Fangbase - Reviews

Fiendfest - Trocadero, Philadelphia, PA

Sunday 17th August 2003

What a great night. Could a girl really ask for any more?- The Damned and The Dickies on the same bill. With Patricia and The Dickies, we had LA punk's roots represented and with The Damned, the UK's. I dream of shows like these, and last night one of those dreams came true.

The Fiend Fest started early (with an audience line-up which snaked down the block) and due to the evils of Philly parking and trying to get a last-minute photo pass for the show, I missed DI's set. Balzac weren't really my thing, but had some fierce riffs and lots of enthusiasm. Agnostic Front were solid, but not what I was expecting from their live performance. It could have been the PA, but I could barely hear the vocals and I'd expected them to sound a little more raw.

The Dickies deserve their own paragraph and I'd like to recommend any Damned fans to check out any upcoming tour action of theirs if you haven't before. They put on such a fantastic show, playing lots of great songs (old and new) with large doses of killer guitar work and humor. I never thought I'd hear music from The Who's "Tommy" covered at a punk show, but The Dickies pulled it off and how! Stan Lee on guitar was a delight to listen to. It's always cool when one's expectations of a live performance are not only met but surpassed. The kid in front of me has followed the tour for several dates and said that they just got better and better with every show. Leonard is quite the showman, complete with props (blowup doll and pen*s puppet) and funny bits between songs. Pinch even got into the act, helping out with the delivery of an elaborate story by walking past the front of the stage with a giant sign that read, "But the twist is" like a game show presenter. He got loads of laughs for that and I thought it went to show what a great time all the bands seemed to have on tour together.

The Damned took the stage next, after their crack road crew got the stage switched over in less than 15 minutes. Patricia appeared first, a lovely vision in black, and the boys soon followed. The crowd went wild. After a uspenseful minute or two, as the intro was just trailing away, Mr. Vanian materialized and brought the crowd to full roar with the sound of his voice.

The set was, of course, too short. If only The Damned had headlined! They picked out a little something for everyone, though, mixing it up over several albums. (No luck on everyone's fave commercial jingle-which got several shout-outs from some enthusiastic lads at the back, but my cries for 'Eloise' didn't go unrewarded. Yay.) Everybody seemed in good spirits and playing well, with the Captain up to his usual antics dressed in an African cap and a dress/nightshirt, Monty dancing like a maniac behind the keyboards, Pinch beating the crowd into a frenzy, Patricia laying down wicked grooves (and looking cool as a cucumber with a neato fan effect!) and David suavely belting out the songs we love. 'Democracy' seemed to me to be particularly good- really passionate and creating lots of energy in the crowd.

Considering the fact that my combat boots were older than half the kids in the crowd (many of whom appeared to be there to be disappointed by the lone Misfit and his band of random players), I thought The Damned got a really good reception. There was moshing galore and a healthy press against the front barrier. I heard lots of "how f*ing great" buzz after the set, which sounded to me like some new Damned fans were born last night.

I managed to snag a setlist, though it seems to me the order was different in reality and some things were missing- like 'Eloise' and the nifty Doors cover they worked into the mix. Here's what I could make out under the gaffer tape:

Ignite
Just Can't Be Happy Today
See Her Tonite
Song.com
Street of Dreams
Amen
13th Floor
Democracy
History of the World
Neat Neat Neat
Smash It Up

Stan Lee came out for the last song to play guitar, and the Captain acted all hurt and and yelled something about the Damned already having a guitarist, which was really quite funny. He also messed around with Stan as he played, putting an empty Sierra 6-pack carton on Stan's head and basically tackling him to the ground by the end of the song. The Captain always puts a smile on my face: it's not just his amazing guitar skills, or even his cute legs; it's his obvious love of the music, the moment and life in general. That's really true of the whole band and I guess that's why I've made every effort to see them as many times as I have and why so many of you do, too. If all of us could find something we love to do so much and stick with it as long as they have, the world would be a better place.

The music was great, the vibe was great and these stars of the punk pantheon rocked us in every way that a live performance should. Long live the Damned!

Respectfully submitted,
Elizabeth