The Damned throw 'Final Damnation' party fit for a 50th anniversary

Fifty years after The Damned broke ground as the UK punk act famous for all their ‘firsts,’ the band swung through The Truman in Kansas City on Nov. 4 for their Final Damnation 50 tour. It’s a moniker they’ve used before, for the name of a live album way back in 1988.

The band, boasting the early ’80s lineup of Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies and Paul Gray, as well as longtime keyboardist Monty Oxymoron, triumphantly took the stage to their goth anthem ‘Street Of Dreams’ and never let up. They played most of their better-known songs as well as deeper cuts like ‘Twisted Nerve’ from The Black Album and ‘Gun Fury (Of Riot Forces)’ off Strawberries in addition to covers from their recent tribute album to founding guitarist Brian James. (They dedicated ‘Feel The Pain’ from their iconic debut LP Damned Damned Damned to the departed James.)

Though Midwesterners know that the Kansas City is in Missouri, Vanian and Sensible continuously addressed the audience as ‘Kansas,’ much to the chagrin of the crowd. Though the two had to have realized the flub by the encore, they appeared to double down, leaving the stage as audio of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ played.

But the band members were clearly in high spirits. Joining the usually animated Sensible, Vanian displayed a jovial mood throughout the show. He donned Sensible’s beret and 'dedicated’ a song to Morrissey (‘I Just Can't Be Happy Today’). During ‘Machine Gun Etiquette,’ he showed his empty pockets to the Capt as he sang the line ‘really filthy stinking rich,’ sharing a moment of humorous reflection on how the band never quite got its due.

The energy built as the show went on. Vanian and Sensible led the crowd in an extended sing-along to ‘Ignite’ to highlight the main set. A final encore of a partial, audience-requested version of ‘Anti-Pope’ was followed by their signature cover of ‘White Rabbit.’

For those in the know, The Damned is an institution, and the classic lineup commands attention like they know it, too. Vanian prowls the stage, crooning like he means it when he seems to look you in the eye and intone, ‘But the devil is my best friend’ during ‘Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde.’ Sensible plays so confidently he uses a beer can for the atmospheric guitar opening of the band’s opus, ‘Curtain Call.’ Gray delivers his iconic bass lines holding his Rickenbacker in a wide-leg stance. And Scabies, so named for his skin condition when he auditioned for the band, even indulged in a drum solo, as if he needs to prove he’s as good a drummer as his non-punk contemporaries.

But despite each of their contributions, The Damned have always been bigger than any individual member besides Vanian, having shed all but him and Scabies for their most commercially successful era and then continuing for years with Vanian and Sensible, Oxymoron and other players.

All those points make it likely the band will soldier on past their 50th anniversary. They’re just too good right now to leave it behind anytime soon, as evidenced from the Kansas City show. And if they do, then as they say, ‘Thanks for the night.’

(All photos by Christopher Windle)