A place to unload my thoughts and event reviews, so if you want to read them, then go ahead. If you like what have read please leave a comment or two.
Saturday, 8 December 2012
The Damned - Manchester Ritz - December 8th 2012
The Damned
Tis the season too be jelly, or so Mr Zappa said, but tonight there will be a cause for sanity, for The Damned are playing, time to dust off the old pogo and get gone. Unfortunately due to my recent illness I am still prone to a little dizzyness and not sure about driving, but Mr Kieran being such a nice chap, was willing ready and able to provide the necessary transport, plus I had his ticket.
Captain Sensible
Supporting The Damned on this tour are The Dickies, so Punkdom was alive and well for the evening, rhythmically moving up and down whilst throwing itself about. My familiarity with The Dickies ends with Banana Splits, Paranoid and Nights In White Satin, one of which I heard, not sure about the others as we missed the beginning of their set, but all was not at a loss. After they had set the sprung dance floor a bouncing, entertaining many ageing punks a quick encore followed and they were off, and so were the punks, to the bar that is. That gave me and Kieran the opportunity to get a good spot to witness The Damned, plus Kieran had his recorder with him and would be recording the gig for posterity.
Stu West
The Damned never disappoint, from start to finish they are having fun on stage as we are having fun off stage. Tonight there is no album to promote, no special anniversary to commemorate, just a fine selection of top tunes from a magnificent back catalogue. There would be no singalong to Eloise, but and I must emphasise the but, we would be treated to some absolute classics, some of which I am sure have never been played live before, but I may be wrong, but I don't care, I was there when they played White Rabbit.
Dave Vanian
The last few years they have grown as a band, considering only Sensible and Vanian remain from the original line up, they connect well on stage, being well rehearsed, tight and having fun being on stage with each other. The usual banter between band and fan keeps up the hilarity, they are a fun band, but take their music seriously. Sensible pulls off many Hendrix-esqe solos when required, Pinch and Stu are a solid rhythm section while Monty is just a crazed loon on keyboards, that just leaves Vanian to be himself, simple as that.
Monty On Keyboards
The tempo rises and falls throughout the set, teasing us with a classic singalong while swiftly moving into a punky throw about. Directly infront of the stage are the die hards, New Rose and Neat Neat Neat gets them thrown about, only to be stood back up and croon along to Grimly Fiendish. Rabid gets a good shout a long while Christmas is celebrated with Sanity Clause. All the usual suspects are here, Smash It Up concludes the evening with Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde making an appearance along the way.
Another great night out with The Damned, they never disappoint, lets just hope that next year brings a 30th anniversary tour with Strawberries, that would be interesting.
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