternating from laid back and atmospheric to manic and demented. There is however no doubt who the stars are and both Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible produced perfect performances. "Under The Floor Again" received particular approval from the enthusiastic crowd and Captains solo towards the end sent a shiver down the spine. "Neat Neat Neat" was the cue for some of the craziest moshing I have ever witnessed and I was relieved to be upstairs watching it.

For the encore we were treated to "Love Song", New Rose sorry "Would You Be So Hot", the brilliant "Eloise" and of course "Smash It Up" before as Captain put it the band had to make way for a bloody disco. It’s difficult to believe that just under 5 years ago the Damned couldn’t even fill a pub in Stoke but on Saturday they proved without doubt that they are a live force to be reckoned with and a band with a big future.

I managed to chat with Captain, Monty, Dave & Pat outside despite making a prat of myself by getting Dave & Pat to pose with me and Monty to take a picture when the film had run out on my camera! Oh well! They are genuine people and it was nice of them to take the time out on a cold December night to talk to us.

I had a great night it was good to see a lot of the familiar faces off the Message Board this was my only gig on this tour so I wanted to make the most of it and the Damned did not disappoint.

Kevin Ruscoe