Blimey!
This one was a real blinder - without exaggeration this was the best
Damned gig (by some distance) that I've seen yet.
I've never missed the start of a Damned set but due to operational
difficulties in the hotel bedroom area (i.e. me lolling on the bed
watching a David Attenborough documentary about sea creatures and
scoffing a bag of wine gums - ooh this rock and roll lifestyle) I
very nearly misjudged my arrival and only got to the Liquid Room with
about 10 minutes to spare. This is one of my favourite venues to see
The Damned - just the right size, dimly lit, good sound and a really
appreciative crowd. Good turn out too, even though Hearts were playing
in Europe that night. Great atmosphere but very, very hot.
So impressed was I that (this a first!) I scribbled this out in the
hotel afterwards like some star struck teenager while it was still
fresh in my mind. That's either very sad or shows great devotion to
duty depending which way you look at it. Mind you in my defence I
didn't type it out until Saturday night.
As I said it was very dimly lit prompting Captain to enquire "have
we got a drummer?" before things started. We had got one
but it did look a bit dark behind the kit. Things kicked off in the
now customary style with Love Song (MGE intro variety),
then without a break into Machine Gun Etiquette/Second Time Around
and then straight into I Just Can't Be Happy Today - excellent
keyboard work from Monty. Things then careered thorugh Anti Pope
(Captain: "Why don't these fucking vicars ever learn - there
isn't a God"). Thought Anti Pope had a longer middle
bit than usual - in fact all the songs seemed to be played slightly
faster than the normal tempo.
After this blistering start, things really burst into life with in
no particular order New Rose, a glorious Magic Potion
which gets better and better with each playing, Absinthe (possibly
the only one that bamboozled the crowd), an incredible Ignite
with extended middle bit - Dave slowing things down and getting Captain
to lie on the stage and with the drums and bass taking over. There
were some guitar behind the head tricks from Captain too. There was
the best version of Eloise you're likely to hear - really rocked
up and with a great roar from the crowd at the end. Things moved on
with a storming Melody Lee. Captain taunted the crowd by asking
if they'd like These Hands instead. Talking of These Hands
it looks like it's no longer in the set. Captain moved on to his theory
why David Beckham isn't dropped from the England side, much to the
crowd's amusement. "Hurry up" said Dave, "He'll
do Happy Talk in a minute". "Just play fucking Melody
Lee, Monty" said Pinch in the middle of all this - "he's
lost the plot". Dave sauntered on during Monty's intro muttering
"This band's like a bar of chocolate - it's chock full of
nuts". Melody Lee ended with Dave hollering "I
saw yer" in true MGE style. Would You Be So Hot
(a "Imagine there's no Oasis" thrown in from DV here)
featured some outstanding guitar work. History of the World
was there too - a great live song - and so was I Fall.
As if this glorious racket wasn't enough then came a breathtaking
Neat Neat Neat/Break On Thru which was so good as to defy description
- Dave giving the vocals everything he'd got and the crowd loving
every minute of it.
Pinch was wearing some physledelic glasses - they looked a bit like
joke shop ones to me - but he said that they made it look like he
was "playing in front of a million people. Bit like Live Aid".
This gave Captain - who seemed in especially good form tonight- an
idea. "We could have Damned Aid - I need the money. Belhaven
80 shilling doesn't come cheap". This led to a reminisence
about how the Happy Talk fortune had been blown - mostly on
women and drink apparently.
There had been much on stage mocking of the need for a sharpish finish
so as to accomodate the disco (this explains the early start), so
there was a much shorter gap than usual before the encores. Poor old
Captain didn't even have time to change into his Susy Lollipop rig
out. However, there was some compensation in the shape of DV and Captain
doing a short but very effective snatch of Wot. "He did it
first ladies and gentlemen", said Dave alluding to Capt's
rapping (DV made a worryingly convincing rapper too). "Can
I have my £50,000 now" enquired Captain. "This
is money for old rope" quipped DV.
Then came Jet Boy Jet Girl, introduced by Dave as "a
song about the love that daren't speak its name - Ca Plane Pour Moi".
Dave and Steve W doing the backing vocals in fine style. As the song
finished Captain enquired "did you lot notice my wah wah pedal
was on all through the song? Sorry about that". No one seemed
to mind.
Then Noise Noise Noise with Dave telling Captain "Let
your talents shine". He did too. I think it was here that
Dave stopped things for a moment, his attention caught by events on
the balcony "A moment in history - Jed's just sold a T shirt.
See, it isn't true what they say about you Scotsmen. He's Scottish
you know" gesturing at Captain "His real name's Raymond
Burns" "Yes, I'm Scottish" said Captain,
"but unfortunately I was born in Balham". Talking
of Jed she was enjoying herself as much as anyone singing, dancing
and clapping with the rest of us.
You don't me to tell you that Smash It Up - "the George Formby
version" according to Dave who indeed gave a quick Formby
impression - was the final song (although you might need me to tell
you that Curtain Call was AWOL - that blasted disco had a lot
to answer for). This one was a real piece d'resistance - you'd have
needed a heart of stone to stand still. It featured Dave effortlessly
holding the Smash It Up shout at the start for a very, very
long time, Scott the roadie trying his hand at backing vocals, a quick
bit of skipping involving Dave's mic lead, Scott and Captain and as
if this wasn't enough excitement, Captain slinging his guitar round
Dave's neck at the end. Dave's playing was mostly of the standing
in front of the speakers and feeding back variety but he seemed to
enjoy it.
With that they were gone - 10.15 on the dot. Absolutely superb evening
- I can't remember any gig I've enjoyed more. The band were in cracking
form thoughout and they fed off the enthusiasm of the crowd a treat.
Froggy