The Damned – Powerstation: June 2, 2023 (Concert Review)

The Damned, the first UK punk band to release a single (New Rose) and an album (Damned Damned Damned) continue to carve out a career over the last 46 years (to date) as they have crafted and re-envisioned through multiple line-up changes, their sound and vision.

No strangers to our shores here in Tamaki Makaurau in 1986, with multiple revisits, the current line includes 1976 originals: Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible accompanied by Paul Gray (who has been in and out of the band since1980) Monty Oxymoron since 1996, and the new kid on the drums Will Taylor who joined in just 2022.

The Ringlets

Who? In existence since 2021, formed after a chance encounter on the tennis courts of the North Harbour Sports & Country Club, Ringlets released their debut single Feeling Of The Body in April 2022, and their debut album just this year. The four-piece (as far as I know) are László Reynolds on guitar, Leith Towers on vocals, Arabella Poulsen on bass and Arlo Grey on drums, and are seasoned musicians hailing from Marlin’s Dreaming, Dirty Pixels, and the University of Auckland jazz school. It all sounds very post-punk, and that’s what they certainly delivered. Already onstage at 8.30pm (doors were opened at 8pm) they delivered a quirky set of energy that mirrored the sound and (art-school-student) ethics of English bands the likes of XTC, Gang of Four and Wire… BUT in a much more contemporary paradigm, and while the bass was deficient in volume, they invited much praise from the growing audience. A band to watch out for.

The Damned

“We’re a bit cream-crackered” announces Captain Sensible as the members of The Damned encamp onstage, Vanian is the man in black, Sensible and Paul Gray, both lanky and mimicking each other’s beret and dark glasses look, the unmissable frizz of Oxymoron while Will Taylor lurks with his drums. And is quickly followed by a quip about Happy Talk (a smash hit from his solo career), it’s a faux beginning as The Damned launch into Street of Dreams, setting the night’s theme of irreverence and punk nostalgia.

The technologically nounce will have checked out previous setlists from the current tour and will know tonight, we are going to be well-introduced to The Damned’s latest album Darkadelic. The lead single from it The Invisible Man comes quickly, soundly reminiscent of the Phantasmagoria era, followed by a twinset of Wait for the Blackout and Lively Arts from The Black Album (which featured three-quarters of tonight’s lineup, Vanian, Sensible and Gray)

The cover of The Damned’s debut album Damned Damned Damned is iconic, but that was 46 years ago, and the band have continued to create, write and record new albums over the years, so Captain Sensible’s warning that they are going to focus on Darkadelic is to be expected as Vanian and Sensible stage act their way into Bad Weather Girl, the first of a run of eight tunes from their latest works.

Vanian’s iconic vocal harmonies are a mainstay of Darkadelic sound, reminiscent of Strawberries, The Black Album and Phantasmagoria. Western Promise is a slow one, but a slow-burning highlight, whereas Beware of the Clown (their ode to Boris Johnson) is classic Damned punk-frivolity, and live it has a 1976 energy/edge to it (the play on clown noses on stage adds to its’ impact, I wonder who caught Sensible’s nose) and is a crowd pleaser. Also of note is Motorcycle Man, written by Paul Gray, with its forefront keys by Oxymoron, and guitar-driven energy is power-house love song.

“It’s time for something familiar” quips Vanian, as the band plays tribute to Brian James (The Damned’s original guitarist and songwriter) and the (almost geriatric) mosh pit goes wild to Born to Kill, which flags a run that includes so-many Damned classic songs: Love Song, Second Time Around, and Smash It Up. However, amongst them are three that electrify the night, that are the takeaway treats. Neat Neat Neat is transformed into an electrifying jam that enthralled the audience, as does Sensible’s stage antics, Eloise becomes, is the crowd nostalgia sing-a-long, while New Rose slams the door, as nothing can be expected to follow The Damned’s iconic tune.

Sensible’s final comment to the sated room references the average age of The Damned, and he promises they will return, if they are still alive, here’s hoping they are all able to do a Keith Richards and return soon.

Simon Coffey

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Ivan Karczewski

The Damned:

The Ringlets:

The Damned Setlist

Street of Dreams
The Invisible Man

Wait for the Blackout

Lively Arts

Bad Weather Girl

You’re Gonna Realise

Western Promise

Beware of the Clown

Wake the Dead

Follow Me

Motorcycle Man

Leader of the Gang

From Your Lips

Born to Kill

Love Song

Second Time Around

Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Neat Neat Neat

Eloise

Smash It Up

Girl I’ll Stop at Nothing

New Rose

 

 

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