[ATTENDED: May 3, 2025] The Damned
I saw the Damned at Coney Isalnd High with my friend Garry on Feb 6 1998
The BellRays are a band from California that describes itself as an original punk, rock and soul band. I had never heard of them and assumed they were a young band. But they have been together since 1990. I guess if I hadn’t heard of them in 35 years, they weren’t really on my radar.
So they came out and demanded quite a lot from the audience. Again, I thought they were a new band, so this surprised (and annoyed) me. Knowing that they’ve been doing this for so long, I get where the on stage banter and attitude comes from.
They rocked pretty well, but it really wasn’t my thing. Actually, that’s not true. If they had opened for someone else–someone soulful and almost bluesy, I would have enjoyed them more. But there’s really nothing punk about them (except their attitude, I guess).
The songs were basic, good rockers, but lyrically, they were pretty meh.
Having said that, singer Lisa Kekaula has a fantastic voice–soulful and powerful–and she and guitarist Robert Vennum, the founders of the band) have great chemistry. I was thinking that a comparison of her voice to Tina Turner’s was lazy; however, in their blurb they say they have been described as ‘Tina Turner fronting AC/DC.” I wouldn’t go as heavy as AC/DC for the band, but the description works. Actually, they sound a lot more like an L.A. metal band circa late 80’s. Although their cover of Ball of Confusion was pretty great.
If I was in the right mood for them I probably would have loved them, but I found them just okay.
The Damned toured around here in 2023 and I couldn’t go. But Fucked Up opened for them and I sure as hell would have enjoyed THAT double bill.
- On Top £
- I Fall Down ♠
- Hard Drive ♠
- Wolf’s Sun ♠
- Changing Colors ‰
- Living a Lie £
- Down On My Knees ♠
- One More Night ♠
- Voodoo Train €
- Black Lightning £
- Startime €
♠ Heavy Steady Go
£ Black Lightning
€ Red White and Black
‰ Let It Blast
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