Tonight in Shows: The Damned

By PW Staff
Add Comment Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted May. 13, 2009

Share this Story:

The Damned
8pm, $23-26. TLA.
Prior to the Damned, frontman Dave Vanian was a gravedigger. In the Damned, he was a virtual vampire—stalking stages with his pale skin, long raven hair and frilly shirts. So it makes sense that he continues to feed off the corpse of the Damned more than three decades after they helped kick-start U.K. punk and presage the goth movement. To be fair, the Damned—thrilling punks but perennial third-stringers behind the Clash and the Pistols—survived while most of their peers did not (albeit with an ever-changing lineup that now counts only Vanian and Captain Sensible as remaining original members). And while recently released So, Who’s Paranoid? is hardly Damned, Damned, Damned, it’s hardly an embarrassment. And neither is the fiftysomething Vanian, who had the good sense to ditch the Dracula look, even if he still has a taste for blood. (Michael Alan Goldberg)

Lez Zeppelin
7pm, $17-19. Troc.
How satisfying that one of rock ’n’ roll’s greatest—and most misogynistic—bands should have its own all-female tribute group. Lez Zeppelin, led by Steph Paynes, twists the woman-baiting histrionics of Page and Plant into pretzel shapes—genuine admiration twined with gender-bending parody. Paynes plays the music straight, cranking classic riffs from “Black Dog” and “Whole Lotta Love,” bowing the solo in “Dazed and Confused” and even bringing a double-neck for the Hobbit-y classic “Stairway.” Still, there’s something cheeky about a midriff-baring beauty howling “Babe, I’m gonna leave you … ” like she’s off for a night with the sharks and groupies. Cock rock without the cock. What a concept! (Jennifer Kelly)

Also, the Why Kay Kays — straight out of lovely Royersford, PA — bring their really odd, really interesting indie-pop, crafted out of craggy guitars, banjos, theremin, spoons, organ, and Mike Patton-y vocals, to the North Star. Think Man Man meets Mr. Bungle [7pm/$8].

For more music coverage, check out PW's music blog.

Add to favoritesAdd to Favorites PrintPrint Send to friendSend to Friend

COMMENTS

ADD COMMENT

Rate:
(HTML and URLs prohibited)
User Guidelines