Fangbase - Reviews

King Georges Hall - Blackburn

28th November 2001

It's Captain!

I last saw the Damned at the Weatsheaf in Stoke in 98 and I have to say that I was just a little disappointed It had been a greatest hits set and I felt like I was watching a once great band going through the motions and slowly dieing. I know now that what I was actually watching was the start of the resurrection. Grave Disorder was confirmation of this and after a wet Wednesday in Blackburn I defy anybody to name a better live band currently doing the rounds.

The Damned live now are at the very top of their game the months of gigs mean they are performing like a finely tuned engine and sounding better than they ever have. If the next album is a live album I for one won’t be disappointed although I would much prefer a DVD or a video featuring the full set as well as some other insight into the Damned on the road.

After meeting up with Curtain Call, Kelly, Claudia & Love Policeman in O’Neill’s I got into the hall as the support band Slutch were half way through their set I suppose if you like that sort of thing they were very good, my mate & his wife who I had dragged along (and left total Damned fans) reckoned Slutch were excellent unfortunately for me their sound didn’t sound unique enough to get too excited but hey what do I know! After having a chat with Jed and treating myself to a T shirt I made my way to the front and managed to position myself by the barrier right in front of where Captain would be standing.
Captain and Dave



 

 

 

 

 

Just after 9pm first Patricia walked on stage then Pinch and Monty and then to choruses of "Sensibles a wan*er" the Captain made his entrance just as an announcement was made that “Grave Disorder had broken out” and they burst no exploded into Democracy with Vanian making a swirling grand entrance dressed immaculately and looking as cool as ever. He’s in his forty’s, but I swear he is better on stage now than at anytime during the Damned’s career he never stopped grooving all night. The main set featured New Rose, Song.com, So Hot, Blackout, Amen, 13th Floor, Plan 9, Absinthe, Eloise, Neverland, the absolutely awesome (by far my favourite track on GD) Thrill Kill & NNN. Interspersed with comments from Dave, Captain & Pinch about such subjects as the Football score, Britney Spears, S Club 7, Pantomime, MJ & JL, the ugly audience (we were not pretty) and Back Passages.

 

Captain, Pinch and Dave

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pink Tutu made an appearance after the main set as Captain & Monty re-enacted a movement from Swan Lake and then Captain did his Happy Talk bit before the rest of the band came back on. Disco Man started the encore and although they cocked up the start with Captain reaching the chorus before Dave had managed to sing the first verse they soon turned it around and I only think the majority noticed because Monty pointed it out at the end. She, Love Song and of course Smash It Up followed with Dave passing the mic to various people in the crowd. And with the roar of Feedback from Captains guitar they were gone.

 

I didn’t manage to count how many people were there but my guess is that the majority came having not heard GD and, if those around me are anything to go by, left determined to buy it. The Damned worked their balls (& tits) off I also believe from Curtain Call that DV had a bad throat but it didn’t show. I have seen the Damned around 30 times from 1980 on and I honestly believe that right now they are hotter than they have ever been there is something about the chemistry of this line up which is so right. I came out of the King Georges Hall on an absolute high the best gig I have been to for years it is like the 80’s all over again Liverpool FC top of the league and the Damned at the top of their game – Brilliant absolutely fu*king brilliant.

Kevin Ruscoe

Swan Lake!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Captain and Dave

 

The place was rocking from start to end and the thing I noticed most was how together the band were you could tell by the way they were interacting with each other just how well as a unit they all get on. Pinch is a fine drummer and Patricia is a far better and more powerful Bass Guitarist than some would give her credit. Monty is an absolute fruitcake and a brilliant Keyboard player. I don’t need to tell you how good the other two are and how well they compliment each other. It is a shame that the Damned are so underrated and not on a major label because the whole world deserves to see & hear them at the moment.

 

A big thinks to Kevin Ruscoe for these photos!