Photo Gallery: The Damned at Concord Hall • Chicago + Bonus Live Review from The Gothic Theatre • Denver
The Damned
Concord Music Hall
Chicago, IL
June 2, 2024
Recap and photos by Curt Baran
Although they’ve maintained a core of usual suspects, The Damned have certainly endured a revolving door of both personnel changes and musical directions.
This is not entirely surprising, considering the UK band is now entering its FIFTH decade as an ongoing concern. Formed in the late 1970s, the group found itself at the forefront of the nascent punk movement, which saw them as peers to The Clash and Sex Pistols, amongst others.
The current touring version of the outfit is arguably the most coveted. Singer Dave Vanian (he of the vampire paleness and Dracula vibes) and guitarist Captain Sensible have always been the most visible faces associated with the music. But for this current North American trek, they’ve reenlisted drummer Rat Scabies, bassist Paul Gray, and keyboardist Monty Oxymoron. It’s this tour that brought them to Concord Hall in Logan Square for a night of career overview.
The aging crowd that gathered was treated to an obese, twenty-something set list that tracked the band’s progression from punk rock urchins to the genesis of Goth rock and beyond and delivered performances that were so crisp and fully formed that it made those in attendance feel as if they were transported back to their youth. Except, of course, for Vanian. The Undead never fret about aging.
The Damned
The Gothic Theater
Denver, CO
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Review by Jeff Elbel
Influential English punk rockers the Damned brought their classic ‘80s lineup to the Concord Music Hall in Chicago on Sunday, June 2, for one of only ten shows in North America. Alas, your IE correspondent missed the action due to an out-of-town work assignment. By sheer luck, I crossed paths with the band two days later in Denver, Colorado. The Damned and its local disciples brought goth-punk flair to the vicinity’s most appropriate venue—The Gothic Theater in Englewood, Colorado.
Diehard fans packed the room to see singer Dave Vanian, guitarist Captain Sensible, and bassist Paul Gray rejoined after more than 25 years by drummer Rat Scabies. The tour represented the first shows in decades by the quartet that made 1980’s The Black Album and 1982’s Strawberries. The set list included delights from both albums while leaning most heavily on the 1979 classic Machine Gun Etiquette. The four veterans were colorfully augmented by longtime keyboardist Monty Oxymoron.
Ace musician and comic presence Captain Sensible appeared with his familiar Gibson SG guitar and wearing his usual sunglasses and red beret. His striped shirt was festooned with safety-pinned blocks bearing the name of the band’s signature song, “Neat Neat Neat.” Vanian arrived in vampire chic, wearing shades, a dark suit, and black gloves.
Following the fitting set-opener, “Ignite,” Gray dug into punk anthem “Waiting for the Blackout” on his blood-red Rickenbacker bass. Oxymoron’s urgent piano chords introduced “The History of the World (Part 1).” Sensible and Oxymoron added harmony vocals to Vanian’s theatrical baritone delivery. Next, Oxymoron’s piano made a stately introduction for manic punk rocker “Melody Lee.” The song stoked the brewing mosh pit to a fever pitch, and the audience’s energy rarely flagged afterward.
Gray’s “Generals” made an anti-war statement that concluded with Scabies’ martial beat. Sensible added a few words on the topic. “They’re trying to initiate a new draft in England,” he said as boos rippled through the room. “Let the Prime Minister go first. We’ll follow. Wankers! I believe you’ve got some of them over here as well.”
Highlights included “Plan 9 Channel 7.” The song fused psychedelic pop, goth, and surf-rock while featuring a sinewy solo from Sensible. Vanian introduced “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” with testimony about human capability for the extremes of good and evil. Before launching into the character-driven portrait, he asked, “What if those two people were one person?” “Two for the price of one!” he said later as the band careened toward the song’s conclusion.
Vanian and Sensible shared a puffy red clown nose during the chugging “Beware of the Clown.” The politically motivated number was one of two songs featured from the band’s latest release, Darkadelic. The second new cut was slashing rocker “The Invisible Man,” another song referencing a classic horror movie villain that was boosted by Vanian’s growling delivery. “Who wouldn’t want the power, the power I have known,” he sang.
Scabies’ crashing drum cues punctuated the symphonic pop of “Eloise.” The song’s subdued bridge was another showcase for Vanian, with his deep voice drenched in otherworldly reverb.
“Occasionally, they let me sing one,” said Sensible afterward. The guitarist teased the crowd with the suggestion of his 1982 hit single “Wot” before revealing, “We’re gonna play this song that Nirvana and Killing Joke stole from us.” Gray’s rumbling bass led the way as the band lashed into “Life Goes On.”
Gray and Scabies locked into a cowpunk rhythm for “Shadow of Love.” “Noise Noise Noise” was dedicated to “heroes only.” The mosh pit of flailing limbs grew as the band dove into the furious “Love Song.” Oxymoron played a cartwheeling synthesizer solo during the new wave snap of “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today.” Next came the dervish surf-punk energy of “Neat Neat Neat.” The whole room joined voices for the song’s rapid-fire chorus, and Sensible grandstanded with a behind-the-head wah-wah guitar solo. Vanian quoted the Doors’ “Break on Through.”
The main set concluded with the festive destruction of “Smash It Up.” Vanian’s presence seemed to assimilate other indelible frontman personalities including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Peter Murphy.
The band soon returned for an encore of “Curtain Call.” The song’s coda led to the thundering beat of “New Rose.” Vanian coaxed Oxymoron to center stage for crazy dance steps, joined after the song by Scabies’ comical facsimile of a Michael Jackson-styled moonwalk. The show concluded with the MC5’s adrenalized “Looking at You,” dedicated with affection to founding guitarist Brian James and actor Dennis Hopper.
“Better than the fucking Sex Pistols!” boasted Sensible as the band waved its goodbyes and exited the stage. Truly, “the doomed, the dumbed-down, the Damned” (as Sensible had dubbed the band) delivered a powerful set in the rarified Denver atmosphere. I missed joining Euro-punk-loving friends in Chicago but felt right at home singing with hundreds of my new best friends in Colorado.
Category: IE Photo Gallery, Live Reviews
