May 19, 2018 was a homecoming of which the likes have rarely been seen before in New Jersey. Some 35 years ago, the original Misfits left the place a battered, broken band, collapsing due to internal fighting. For over three decades, the smart money was on no reunion… ever. Danzig has been doing consistently well on tours with his solo band. Plus, there was no love lost between the two longest running members, Danzig and bassist Jerry Only, when Only revamped the Misfits sans Glenn in a variety of troupes, sometimes including teenagers on the mic, former members of the Ramones and Black Flag, and most recently, including his own son.
Say what you will about Danzig himself, but he’s not one to buckle or retract from his position, so as the two punk titans butted heads, not only did a reunion of the original singer and original bassist seem unlikely, it seemed absurd. Yet, whereas the original Misfits broke up after exiting of a club holding a few hundred people in Detroit, three decades later they returned for the first time to their home turf (or close enough) as hallowed heroes, selling out a massive 20,000 seat capacity hockey arena.
No doubt, it was a reckoning and perhaps even a validation, though, it’s not as if the original Misfits ever needed validation to begin with. No one can argue with the band’s bonafides- horror, weightlifting, doo wop, slamming punk rock makes for one HELL of an artistic expression- but even so, the massive celebration of the band did seem to bring some warmth to the original members. Glenn Danzig is not known for having a jovial disposition but even the king fiend himself was cracking smiles throughout the performance.
Yet, despite the import of the occasion, the band… perhaps downplayed… the weight of the occasion. The show opened with a surprisingly Samhain-ish pre-recorded intro and then the boys took the stage. Jerry Only was decked out in his classic Dracula-leather jacket and skull-topped bass. Doyle, while not an original Misfit, is a long standing member of the group having played on many of the original recordings, looked as beastly as ever, stomping onto the stage, bolts in his neck, metal combat boots clacking away, and just generally looking like a guy who tears people’s heads off. The band was supported by two non-fits: Acey Slade supplied extra guitar and Slayer’s Dave Lombardo brought the boom-bap. (One assumes that for a gig of this magnitude, the band needed someone who was capable of driving the whole vehicle in such a gargantuan show. It was an ace pick. Lombado’s punk-meets-metal background was exactly the loose , but not too loose, raw power a band like this needed to charge ahead without flying off the rails.)
Moments later, the Dark Don himself, stormed out onto the stage, clad in his iconic black on black look and as ever, looking mean. After that, it was no more pomp and was off to the races as the band suddenly snapped into “Death Comes Ripping.” It was loud, chaotic, frantic, and noisy. Oh how it was noisy and volatile. The fact is, hockey arenas aren’t meant for sound quality, so while the band smashed and strummed and howled away, the noise bounced off itself and around the arena creating a messy racket. But frankly, it worked. Referencing the classic Evilive album and vintage videos, the Misfits have always favored a more vicious, berserk sound compared to their more polished studio recordings. One guesses that the band felt that physicality and sheer pummeling is as important to the band as musicianship, and frankly, I’d agree. To that end, the arena was filled with a chaotic noise-mass that sometimes blasted the audience back and that sometimes, allowed the audience to overtake the soundsystem with 20,000 some people howling “whooooaaaa ooo oooo” in unison. Ironic that the Misfits, who are a quintessential outsider band (even their name implies this) was a meeting-of-the-minds for the full population of a medium sized town.
Danzig himself was in fine form, curling out those iconic doo-wop lines for tracks like “Last Caress” and then switching over into werewolf mode for the more ferocious cuts like “Mommy, can I go out an kill tonight.” The main man couldn’t resist dropping in a few of his classic Danzigers, either. Notably, cellphones were strictly outlawed at the show and the singer stated, “We don’t mind you taking a photo or two, but don’t make a career out of it!” Cards on the table- it was actually, really, really nice to be able to watch a show without having someone waving a glowing screen two feet in front of your face every other song.
