The Damned | Ink-N-Iron |6/7/14 [PHOTOS & VIDEO]

 CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER ACTS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH AT INK-N-IRON

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Formed the year I was born, 1976, The Damned are a rock band from London, England. I was particularly interested in checking out there set as they are known to be one of the forerunners of the “gothic” music genre: a music style that is a mix of post-punk and alternative rock. I was especially excited that they were playing Ink-N-Iron because I couldn’t recall the last time they toured the United States.

Though their line-up has changed up over the course of their existence, three of their original members performed on this night on the Queen Mary: lead singer Dave Vanian, guitarist Captain Sensible and keyboardist Monty Oxymoron.

Dave Vanian’s performance was particularly impressive. His dark (dressed in black, with sunglasses and gloves) and mysterious stage presence was quite a contrast from Lee Ving’s performance. He performance demonstrated an understated bravado that really demonstrated, to me, a terrific command of the stage.

The audience, who had just before been moshing with reckless, and violent, abandon the set before, was now bouncing about with more fun and freedom. 37 years after they had formed, it appeared to me that they still had plenty in the tank, with their classically punk attitude in full form.

I couldn’t find a setlist of their set online, so if you attended the event and know what their setlist was, please post it in the comments, and I’ll add it to the post.

Immediately below are some videos I found of The Briefs performing at the festival and also the Ink-N-Iron pre-party. If you know of any other videos that are online, please post the link below in the comments so that I can add it to the playlist.

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER ACTS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH AT INK-N-IRON

The Warlocks | The Roxy | 4/25/14

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Opening for the Dandy Warhols at the Roxy was the American, psychedelic rock band The Warlocks. Founded in 1998 by Bobby Hecksher, the band has been playing with various lineups since, with Hecksher the only constant member.

With half a dozen albums released since it’s inception (with their latest album, “Skull Worship” being released in November of 2013), The Warlocks concert seemed to cover their entire repertoire (according to a The Warlocks fans standing next to me). When I snagged the setlist (which you can see below) off the lip of the stage, she took a look at it and noted (while giggling) how they abbreviated the names of the songs.

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The Warlocks’ music isn’t for everybody. If you aren’t familiar with them, you may assume that their sound is akin to the Grateful Dead (the Grateful Dead’s first name was The Warlocks), but you’d be wrong. Rather, their sound seems to be heavily influenced by the neo-psychedilia and experimental rock of the Velvet Underground. Personally, I was feeling it. I thought that perhaps the start of the set was a bit too downtempo for my tastes, but as it went on, the energy picked up and had me grooving by the end.