When I first heard one of my favorite all-time bands was playing in Calgary, I was totally estatic. I was expecting the basic post 1994 line up to play a nice mix of new and old tunes. I was especially stoked because this was the first time I was going to see them live.
As I started to get more details about the show, I was shocked to see that Jerry Only wold be the only 'Misfit' appearing that night. Backed by Marky Ramone, and Dez from Black Flag, I soon got over the dissapointment of not seeing the 'real' misfits.
Doors were supposed to open at seven, but didn't open until at least 7:30, which drove most of us into even more of a frenzy. At about eight, the first band went on, a local band who's name I never heard. They were your typical opening band, an unoriginal sound of fast punk but they did seem to get alot o the crowd into there set. The band also seemed really excited to be on the bill, and their extra energy showed.
After about a 25 minute wait, Montreal's Ripcord came on. This is a band that I'd heard of, but never actually heard. The punk vets ripped through about 12 songs and recieved a great reaction from the crowd, and definitely sparked my interest in the band. Check these guys out if you like early eighties style hardecore bands like DOA.
After about a 30 minute wait, the Misfits (well, Jerry, Marky, and Dez) took the stage. To my suprise, pretty much everone in the building took to this all-star line up very well, regarding how most figured other Misfits would be playing (I even had some guy tell me that he was positive that Danzig was singing that night). But three punk legends on one stage seemed to be enough for the crowd.
The band ripped through song after song, a mix of Danzig era tunes (Last Caress, Halloween, 20 Eyes, Astro Zombies, about a million others), at least 5 Ramones tunes (Blitzkrieg Bop, I Wanna be Sedated, Beat on the Brat) as tribute to Joey and Dee Dee, and a collection of Graves era tunes (American Psycho, Forbidden Zone, Dig up her Bones). I had been told that Jerry Only could hardly sing at all, and how his voice would give out after 5 songs, but those rumors were put to rest as his voice is quite good and held up fine for the whole show. There seemed to be alot of energy onstage as well as off, the place went up when the band ripped through the favorites. To cap off the night, these 3 punk legends took the time to sign autographs for pretty much anyone who wanted, which was a great way to end the night.
This truly was an all star punk concert featuring 3 legends who put on one hell of a show, one I won't soon forget.