Sunday night was like a punk rock school reunion when multiple generations of fans packed the Concord Music Hall to witness the return of The Damned! The show was totally sold out and there was a line around the block of eager fans waiting to get in before the doors opened.
First up was The Dictators. The current lineup only features two original members, Andy Shernoff and Ross “The Boss” Friedman, neither of which is the singer they were most well known for having. The absence of “Handsome” Dick Manitoba meant that this version of the band is really more like “The Tators”, no Dick. It’s a dilemma of sorts being a fan in that you want to see these great bands you grew up with still, but when you only get a fraction of the band, and you replace the most identifiable ingredient of a band (the singer) it leaves you a bit bummed out. This version of The Dictators played their songs well and they put on a good performance, but there was this underlying feeling, at least for me and some others in attendance, that this wasn’t really The Dictators. They did, however, have the drummer from Blue Oyster Cult, the guy that made the cowbell famous which led to a SNL skit about it, playing in the band! They played a 45 minute set and despite the lessened feeling of authenticity, The Tators were well worth showing up early for and watching.
It didn’t take very long for The Damned to take the stage and the crowd was pumped! This wasn’t just any Damned performance, this tour is special because they brought back not one, but TWO former members into the fold. Bassist Paul Grey, not seen since 1982’s, Strawberries album has returned to play bass in the band. As if that wasn’t enough, fellow Damned founding member, Rat Scabies, has returned to his drum throne in the band! The band has now returned to the full The Black Album/Strawberries lineup, but with the addition of Monty Oxymoron on keyboards (the newest member in the group, who has only been with The Damned for the last 28 years). This was something really special, even more so than the usual Damned gigs which in and of themselves are always special and great.
The Damned took the stage as the theme to Doctor Who played over the PA and the crowd roared with approval. Captain Sensible wasted no time getting to the witty stage banter as the band took their places on stage and opened the show up with “Ignite” from Strawberries, which is easily the best song on that album, and a longtime fan favorite. The band sounded great right from the start. They followed it up with a pair of songs from The Black Album and the crowd was dancing and clapping and cheering. Dave Vanian, who doesn’t seem to age, took command center stage as he delivered his trademark crooning vocals that sounded as good as they ever have. The man looked quite handsome in his suit and slicked back hair, and he’s easily one of the best frontmen in the history of punk rock. Captain was his usual charismatic self and talked a bunch between songs. Paul Grey was the silent bass master holding time on the right side of the stage. Having Rat back on drums really showcased just what was missing from the last couple of decades of The Damned. While the band always sounded great even without him, there is something about his playing that just makes The Damned. Other drummers have come and gone, but none of them play like Rat does and the songs sounded that much more authentic having him at the kit.
The band put together an incredible setlist for this show that featured so many favorites spanning from the beginning up through Phantasmagoria. They only played two songs from the latest album, “Beware of the Clown”, which Dave donned a clown nose for, and “The Invisible Man”. Highlights of the set included “Melody Lee”, “Love Song”, and abbreviated version of “Curtain Call”, “Shadow of Love”, and “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today”. They played tons more, 22 songs in total, and yes they did the early singles like “New Rose” and “Neat Neat Neat”.
When the band finished their 100+ minute set with their better than the original cover of “Looking At You” (originally done by the MC5), the crowd would’ve happily stuck around for another 100 minutes. The Damned sounded better this night than they have in years (and they never sounded bad), and that coupled with the killer setlist more than gave every fan their money’s worth last night!
