The Damned, The Baboon Show at Debaser live review

Let´s be honest about it, I never liked the Damned, except that 1981 hit “Disco Man” about 1979s disco era.
And claim that that is still the case.
Some people tried to change that, and thats why I went to see them (for free) when they visited the capital of Sweden.

The Place
Debaser Medis
One of the better stages in town. Most people have a good view of the band, and the sound is often close to perfect. Not tonight however.
But one single thing sucks at the place at Medborgarplatsen in Stockholm. The bar service, must be the one of the worse in northern Europe. It have always been like that and will always be that way. Its a parody of arrogance and incompetence by the boys and girls behind the bar.

The Baboon Show

The Baboon Show

I have heard alot about them, and from the record to judge they are a good band.  The soundmixing didn´t help them to live up to that, and I can´t tell if it was the support band factor or the band itself to blame for that. But there is my negativity comming to an end. The show, the energy and songs themself was brilliant. It was really the Baboon Show going on. With the outacting female singer being everywhere at once in a way mostly male singers like Pelle of the Hives, UCP´s Ebbot and a bit of Iggy Pop made their trademark. Pattie Smith is the closest female singer to compare it with, at least physical. Her voice doesn´t have any similarities with Smith however. She was backed up by a band that support her wild stage style with some of it as well. Their best song was "You got a problem..." and live it was a highlight, even if they did a good job in the other tunes as well. I liked what I saw.

Then I could really go home. and I wished I did.



The Damned

My problem with the Damned is that I don´t think they were really into punk at all in the first place. It just happened and they jumped on the wagon. Until they could be fore runners into the Goth genre. I found them too theatrical to be a punkband of class. In the Goth genres that is an advantage. But with songs like Eloise they really expose themself as an ordinary popband not too far from Wham.

In this gig I felt, and my girlfriend that was the Damned expert to help me out that night and my checking point, after few songs that the goth thing was history. Insted they landed in a nomansland of nostalgia and entertainment played by a bunch of very old and tired men. This was the “flogging a dead horse” that punk once reacted against. The punk factor was long gone, and so seems the goth factor, the music ended up in a middle of nowhere. If Styx and Yes* was the support act then I maybee could sense some punk in it. But now I can´t. I can mention a list of bands that covers “New Rose” better than the original band does. It was all that horrible that I ever feared that punk one day would come to. Lazy, a bit too slow, a bit too comfortable to convince. After Baboon Show they look like a bunch af pensionists on an annual trip.
Like my lady put it, “Once Dave was a gorgeous and sexy goth man, now he is just…eh… sad and old”.
And Captain Sensible can secure come out of the closet as a tranny now, it is 2014 and there is Pride festivals everywhere, so it is allright.



I went for free, but if I ever paid 300SEK for this I might question my sanity.

*In Gothenburg Troublemakers was supporting them and blew the Damned off stage I heard.

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