Last week saw two of the biggest icons of the early punk movement swing by St. Louis: Glenn Danzig and Mike Ness. Their bands, the Misfits and Social Distortion, were part of the group of secondary punk bands that formed in the late '70s in the wake of the founding fathers, the Ramones, the Clash and the Sex Pistols.
Danzig and the Misfits were forerunners of the goth movement, along with the Cure and Bauhaus. They mixed the straight-up punk rock of the Ramones with dark lyrics and melodies. Although the Misfits broke up in 1983, Danzig has been touring with his latest band, Danzig, since 1988.
Social Distortion was more of a punk rock follow up to Johnny Cash. They were a mix of outlaw country, punk and working-class pride.
After more than 20 years of experience apiece, both Danzig and Ness are still chugging along, and surprisingly, still producing worthwhile music.
This year saw the release of new albums for both Danzig ("Circle of Snakes") and Social Distortion ("Love, Sex and Rock 'n' Roll") who they were touring in support of when they stopped in St. Louis last week.
Despite having canceled some previous dates due to sickness, Mike Ness was fortunately well enough to play for the nearly full house at the Pageant when Social Distortion stopped there last Wednesday. The band took the stage after two opening acts (Street Dogs and Backyard Babies) and was greeted by an anxious crowd of die-hard fans ready to get rowdy.
The band opened up their set with "Reach for the Sky," the first single off of their new album, "Love, Sex and Rock 'n' Roll," and immediately the sea of meatheads in the crowd started moving.
The band then went on to play a few more tracks off of the new album, as well as old favorites. With seven albums under their belt, Social D has accumulated quite a few "old favorites."
Songs like "Bad Luck," "Prison Bound" and "Mommy's Little Monster" really got the crowd going, even more so than the new material.
It was in the two covers that the band did, "Under My Thumb" by the Rolling Stones and "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash, that Mike Ness showed his knack for making other people's songs his own.
Had you not already known that the two songs were covers, they would be indistinguishable from his originals. They way Ness commanded "Under My Thumb" was amazing, as if he hijacked it from the Stones and called it his own.
The big crowd pleaser, "Story of My Life" came at the end of the set. For "Story of My Life," the crowd, who had been screaming for it all night long, went nuttier than ever.
Mike Ness proved that, after 26 years of touring, he has still got what it takes to move a crowd of all ages.
Two days after Social D hit St. Louis, Glenn Danzig and his group, Danzig, hit Pop's in Sauget, Ill., for what would be their final tour. All of the hard-core Danzig fans came out of the woodwork for their last chance to see their champion live.
The crowd of mostly white trash, goths, skinheads and Columbine Kids grew increasingly restless as Danzig's roadies set up. When it was time for Danzig to come out, the lights dimmed and the "spooky" demon skull decorations cast eerie silhouettes against the back of the stage.
Then Danzig emerged, and they ripped right into a track off the new album, "Circle of Snakes." With 11 albums worth of songs, there was a lot of ground for the band to cover.
They played some of the newer songs, such as "I Luciferi" and "Satan's Child," as well as a number off of "Circle of Snakes." Danzig and the band were at their best, however, when they were playing material from the first three albums. The highlights from the night were "How the Gods Kill," "Her Black Wings," "Twist of Cain" and, of course, "Mother."
For the encore, the audience was treated to two Lenten favorites; "Snakes of Christ" and "Long Way Back from Hell," both off of Danzig's second album, "Lucifuge." To the dismay of the crowd, Danzig did not play any old Misfits songs, but no one was complaining.
According to his Web site, Danzig is calling it quits so that he can make horror movies. His first project, "Gerouge," is an adaptation of the underground comic series and is alleged to contain "some of the most gruesome scenes ever put on film."
Twenty bucks says he's just making a snuff film.
While both Social Distortion and Danzig were past their prime, they still had more creativity and energy than a lot of young acts. It was an honor to see such legendary and influential bands perform live.
If you appreciate music at all, you should probably try to catch these bands (you're running out of time to see Danzig) and bands like them (Bad Religion, the Damned, the Vandals, etc.) before they break up or get too old to put on a good show.
If it weren't for Social Distortion, we probably wouldn't have the folk-punk genre that we do today, and if it weren't for Danzig's legacy, skulls probably wouldn't be as prominent on punk and metal bands' T-shirts and album covers.
It's good to know your roots.
