The Damned
At the HOB 3-14-02
By Nick Schlensker

The HOB always reminds me of Knott's Berry Farm and Knott's always reminds me of funnel cakes. Why Downtown Disney is so crowded I will never know. It could possibly be the one-stop shopping and all of your entertainment needs located in the middle of Anaheim a mile west of Disneyland, crack houses, hookers, Vato's and heroin dens. Just reminds me of Knott's with Cloud 9 being replaced by Arriba, Arriba. So, as usual, I make my way through a throng of people to the furthest point in Ellis Island of shopping to the HOB.

Playing before the Damned was DI, who I was ready to miss. However it had been a great lapse since I saw Casey Royer and people playing instruments behind him, so I was surprised when DI put on a great set. I only caught two songs, but whoa, hey, huzzah it was cool. Lisafer is still his backing band and they're usually a great act to catch. That in itself is funny. Casey Royer is like the Sid Vicious of punk.

The Damned are like messiah's because they bring together an odd crowd that mostly look like an amalgamation of all of Elias Koateas movie roles and the kids from Small Wonder; sort of. Still it's the meanest bunch of old people and their kids you'll ever encounter on the dance floor.
So being as cliched as possible I will say that The Damned finally took the stage after what seemed like forever. One vital member was missing and that was bassist Patricia Morison a.k.a. Mrs. Dave Vanian. In her place was Warren from the Cadillac Tramps. I heard a rumor that I made up saying that the reason she left was that she had been asked to play with Heart and the Germs.
The Damned played some new songs like "Jet Boy, Jet Girl" and "New Rose". They turned "Neat, Neat, Neat" into an epic Wagnerian piece that went on for hours and wowed the crowd with an encore of "Curtain Calling" and their cover of Offspring's "Smash It Up".

Even though the Damned are geriatric, they still rock harder then hard, yeah 105.5 style. If Pirate Radio 103.1 were still around they'd play the Damned. So, hey, quit supporting local music and get out and buy some shit from across the pond.

http://www.livemagazine.com/Apr02/damnedapr02/damnedapr02.html