F3F: The Damned

The phrase “right place at the right time” perfectly describes my experience last night as the Damned rolled up to the Black stage. I walked right up to the stage and was able to stand there for the entire performance, making it was easily one of the best concert experiences of my life. Captain Sensible walked past a small group of us after tuning his guitar and thanked us for stopping by to watch his band, he then excused himself to have a cup of tea before his set. A punk legend and a perfect English gentlemen, as was the rest of the band, as I would soon learn. The crowd was amped and the vibe on stage with the small group of die hard Damned fans I was standing with was euphoric, pure-giddy-excitement. The Damned came out and let it be known that they were a force to be reckoned with after all these years. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone own a stage like Dave Vanian, his presence was enormous, his voice was fantastic and his command of the audience approached Patton like levels, shushing the crowd to deafening silence at one point with the ticking of his finger. Captain Sensible’s guitar playing was surprisingly great, the drums tight and the keyboardist had more energy than any 18 year old in the crowd. They played all the hits over the course of a hugely long set, containing all the tracks you hoped to hear. I was a little afraid of watching them, hoping that they wouldn’t disappoint me, tainting the images and sounds I’ve always associated with this legendary band.
The Damned reached far beyond what I hoped for and delivered a show I never would have expected. In a daze, my cheeks hurt from smiling as I walked away from the stage after it was all over.
Simply fantastic.