I don't if it was because it was the second night of the tour or that Captain Sensible has been giving vague hints that this might be their last tour of the states but the show last night was probably the best Damned (pun intended) show I've seen. The sound was great*, they played easily the best version of "Eloise" I've heard and the triple punch ('dedicated to Brian James') of "Noise Noise Noise", "Ignite" and "Neat Neat Neat" was a great way to finish the main set. I'm glad they played some of the more elaborate songs and even though "Curtain Call" has been a staple for their encore for awhile it always seems to be a bit different, this time Rat Scabies did a little drum solo before going into "New Rose". To top it off, they kicked off the second encore with a very psychedelic "White Rabbit". In the past the band has been the traditional shambling sloppy band but this one was a tight unit. When I grow up, I can only hope I can look as cool as Paul Gray.
A nice touch was the between the opener and the Damned, a lot of Brian James stuff was played, solo and other projects. I don't know if this was the band's or the club's idea but I appreciated it.
The opener was the Bell Rays. I don't know much about them other than a line in Supersuckers' "History of Rock and Roll" - 'And I am just amazed every time I see the Bell Rays' but they warmed us up. Frontwoman Lisa Kekaula come out exhorting the crowd to get going 'It's a Friday night rock show' as the band played punk rock soul music. Good stuff.
At the end of the night, the Captain said "Unless we're dead, we'll back" so maybe the hints of the end of touring the US are untrue but if you haven't seen them before, I highly recommend catching them.
*this might more attributable to the 930 club sound system. Even with Monty's top keyboard going out near the beginning (Dave Vanian: "But you've never sounded better"), the sound was great.
Setlist:
Love Song
Machine Gun Etiquette
Wait for the Blackout
Lively Arts
The History of the World (Part 1)
Plan 9 Channel 7
Stranger on the Town
Limit Club
I Just Can't Be Happy Today
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Beware of the Clown
Eloise (Barry Ryan cover)
Alone Again Or (Love cover)
The Invisible Man
Noise Noise Noise
Ignite
Neat Neat Neat
Encore:
Curtain Call
New Rose
Encore 2:
White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane cover)
Smash It Up
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2025 03:18PM by Heff.
