The Damned in Denver

It has been more than 40 years since the Damned burst onto the British punk scene with the first single, album, and U.S. tour. The heart and soul of the band are still touring in top form and visited the Summit Music Hall in Denver on April 19.

The heart and soul, of course, are goth god singer Dave Vanian and the lovable goofball Captain Sensible on guitar. Vanian's voice is even stronger now than on that pioneering punk album, "Damned Damned Damned." The band released the album "Music for Pleasure" before songwriter Brian James exited and Captain moved from bass to guitar. The Damned then came back with its masterpiece, "Machine Gun Etiquette." The band performed eight songs off that album, including opener "Melody Lee," singalong classic "Noise Noise Noise," and "Smash It Up."

All photos by Christopher Windle.

The band managed to touch on nearly every era of its career, from that first punk single, "New Rose," to "Alone Again Or," a cover of a Love song that was a hit for the band in the late '80s. Along the way, there were highlights "Ignite" off "Strawberries" and "Wait for the Blackout" off "The Black Album" (another first: the Damned were the earliest band to have a Black Album). In all, the band played 23 songs, several more than many bands years younger manage to play.

But 40 years on, the Damned is not the typical band just rolling through the hits. Vanian and Captain have said in interviews that they still feel hungry. After the tour, the plan is to record another album. But for a band with only 10 albums over a 40-year career, it's clear the Damned don't just record albums to go through the motions. There has to be a purpose to it.

Vanian, his arm in a sling after he dislocated a shoulder on a previous tour date, not only sounded great but had all the stage moves. He spun around and dropped to his knees for "Eloise," the Barry James cover that was a No. 1 British single for the band.

Captain was nonstop with the stage banter, offering his opinions on Phil Collins, the Beatles, and the Sex Pistols, all to be taken with a grain of salt. He played guitar solos behind his head and balanced his guitar on his head. He's a ham, sort of a dual frontman of the Damned, and even took lead vocals for "The Last Time," a Rolling Stones cover, and "Jet Boy Jet Girl." He refused to play his '80s solo hit "Happy Talk," but happily obliged the crowd with a request for "Fan Club" after he proclaimed in the second encore that the band were running out of songs to play.

It's a natural move for the sort of fan liaison, who will take photos with fans before the show and invite them all to the pub across the street afterward. Apparently, he only draws the line at playing "Happy Talk," though the pub did play most of the album "Women and Captains First."

Monty Oxymoron provided the keyboards, and the dancing, during "New Rose."

Damned fans are a mix of young and old, fans of punk and goth. One could tell from the fan reactions to certain songs just why they were there. While the punks turned out for "New Rose" and "Neat Neat Neat," there were also strong reactions for goth-era songs like "Street of Dreams."

By the time the band closed the show with a blistering version of "Anti-Pope," it was clear the Damned had left the entire crowd satisfied.