05.09.05 – The Underworld, London
The chances of many people reading this right now who saw the original Misfits live are slim to say the least. They only made it to the UK once as support to The Damned in 1979 (a tour which was cut short when then frontman Glenn Danzig wound up in jail after a bar fight) and appearances on their homeland were sporadic to say the least. Thanks, however, to Metallica’s endorsement of the band long after The Misfits disbanded allowed their legend to grow and when bassist Jerry Only won the right to use the Misfits name, he didn’t let the small matter of being the original member left get in the way of his career.
The Misfits that greets us tonight feature pre-Rollins Black Flag singer Dez Cadena on guitar, original Misfits/Black Flag drummer Robo and Jerry taking lead vocals and bass. The fact that this isn’t really The Misfits doesn’t stop an unbearably hot and crammed Underworld from slamming seven shades of shit out of each other as Mr Only charges his motley band of aging US punk legends through every Misfits song you could ever want to hear, plus a few you didn’t (anything post-Danzig). This is immediately a far superior performance to their dismal display in Camden a couple of years back when, with Marky Ramone on drums, they play a scrappy set of apparently barely rehearsed Ramones, Misfits and Black Flag songs. Marky’s weak and decidedly basic drumming style made the band sound painfully thin, but tonight, Robo hits the skins with the power of a man half his age and the splattering of Black Flag classic like ‘Thirsty And Miserable, ‘Six Pack’, ‘Jealous Again’ and ‘Rise Above’ are the highlights of an extremely hot, sweaty and entertaining night.