It’s a funny ol’ game this Damned caper… always has been I s’pose, but this last decade has seen it’s fair share of soap-opera type shenanigans, fairly farcical displays, fucking fantastic displays and, I’m glad to say, some great new songs to add to the already choc-full-o’-goodies Damned songbook. 
So, to Nottingham Rock City… on a pre-Xmas night out, it was pretty certain this was gonna fall into the “Fucking Fantastic” category. I managed to resist saying “fangtastic” (Damned cliche #29) there I may add! A pretty cool venue Rock City, and one I’ve been to a couple of times. Once to play with those nasty Gin Goblins, and once to see the masters of space-rock Hawkwind. So Nottingham was the pick of the bunch when the Damned’s tour decided that Scotland was too cold and miserable to go to (true, it is). Last time in this fair city I wandered around for over and hour trying to find a fucking off-licence for the essential after-gig carry out. Pubs in England still live in the Dark Ages and close at the surely-just-a-joke-landlord time of 11 o’ clock. What?!! You can decide to go out at that time here! But I mustn’t get into that… This time I bought in advance, and naturally found numerous off-licences everywhere I looked as soon as I got there. Bastards! Possibly the increasingly desperate Scotsman from last year had actually given them the idea to open the bleedin’ places, but more likely the Gods Of Bevvy were messing with me. 
Found our bed for the night with great ease… Nottingham is pretty good for wandering about, and as ever time quickly flew by meaning it was time to rush to the gig, missing the meet-up mentioned on the Damned message board in a dodgy goth pub. Goth pubs… I ask you, it’s all changed since I were a lad. 
 A strangely circuitous route was taken to the gig, which since it was raining was just what the doctor didn’t order. Alison says this way, I say that way… we both don’t have a fucking clue despite the simplicity of it all. But we get there in the end, as we always do. 
Inside, bought a few t-shirts for ideal Xmas gifts, bar, hang around. That was pretty much the events-list. I did manage to bump into Damned message-boarder Woody, who I’d met through flogging off some ancient Damned flexi… and he was kind enough to buy us a couple of drinks at their poorly-stocked-with-Stella bar. Cooking lager it had to be then… but cheers anyway Woody!
So, lights down… and on came The Damned, to a more than warm welcome by a pretty damn full Rock City. Great to see Captain in a Don’t Attack Iraq t-shirt… Cap was the first person that made me realise you could have a political brain without necessarily being po-faced and serious all the time. You can never say it too many times… FUCK GEORGE BUSH. 
What woulda been the surprise of the night was somewhat dampened by the fact that I knew they were gonna start with it… Street Of Dreams, off that mid-80’s big production job Phantasmagoria. Who woulda thought it?!! It sounded great with this current line-up, and while I’d gotten bored of it during the 80’s, it was a welcome return to the set. It’s good to see the band making an effort to drag out the unexpected rather than rely on the usual suspects. 
If I recall correctly, another not-quite-played-so-often number came next, in the fine shape of Nasty. Always a winner this one… I remember the Not Of This Earth line-up (argh, heresy!!.. fuck off!!!) doing a similarly splendid rendition. Seems to have become quite a crowd-pleaser over the years, despite it being stuck away as the b-side to the (would also be good to hear nowadays) Thanks For The Night. 
My god, yet another pleasant surprise… I Fall! I often forget about the many classics Damned Damned Damned contains, being a “Holy Trinity” man myself (that’s Machine Gun Etiquette, The Black Album and Strawberries if yer too thick to work it out for yerself!). I do of course love New Rose and Neat Neat Neat, but can get a bit tired of hearing ‘em over and over at the expense of all the others.
Disco Man dances, nay, sashays from the stage next… reminding anyone who needs reminding that the Damned have so many classics from so many eras. How many bands rely solely on first album/early material to get the crowd going… here’s a single-track from just before the 5th album standing up to anything else the Damned have ever done. But speaking of this single I have to say Limit Club Limit Club Limit Club!
Oh my god… I Just Can’t Be Happy Today… another joy to hear again. And a great version with the keyboard wizardry of Mr.Moron. I know people who swear that a character as cool as Vanian should never utter the word “telly”, but tonight it was just great to hear this great song dusted off once more. The days of Sensible trying to play the keyboard solo on guitar have long-since faded!
