Just been to your Birkenheaad gig first time live, what a gig thanks
for not walking off after the idiot threw the drink, best yet at the
pacific must come back next year, nice one captain keep the sun out
of Merseyside.
Ignite
was the highlight.
Richie
I
went with a lot of trepidation having read several reviews on here
and also noted comments of 'hardcore' fans both good and bad.
The
Pacific Arts Centre is a quaint little ex warehouse situated 5 minutes
walk (in the pi**ing rain) from Hamilton Sqaure Station in the Birkenhead
area of The Wirral. They really should utilise the place more for
gigs (its primarily an arts centre as its name suggests) as it would
do pretty well.
The
beer was at pub prices inside the venue and the staff were actually
friendly and helpful.
The
first act Dead Class were pretty much out of the 1-2-3-4 Punk
school although they had some nice touches. They reminded me a bit
of early Dead Kennedys in their songwriting style (which sadly was
pretty limited as noted above) but they tried really hard and I could
certainly see why they were chosen ahead of other local bands for
the support slot.
The
burlesque stuff was funny and bizzare in equal parts. The female compere
got a pretty rough time from some sections of the crowd and frankly
struggled to get any interaction with a bemused audience. I just thought
it was good, fun, very camp art with not a lot of clothes.
10/10
for effort Ladies, but maybe its not for a Damned audience.....
So
to the main attraction - The Damned.. love em or hate em these days
its hard to ignore them. When they are in this form its nigh on impossible.
From the opening notes of ABBA's 'Thank You For The Music' to the
closing of 'Smash It Up pt2' they went for it with a vengence
and were tight, full of humour and played really well. Vanian sounded
in fine voice again after his throat problems and the only black spot
on the night was the useless f***ing MORONS who seem to delight in
throwing beer over Monty's gear, causing it to break down temporarily.
Monty went off on one (understandably) as the gig was held up for
5-10 minutes during
'Generals' whilst roadies got his keyboards working again. Why do
you people feel a need to do this sh*t? Is it some sort of compensation
for having a small brain or small dick or something? Or maybe it makes
you feel 'a part of The Damned' or some such self-justifying boll*cks?
Anyway
the set list may have contained the same old songs but they were played
with such vigour that they sounded almost fresh & new.
Highlights
for me were '13th Floor Vendetta', 'Shadow Of Love',
'Disco Man' 'History Of The World' and 'Blackout'.
Even 'Eloise' sounded decent for a change (not a song I've
ever taken to live).
This
line up just gets tighter and tighter and I thought Stu played exceptionaly
well on the night.
Fears
allayeed, I made my way home a lot happier but still wishing for something
new. However the current set list works well and maybe, just maybe
its time for some to get off their backs a little bit? Speaking to
Stu before the gig he was saying about a whole stash of material thats
recorded and a whole lot more they have to record still, but its taking
a lot of time for various reasons. He sounded positive and determined
to prove the doubters amongst their own fans wrong. Here's hoping
both he and The Damned can do that very soon.
8/10
Grimly
V x