Later on, Danzig also said something along of beating down someone who said the band was using pre-recorded backing tracks. That rumor has been drifting around and I suspect even the people spreading it know that it's fake. Anyone that was at the show certainly was assured of that. You don’t make music this chaotic, this brutal, this raw, with backing tracks. (Compare KISS live to Misfits live and you’ll see what I mean.) The backing track thing was demonstrably false and its time for it to die, right here, right now.
All the hits were played more or less without any deference to any one of the original era recordings. More berserk Earth AD tracks were dropped right in along the more crooner-style early songs. “Green Hell” ripped up the stage just before “Halloween.” “Devilock” was sandwiched between “Vampira” and “Where Eagles Dare.” Though, because all the versions were so jagged and snarling, it felt like all the tracks sprang from some singular, cosmic blackness.
And there too, was another irony. Misfits songs are some of the nastiest, most fiendish songs there are- check the lyrics for “Teenagers from Mars” or “Bullet” for proof of that. But, honestly, joy and fun seemed to be the theme for the night. What a surprise. In fact, the whole celebratory attitude of the show- “punk champions finally getting their due” as it were- perhaps should give cause for re-evaluation of the underlying catalogue. As it stood, original Misfits tracks seem to tell tales of hatred, alienation, and a generally allegience to destruction. But, if those same tracks can bring 20,000 people together, and if those same songs can bring a smile across even Danzig’s face, maybe they’re even deeper than we previously thought, even if the inspiration for, oh, say “I turned into a Martian” was a guy in a green rubber suit.
Before the Misfits played, Suicidal Tendencies played a full set. Interestingly, they stood out in stark contrast to the other acts. All three other bands for the evening were P-U-N-K bands whereas ST were in strict metal mode. Each of their songs was about five minutes of non-stop, technical, practiced thrashing. Each note, each drum crack, each on-stage maneuver was precise, with pre-set moves and a nearly James Brown level of focus and practice. The crowd was easily won over by the non-stop headbanging chug, so it’s obvious why ST have been doing their thing for over 30 years too.
Before ST, Murphy’s Law played and they were perhaps the biggest question of the evening. Murphy’s Law masterfully, and paradoxically, blends hardcore and comedy, meaning that their shows aren't always known for “professionalism”… and that’s what makes them so wonderful, mind you. One is reminded of their New Hope show from last year wherein they took the stage, played about three songs or so, an then broke into a 25 minute ska number where singer Jimmy Gestapo walked around, drank beers, slammed JD, and smoke some joints while mocking the audience. Would they pull it together for the big NJ show? The answer: as best they could. The band had a setlist and cranked out about 8 hard driving, energetic songs that walk the line between wildness and whimsy. Each demonstrated why ML are in the punk pantheon, and also, how they have never really been duplicated. Meanwhile, Gestapo couldn’t help himself and did a few mini-stand up routines between songs , while taking time to drink in the momentous occasion. He seemed rather pleased with how the whole thing panned out and if there’s a guy who seems to have mastered the secrets to the good life, it’s Gestapo. So, take that for what it’s worth.
Fittingly, the show opened with Harley Flanagan’s newish band Hard-Core. Flanagan also seemed to be moved by the occasion and its significance. Many years ago, he started Murphys Law with Gestapo and he also briefly jammed with the Misfits before the recording of Earth Ad. Flanagan seems to be on a high point right now, having released the amazing Cro-Mags album and an excellent new EP. To that end, he blasted through a 20 minute set that was split between classic Mags material and a few newer jams. Though, if you couldn’t tell the difference between the two, that was understandable as his newest tracks do indeed rank up with his classic early material. Flanagan and his band focused on the “punk” aspect of hardcore punk and where loud and powerful, but they always were sure to keep the underlying swing in their riffs. Midway through the mini-set, Flanagan’s son took the stage and sang “Hard times” along with his pops. As with the Misfits songs of misery somehow being converted to mirth, Flanagan’s tales of trouble became songs of triumph. It may have been a long and winding road, but you have to admit, it is nice to see underground artists not only get their due, but to also just totally, completely, fully, absolutely kick ass on stage while doing it.