Bang up to date with what was usually the opener… Democracy. It’s great to hear new material (well, new-ish now, I s’pose) in a Damned set that’s just as good as the old. Not that I’ve ever NOT liked the material unveiled at a Damned show… and yup, heresy once again (so fucking BURN me!) that includes Not Of This Earth! Anyway, digression yet again, Democracy is a groovy little number indeed, demonstrating the power and energy this current line-up has. Pinch has added an incredible amount, especially after the fucking awful Gary Dreadful. Rat Scabies takes a fuck of a lot to replace, but Pinch does a fine job, though of course I still find the character and distinctive style of Rat sorely missed. Just as Captain was missed both musically and personality-wise, I feel this is the one thing stopping this current line-up being 100%. But they’re damn close.
One slight complaint was the bass yet again being very low in the mix. Now the official line before was dodgy amp, but who the fuck doesn’t have an amp fixed after this amount of time? I dunno what the reasons are, but bass definitely seems to be getting stuck right at the back of the queue with this incarnation of the Damned. Turn the fucker up!
Another kinda-newy in the shape of Amen followed, then the classic 13th Floor Vendetta. Technology/ability now allows the band to do a stunning version of this Black Album classic. I remember a few attempts in the early 80’s not quite coming off, but it’s a definite winner now.
Ignite was next up… been a while since I heard this I think, but always a pleasure, and it allows Cap to knock out some wild solo’s. For such a great guitar player, it’s incredible how he’s been overlooked for so long. Two words I s’pose… Happy Fucking Talk. Okay, that’s three, but the middle one was necessary when I recalled that piece of shit single! 
Song.com followed, and despite it being once more a splendid little ditty I decided it was time to refresh my refreshment and head to the bar. Great, apart from the fact that it took forever to get served, during which those sods on stage decided to play one of my fave songs ever… Under The Floor Again. I’ve never seen ‘em play this one, and never thought I would. And I still fucking haven’t due to being stuck at that bastard slow bar for the entire bleedin’ thing! Arggghhh!! The wee Strawberries percussion thing started up as I was halfway through the bar-throng… and I just knew it… I was gonna miss the song I wanted to see most! Should I turn back, thus meaning I have to re-join the fucking queue, or persevere and at least catch the stunning guitar solo with a pint to add to the enjoyment? I know! I’ll miss the whole fucking song and still not get served! Bastards! Just my luck… Still, my own fault for needing that beer so very very badly. I used to slag off people that did stuff like that too. How times have changed.
So, having missed the song I was waiting to hear I could only make do with Thrill Kill. I felt like Thrill Killing those bleedin’ slow bar staff. But never mind, possible my fave song off Democracy followed in the shapely shape of She. Alison was more than (not) impressed by my harmonious vocals in her ear towards the end. Fortunately the bouncers resisted her calls to have me ejected.
Neat Neat Neat, that ol’ crowd-pleaser was up next. There’s still something slightly wrong with the bass on this one I think… nothing drastic, and I s’pose just played in Patricia’s style, but it always jumps out at me. Thankfully there’s no longer an overly eeexxxttteeennndddeeeddd middle bit. God that became boring! Neat Neat Neat should be served up, well, dare I say it… neat! No dilution with tedious psychedelic noodlings (fine to play perhaps, but fucking dull to stand and listen to) .
Encore time followed… and I must admit, my memory is hazy… was it Absinthe or Would You Be So Hot? I’m trying to refresh me memory from the various setlists from this tour… hmm, maybe if I hadn’t bloody well “refreshed” my memory with beer so much at the gig I’d know! I’m gonna go for Absinthe! No not now you fool, the song, the song! Would You Be So Hot was the next one then… with a fine false New Rose intro. In fact, this was the nearest we got to New Rose all night. No big deal actually… I’ve heard it so many times live over the years. Probably better to bring it out when the occasion deserves, rather than having it as standard.
Then I think it was slap bang wallop with Eloise, Love Song and Smash It Up delivering a fine kick to the teeth. I must confess to going on strike every time they do Eloise and refusing to enjoy it. But it’s gotta be said, this line-up do a great version. In fact they do the best version. I’m thoroughly sick of this song really… was never much of a fave and have pretty much heard it enough for a lifetime… but considering that, it’s not a bad job tonight. 
It was a pleasure to hear Love Song, though again the bass just isn’t quite all there. With some songs you can get away with doing your own thing a bit more, but Love Song is so bass-driven, and the volume was lacking. Still, only a minor gripe, and with Smash It Up following how could anyone complain? Always a fine way to end a Damned gig… 
So there it was… back into the night… carry out calling me all the way. Another great show from the Damned… and here’s to many more!

All pics taken by Woody, Rock City 15.12.02. Cheers!