A first for The Darts and maybe the last for The Damned in Brisbane made it a night to remember!
Fortitude Valley has long been the centre of Brisbane’s entertainment industry. Back in the day it was a hive of corruption, drugs, prostitution, casual violence and cheap, pay-by-the-week slum accommodation. Now it has all of that, if you care to look, as well as million-dollar penthouses and sleek restaurants.
The Tivoli lies at the edges of the Valley, shining towers encroaching ever closer, making it a bastion of vitality in an ever more sterile and faceless world. A perfect setting for The Damned’s final (?) Brisbane appearance.
Support band The Darts (U.S) are in Australia for the first time. The band, formed in Seattle back in 2016, had previously supported The Damned on an American tour back in 2018. Having been on the road supporting their last album ‘Halloween Love Songs’ since March, The Darts four-piece have a tour schedule that would daunt most bands.
They have a strong and engaging stage presence, they have the mandatory rock poses, but they also have an infectious good time feel – including the world’s smiliest drummer, a person having the best possible time! With their mix of surfer style guitar, raw, distorted bass and energetic drumming, all topped off with a vocalist full of personality and presence, The Darts quickly take control of the stage and the audience.
Songs like ‘Zombie on the Metro’, driven along by Nicole’s Farfisa organ (a piece of equipment that hasn’t had the easiest time in Australia, having broken during the band’s gig At Vinnie’s dive bar on the Gold Coast before being repaired and given a makeover after a plea was put out). ‘Vampires in Love’ and ‘Punk Rock Girl’, with its powerful distorted bass opening, demonstrate a band that really knows what they are about.
‘Midnight Creep’ shows the band’s fun side once more. They have a three part ‘dance’ routine that is taken up by a fair few of the crowd, it’s a wonderfully engaging moment that brings smiles and laughter and lifts the spirits of an already engaged Tivoli.
There’s a saying; “To make great music you have to mean it” and The Darts MEAN it. Their mammoth tour will probably end up near you eventually; make sure you see them!
And so to the main event, those pioneers of Punk, The Damned. With an eye-catching background and a strong use of video, the stage set couldn’t be further removed from the small clubs and halls of ‘76, but the energy and passion of the band haven’t changed.
Opening with ‘Street of Dreams’, from ‘Phantasmagoria’, the band launched into nearly two hours of classic tracks covering the whole 50 years of their existence. It’s a lively start. Dave Vanian roams the stage, checking every inch of the venue; Paul Gray is a constantly moving ball of energy; Captain Sensible pulls the shapes that have become so familiar over the decades; Rat Scabies perches imperiously behind his kit, and Monty Oxymoron is a bobbing tumbleweed away to the right. The band are most definitely up for the show.
“I hope it wakes me, I’m on about four hours sleep a night, but you won’t hear me complaining” complains Captain as they launch into ‘Wake the Dead’. Vanian’s rich baritone shines, possibly getting better as he ages, and at one point Rat catches Paul’s eye and offers a wink and a small smile, a simple detail that says so much for where the band is as a unit. Enjoying themselves and each other, it is a feeling that returns throughout the gig.
Pausing so Captain can have a quick pop in the direction of Paul Weller “We don’t borrow songs like Paul Weller” and we’re into ‘History of the World Part 1’, a rougher sound than the single, and it works well. We’re moving at pace now, ‘Stranger on the Town’s rough guitar giving way to the softer tones of ‘Alone Again Or’, Vanian and Sensible combining to replace the trumpet solo with some nice harmonisation.
The shifting drums and driving bass of ‘Shadow of Love’ sees Vanian go again with the vocal theatrics, before another change of style, and the keyboard dominant ‘I Just Can’t Be Happy Today’ offers Monty the chance to stretch his fingers. It’s all tight, as the band feed off each other, and the crowd who are inhaling every second, taking it all in, loving it.
“I’ll leave you in the capable hands, and tonsils of Mr Captain Sensible” Vanian announces before leaving the stage. We get ‘Life Goes On’, a wonderfully crafted tune, and Captain’s vocal delivery does not disappoint. “You can’t beat a bit of optimism, especially at this age” he tells the crowd as he gives us a flamboyant bow, beret in hand and a smile on his face.
