Fangbase - Reviews

Fiendfest - The Ventura Theatre, Ventura, CA

Saturday 26th July 2003

The show started at 6:00 P.M., so we gave the early bands a miss while we made the hour plus drive up from Los Angeles, getting to the beautiful old Ventura Theatre just in time to catch an energetic but entirely too short set from The Dickies who went on at about 8:15. They had already been offstage for 15 minutes when The Damned took the stage at 9:00.

The set list was similar to the San Diego show listed above, but I know there were some differences. The only downside to The Damned's performance was its very short length of about an hour. The band seemed to be having fun, and the performance was top notch as usual. Captain had a bit of guitar trouble at one point but got it sorted out fairly quickly. Every time I watch The Damned play, I am amazed by their talent, and tonight was no exception.

Unfortunately, I didn't keep a set list, (help here anybody?), but there were some memorable moments... "Ignite" started things off and got the crowd going in the pit. "Democracy" is among The Damned's best songs, and hearing it performed live seems to be especially meaningful these days... It was really, really great hearing "History of the World", and The Doors' "Break on Through" as the centerpiece in "Neat Neat Neat" was well done and a nice surprise.

After a fine version of "Smash It Up", the Captain handed off his guitar to a little blonde kid he had hauled on stage from the front of the audience. As the kid sort-of "played", somebody put the Captain's beret on his head and Dave ran out of the wings with Captain's sunglasses to complete the "mini-Captain's" wardrobe, much to the delight of crowd and band alike. I hope somebody got a picture!

We saw about two and a half songs by the band billing itself as "The Misfits" and called it a night.

I'd love to see The Damned play a tour paired with another great band like The Dickies where they could both play full sets. To me at least, the "Fiendfest" only served to highlight the difference between the bands like The Damned and The Dickies who are still vital, creative performers, and other bands who've somehow "lost it" along the way...

 

Chris Moore

Thanks to Cyndee Arroyo for permission to her photos!