Danzig / Gorgeous Frankenstein

live in Baltimore (2007)

mikexdude

I will start by saying I am not a huge Danzig (the band) fan past their first three albums. I'm not even a huge metal fan either, so going to this show was strictly for the Misfits set that was promised. I would try to write a review without too much bias, but Glenn Danzig is my hero and the Misfits are my favorite band; I came into the show thinking it was going to be the best show of my life.

Now that that's out of the way, I came in right when Suicide City was walking off stage. The singer kind of looked like a mix between Jorge from the Casualties and Davey Havok.

Next band up was Boston's Doomriders. This is when the first problem occured: The setup/soundcheck took about 45 minutes, which would curse the rest of the bands when it was their time to take the stage. Doomriders was nothing special: a mix of metal, hardcore punk and just rock 'n' roll. The crowd took a liking to them but the good times ended when they overstayed their welcome.

Following a longer surge of technical difficulties and an even longer setup, Gorgeous Frankenstein made their worldwide debut. Gorgeous Frankenstein is two-thirds of the band Blitzkid with the only exception of Doyle on guitar. Goolsby, the singer and bassist, came out with a microphone around his head (much like *NSYNC used to have) and Doyle's wife came on stage to pole dance. It was hard to tell if the crowd was interested more in Doyle's wife rubbing herself with a GF sweatband than the actual music. Doyle's guitar tone was muddy and not very appealing while Goolsby's voice was much like Danzig's croon. After a while, it was obvious that Doyle's wife was tired and Goolsby's mic broke; it just lost the intensity it originally had. The highpoint was Doyle's stage presence.

This being the first time seeing Danzig in person, I was more than excited. The lineup consisted of Todd Youth (Agnostic Front, Murphy's Law) and Steve Zing (Samhain). Since I am not a fan of post-Danzig III releases, the set was somewhere on the disappointing side. Sound-wise, I've seen many videos of Danzig and I can honestly say that this was Danzig's best vocal quality and stage presence. This may have something to do with it being the first show of the tour in support for his Lost Tracks. He played two of said tracks, which were nothing special. Things finally picked up (but at the same time, this is where the shit hits the fan) when we got into "How the Gods Kill." It was a great vocal performance and the crowd participation only added to its epic stature….

…and then Danzig falls.

At first, no one took a notice to it, but it was obvious he was irritated. The smile that followed him on stage had faded and he was mouthing all sorts of words to photographers and even guitarist Todd Youth. Despite that, more standout performances followed. "Her Black Wings," "Twist of Cain" and the closing hit, "Mother." Danzig walked off mad.

After five minutes of the crowd chanting "We are 138!," Todd, the drummer and Steve returned to the stage and everyone was excited. Much to a lot of people's surprise, the encore were two Danzig songs: "She Rides" and "Dirty Black Summer." They all walked off again. We were waiting for them to return once more for the Misfits set. Slowly, the lights went on and the instruments were being removed. The crowd started chanting things such as "Bullshit!" I stayed another 10 minutes and finally left. I felt betrayed by my hero.

The next day, I read that Glenn Danzig seriously injured his arm and played the Philadelphia show in an arm sling. Gorgeous Frankenstein posted a bulletin via MySpace apologizing to everyone but saying there was "a justified reason."

Overall, it was a mediocre show, but seeing Danzig is definitely worth the trouble. My last complaint was that Danzig shirts started at $28 and there were a lack of good designs. Hopefully, Danzig won't call it quits and I will finally be able to see (or close as I can get to) the Misfits.