Fangbase - Reviews

The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, Ontario

Saturday 5th October 2002

My first thought when arriving at the Horseshoe Tavern that night was why play at such a small venue...? A bit of a step down in size from the last two shows in T.O. which were at the significantly larger Lee's Palace. My second thought was: what a great opportunity to see one of my favourite bands in an intimate setting...it should be sweet! And indeed it was.

After a few knockbacks during Tiger Army's opening set, my accomplice Stephanie and I managed to get a pair of chairs together at the lip of the dancefloor to stand on for a stellar vantage point in time for the Damned's arrival to the stage.

This was the best I've ever seen them. Everyone was in fine form and they played what was the closest thing to my dream set. Hearing "Ignite" was pure pleasure, not to mention "Wait For the Blackout","Plan 9, Channel 7" and "I Just Can't Be Happy Today"...the show went from one sweet treat to another for the whole night. And let's not forget the tracks from "Grave Disorder"...songs like "Amen", "She", "Democracy" and "Would You Be So Hot" have clearly settled into the set alongside older songs perfectly.

Captain was in especially fine form...no tutus or naked shenanigans this evening but his repartee was good n' sharp, referring to the Sex Pistols as the original "boyband"...hehe...not to mention his guitar playing, which was nothing short of stellar...and indeed, he gave the kids a treat with a wonderful rendition of "Happy Talk" whilst waiting for Pinch's return to the stage for the encore.

What else can I say...? The rest of the band was fantastic...Mr. Vanian was especially energetic this evening, dipping into the crowd for singalongs and dancing up a storm at times. Pinch and Patricia laid down a solid groove all night and Monty had some great solo work (I could hear him in the overall mix much better this time around).

Any complaints...? Well, once again the Damned passed over doing "Curtain Call" here in Toronto, much to my chagrin....hopefully one day they'll play it here and then I can proclaim myself contented. But then it's always nice to have something to look forward to, isn't it?

- Seanny Boy Ryan

Thanks to Seanny Boy Ryan for these photos!