The Damned were always more than just another “Punk” band. The Captain’s cartoon media-friendly image hides a perceptive musician whose guitar playing can still, with the simplest of intro’s, cause the sort of early set crowd cheers usually saved the hits and encores. When Sensible’s string work is coupled with Dave Vanain’s beautifully rich and battle-hardened larynx, amazing sounds do indeed sprout forth. Opening with the new but quintessentially Damned-ish ‘We’re So Nice’ from the excellent ‘Evil Spirits’ album provides a refreshing start to another ninety minutes on board the band’s magical Prog/Punk/Pop and Goth mystery tour. ‘Democray?’, ‘Born To Kill’ and the cobbled granite of ‘Dr. Jeykel And Mr Hyde’ are all dispatched with a dark reassuring lived-in professionalism. The set is slightly slower paced than usual as the band seem to savour ‘Alone Again Or’, ‘Silly Kids Games’ and the atmospheric ‘History Of The World (Part 1)’. The genre-defining ‘Wait For The Blackout’ is hugged and greeted like an old school friend while ‘Stranger On The Town’ highlights Vanain’s vocal dexterity as he rolls back the clock to deliver a spine freezing virtuoso performance.
Yes, the older favourites are all pushed front ‘n’ centre as ‘Neat, Neat, Neat’, ‘Love Song’ and ‘Ignite’ are all boomed out at breakneck speed. ‘Smash It Up’ is up there with Punk’s greatest compositions before the jab-tastic ‘Anti-Pope’ rounds it all off. The Damned continue to pull out dust covered gems from their hugely impressive back catalogue along with some brand new shiny ‘Evil Spirits’ sparklers. It’s not a brave move it’s a Damned move and is just one of the many reasons they remain valid, fresh and beautifully antagonistic.