BLACKBIRD LIVE REVIEW - THE DAMNED

On Thursday, October 27th, The Damned played at Seattle's Showbox at the Market and fully delivered the goods. Now touring for the 35th anniversary of "Damned Damned Damned" they played the album in its entirety, taking a quick break before returning to the stage to drop a bonus set of their entire 1980 proto-goth masterpiece "The Black Album."  The songs were delivered like a blitzkrieg despite original band leaders Dave Vanian (like "Transyl- Vanian") and Captain Sensible being 35 years down the road from their teen-aged punk beginnings.

The Damned were and still are a fucking awesome band. They were the first punk band in the UK to release a single ("New Rose" - beating the Sex Pistol's "Anarchy in the U.K." by one month), an album ("Damned Damned Damned"), to have music in the British charts, AND to tour the United States. Their image is one of four completely different personalities, not unlike their idols, the Who, and their sound is a completely original brew of punk, garage and goth. They're like England's answer to The Ramones. Four toughs who formed a musical group that went on to become a cornerstone of a country's punk rock identity.
After a two song encore, Sensible bid adieu with the words "remember us this way." Kinda sad to think they may be throwing in the towel after so many years of unparalleled singularity and tongue-in-cheek derring-do. But if they do, I'll be damn sure to remember them thrashing madly with me pogoing along like a true punk bozo.