Crowds of fishnet and leather clad punk rockers young and old poured into The Astor to watch The Damned. They were in for an absolute treat though as The Yung Pomeranians opened the night with a riff raging, hard hitting bang in this venue that washed the crowd with the punk sounds of yester years. Fronted by Nick Sheppard, formerly of original old school punk band The Clash fame, this three-piece outfit wowed the crowd with their epic riffs and soaring wah guitars, to warm them up. It was mohawks and eye liner galore, coupled with big black boots and even bigger hair, as the punk scene turned out for an awesome show.
It was as though The Yung Pomeranians had stepped out of the 1970s or 1980s in the new wave punk era, but its here in 2024, and they were melting the crowds minds on stage right before my eyes. It was a delicious swirl of raging angry guitars, heavy basslines and incredibly fast paced dynamic hard hitting drums, as Sheppard’s vocals hit every auditory nerve in the best way possible. It was on this day, 47 years ago exactly, that Nick Sheppard played a gig with Cortinas supporting The Damned, a testament to both their friendship and musical legacy together as hardcore punk rockers of all time. Fast forward many decades and here he is, back on stage, this time with the Yung Pomeranians, supporting The Damned once again, ripping guitar solos that make the strings scream.
If the crowd had warmed up by The Yung Pomeranians, then by the time The Damned took to the stage, running out to the theme song of Doctor Who and the Dalek’s March, they were on absolute fan frenzy fire as the first raging note sang out. The Damned were responsible for shaping the punk rock era of the 1970s and 80s, this was evident as they brought their own brand of punk to the Astor stage. This was their first and final tour with the original lineup of Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies, Monty Oxymoron, and Paul Gray, in 35 years. The electric energetic driving riffs were played on a cherry red Gibson that had seen every song that’s ever been written, created with it.
The crowd cheered as they were welcomed with “Hello Perth, we’re old bt we still f***ing rock!”. Their stage presence was phenomenal. With Vanian rocking a full three-piece black pinstripe suit, including tie, black leather gloves and fedora, with the rest of the band’s outfits including beret hats, striped shirts with safety pins, skulls, ripped sleeves and sunglasses. They rocked out with intense energy to fast paced driving guitars over hard hitting drumming that never missed a beat as Vanian sang the lyrics to songs that put them on the map. Over the course of the set, sleeves were undone, suit jackets were removed and ties were thrown to the side as the band played with such voraciousness. The build ups to break downs sounded like what you might hear in old school movies as the villain was entering the scene and a fight was about to break out.
The engagement with the audience was captivating, as they sang back lyric after lyric, without missing a beat. One of the ladies next to me told me that she was nearing her 50s and used to sneak out with her older sister to go to gigs, and The Damned were one of the first punk bands she had ever seen live. Another couple, Bryn and Viv, had been following The Damned all around the world on their tour, coming all the way from London to see them rock out all around Australia. This gig had everything and so much more that you would expect from a massive heavy punk rock band, including breakdown of screaming guitars and bottom ended basslines that reverberated right through your rib cage. Its easy to see how they have gained such a massive following over the years and how they have easily packed out the Astor Theatre now. Their on stage antics included a red clown nose moving between the band members as they roared through Beware Of The Clown, Monty the mad keys player fluffing his wild hair and flailing his arms about, riffs played with improvised beer can slides.
The stage show and light show were phenomenal, as punk rockers rocked out of all ages, the youngest about 7 in the crowd, and the oldest in the same era as the band members on stage. The big fat bouncing bass lines were interspersed with synthey keys, sounding almost Dokken-esque meets Meatloaf. Vanian hit every note from the baritones through to the sopranos with his velvet gravel voice soaring high over the rocking instruments surrounding him on stage. They are huge fans of the Wiggles, citing them as Australia’s last wonderful cultural exports, over Donald Bradman. There were angry riffs, marching drums, keys solos and roaring vocals carefully curated to bring the punk sound of The Damned to Perth’s Astor Theatre for one of the best live gigs I have ever had the pleasure to see. It had all the anger and rigour of an angsty teenager mixed in with the rebellion of punk at its absolute finest. What a show, absolutely brilliant.
If you like Alice Cooper, Meatloaf or The Clash, you will enjoy your face melting off while listening to The Damned.
Setlist: Ignite, Wait For The Blackout, The History Of The World, Gun Fury (Of Riot Forces), Melody Lee, Generals, Stranger On The Town, Plan 9 Channel 7, Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde, Life Goes On, Beware Of The Clown, Eloise, Shadow Of Love, Dozen Girls, Fan Club, Machine Gun Etiquette, Neat Neat Neat, Smash It Up, Curtain Call, New Rose, Looking At You
GALLERY
Images by Mark Diggins
With thanks to Maric Media for the media access
