Saw Milt Trenier , last night , at the release party for "Flying Saucers Rock'n'Roll - Best of Roctober Magazine" (Kind of like "The Joy of Sex", you might think it's dated , but you still might learn something.). He's now 81 years old , and still the master showman. The book contains my piece on The Treniers , which is where Rockn'Roll began , make no mistake. Then , I flew outta there to go see The Damned's recital of "Damned Damned Damned" and "The Black Album". This ridiculously early show was well underway when I arrived. In fact , they had almost finished performing their first album , the reason I went in the first place !
Surely , I thought , they'd close the show by playing the early stuff , but , no..... What I did hear sounded right on the money , despite WAY too much bass in the mix (What is this obsession with bass , anyway?) , and Dave Vanian's vocals turned down too low. "1970 (I Feel Allright") "was a highlight , The Captain summoning Ron Asheton's spirit successfully. The band took a break (The DJs played "Do It'' by The Pink Fairies , tho' I heard they were playing BOSTON , earlier.), and came back to do "The Black Album" , which contains great rockers like "Drinking About My Baby" , "Hit or Miss" and that one song that sounds like Killing Joke , BUT the Prog plodded on for WAY too long. I know this is some peoples' favorite Damned album , but , one of these tunes went on for nearly 15 minutes. I was kvetching because I'd missed most of what I came there for (Tho' I had no objection to hearing both.).
The encore - Eloise , Love Song , and I don't remember what else. My friend and I were calling out for the Garage covers they did as Naz Nomad and The Nightmares , "Action Woman" , "Pushin' Too Hard" , whatever..... Would I recommend you see 'em on this tour ? Hell , yes , despite the somewhat odd pairing , but , get there ridiculously early.