It’s back to the ‘Black Album’ again, as Vanian returns for ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, and he takes the opportunity for some gothic showmanship, committing fully to the characters he describes and completely demonstrating what a commanding performer he is.
The light and bouncy keyboard of ‘Is It a Dream’ gives way to that slice of 60’s magnificence that is ‘Eloise’. The Damned love a good cover, always adding something to the original, and they do that so well with ‘Eloise’. It’s a powerful rendition, aided by the crowd happy to assist with backing vocals. The Tivoli is now completely under the spell of the five men on stage.
“Did you get ‘The Young Ones’ here?” asks the Captain, before launching into ‘Nasty’. Clips of the band performing the song on the riotous 1980’s comedy show appear on the screen behind them, and although Captain is a little more restrained nowadays – and a lot more sober – the energy levels haven’t dropped, the fire still glows. Their cover of ‘Making Time’ (from the Brian James tribute album) fits nicely into the flow of the set, before giving way to the audience participation favourite ‘Ignite’. When the song starts there’s a physical reaction in the crowd, as if an electric charge has passed through the room, then Captain leads a call and response before the call stops and the response is left alone, Sensible waving his mic stand as he conducts.
A brief pause for breath and then Mr Vanian, in his most theatrical voice, proclaims “Ladies and gentlemen, ‘ow do” Before a magnificent trio of classics tumble out in rapid succession. ‘Love Song’ gives way to ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’, just as on the album, just as it always should. Then ‘Neat Neat Neat’ takes things up another notch, producing the first crowd surfer of the evening. “There’s got to be somebody here over the age of 72?” asks Captain, “No, fuck off then” he opines before leaving the stage.
One last pause before Captain returns playing slide guitar with the aid of a beer can, providing a novel new way of getting into ‘Curtain Call’ (although not the full 17 minutes for some reason….) Leading to a Rat Scabies drum solo, the great man demonstrating his considerable technique and talents before segueing into the all too familiar tom tom-pounding opening of ‘New Rose’ (A move he did on 1983’s Live at Newcastle album, then he shouted “That was fucking hard work” – but 40 years later he’s still doing it!) “50 years?” asks Captain, “I didn’t give it five months… As I say, the song the Pistols wish they’d written. How can anyone see them without Johnny?”
The old Jefferson Airplane slice of psychedelic whimsy, ‘White Rabbit’, is pulled from the hat and given a much harder edged interpretation than the single. Monty, given his chance to show what he really has, brings dark psychedelic drivers and manic energy to a very powerful rendition.
“We’ll send you off with a song we wrote for Marc Bolan, well part one anyway, this is for Marc Bolan, ‘Smash It Up’” And with that, the oh so familiar opening bars of ‘Smash It Up (part one)’ fill the air. The crowd sways with the music, building, anticipating Vanian’s call to arms. That pause… “Smash It Up!!!” and the anticipation gives way to a wall of sound, for one final time, a breathless slice of punky poppy attitude and joy, giving way to a singalong as it comes to a close.
“Thank you” says a grinning Captain Sensible, his face a picture of love and gratitude. And with that he departs the stage, the last to leave.
A Damned gig, even after 50 years, is a magnificent musical experience. This is a band of talented friends that still enjoy playing together, entertaining and embracing what they have built. But it’s more than that. For the people that came it’s a portal to people and places long since past, to venues both big and small. Every song has a memory, an emotion, a connection. And as we file out into the cool night air, everyone feels that mixture of emotions. Adrenalin, joy, nostalgia and a little bit of sadness. The night was magnificent, a band that still delivers, that engages and feeds off the audience. I’ll raise a glass to The Damned, for the joy, the memories, and the chaos, hopefully not for the last time!
Main Photo Credit / All Photos: PHIL WITHALL
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Heavily influenced by an older brother, I discovered a love of music at an early age, initially with Punk but eventually with pretty much everything. I play guitar and bass to a very low standard and regularly ‘entertain’ my family and dogs with unwanted noise. I am usually found at the back of both gigs and football matches!
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