On Stage: The Damned

03 March 2023 Paris, Cabaret Sauvage

Those who were lucky enough to attend the first dates of The Damned Tour 2023 could already experience live some songs from the new studio album “Darkadelic” announced for April 28, 2023.

In Paris we were in the Cabaret Sauvage. With its circular design, the homey venue is reminiscent of a circus manage. – Perfect for the new song “Beware of the Clown”, for which singer Dave Vanian brought out a red clown nose in contrast to his smart suit. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. First of all, after the band’s entrance, they started with the 1985 classic “Street of Dreams” and then continued with the new track “Invisible Man”, which was already known from the single release. With “Wait for the Blackout” and “Lively Arts”, the time travel went even further back in the discography, to the year 1980. Three years back again, no one was able to hold back “Born to Kill” at the latest.

While the crowd was really going wild, we looked around. A thoroughly mixed audience that made it clear to us: The Damned inspire both old and young and are not limited to any particular “scene”. In the course of the set, the quintet completely spent themselves and finally also got rid of their leather jackets or blazers. Only the sunglasses remained on the noses, of course. True to the style, it continued with timeless music between yesterday and today. During the evening not only Dave and Captain Sensible swung the dancing leg, also Monty Oxymoron moved behind his keyboard like a youngster, as well as bassist Paul Gray. The classic “Neat Neat Neat” was followed by an interlude of Captain Sensible’s solo piece “Wot” and of course the fans couldn’t go home without “New Rose” as the brilliant last piece this evening.
Claudia Zinn-Zinnenburg
Photos: Olivier Tarabo

Setlist:
“Street of Dreams” – “Invisible Man” – “Wait for the Blackout” – “Lively Arts” – “Born to Kill” – “Bad Weather Gurk” – “You’re Gonna Realise” – “Western Promise” – “Beware of the Clown” – “Wake the Dead” – “Follow Me” – “Motorcylce Man” – “Leader of the Gang” – “From Your Lips” “Love Song” – “Machine Gun Etiquette” – “Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow” – “Neat Neat” — “Wot” – “Eloise” – “Smash It up” – “Girl I’ll Stop at Nothing” – “New Rose”

By the way, in our May/June issue you can find an interesting interview with Captain Sensible!