8/12/00- NJ - LIVEVIL - The Misfits
Aug 14 '00
Who: The Misfits
What: A Live Music Event
Where: The Birch Hill Night Club,Old Bridge NJ
When: Saturday, August 12 2000
Why: BECAUSE IT’S THE MISFITS!
The last time I had seen the Misfits was in February of this year at the New England Metal and Hardcore festival in Massachusetts. The band was scheduled to close out the show in grand Misfits fashion. After 2 days and countless bands, the Misfits hit the stage around midnight. Having just returned from a brief tour of Japan, the band looked tired and was quite sloppy. After playing around 40 minuets Misfits bassist and leader Jerry Only stepped up to the mic to informed the audience that the police were on the scene and that they were shutting the show down. It seems that while the Misfits were playing a mini riot broke out in a different part of the venue. Members of the notorious Massachusetts band A.C. (I really wish I could let you know what that stands for) got into a little skirmish with the members of Connecticut hardcore legends Hatebreed.
Although I was very disappointed with this nights performance I knew that it was a fluke, the band was tired and just needed a few days rest to recharge their batteries. I also knew that I had tickets to their next show only 6 days later at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC. I had seen the Misfits at Roseland several times in the past and all of the shows had been great. So the day of the show I am sitting at my office, grinning with joy as the hours tick away. I knew that I’d be seeing one of my favorite bands in mere hours. The show was scheduled to start at 8pm. At four pm I received a call….”Yo, the show is canceled! I heard the Misfits are breaking up!”….At first I thought it was my friend playing with my fragile emotions. “You’re just messing with me!” I said as a reflex, hoping that it was true. “Nope, I wish I was, I heard that they kicked Jerry Only out because he was spending so much time focusing on wrestling in the WCW”…with that I hung up the phone and began to wonder if this was truly the end of the Misfits.
As the days and weeks went by, I picked up bits and pieces of information from various sources. It seems that there had been some dissention amongst the band members. It looked like some of the band members had actually quit, or been fired. I was disappointed to say the least. In the tradition of many of my other favorite bands (i.e. Into Another, Quicksand) the band had broken up and left me asking why. As a few more weeks passed things began to become cloudy again. The bands official website www.misfits.com began to say that the band had not broken up and that they just needed a little break to try and sort things out. With that my hopes were somewhat heightened. A few more months down the line the website began posting tour dates! It seemed that the band had worked out their differences and were ready to once again prove that they are one of Americas best (and underrated!) bands.
I eagerly awaited any news of a NYC show. At first it looked as though the band would only being playing a few shows in the year 2000, most of which were going to be conventions or out on the West Coast. While I was happy they were out playing, I was mad because they weren’t playing near me! I then found out that the Misfits would be playing at the Birch Hill Nightclub in NJ. My mission was simple….to see for myself that the band was still together and still putting on a great live show.
So myself, along with the jedi went off in search of the Misfits this past Saturday night. While driving to the show we joked about calling to make sure the show was still on, but in my heart I really wanted to. I still had that fear in my heart. As we approached the club we noticed the line outside. Well, that’s always a good sign! We parked the car and went to join the rest of the “fiends” online. While there we overheard several conversations about what had really gone on with the band a few months before. The one thing everyone seemed to be saying was “Well, I am just glad that I am getting the chance to see them again!”.
At this point in time I would estimate that there were about 400 people online all of whom were obviously excited to be there. Some fiends were decked out to the nines in their face paint and straight jackets, a loving tribute to the band. So as we inch our way towards the door we here the announcement “The show is sold out. There are no more tickets at the door!” with this a giant groan (as well as a few obscenities) could be heard filling the air. I had to ask myself “What the hell were these people thinking? Why didn’t they just get their tickets 2 weeks ago when they went on sale?” The line thinned out considerably after the announcement. People began asking if anyone had extra tickets (to which the answer was no)…. All I can say people is get you tickets to shows you want to see as soon as they go on sale!!!!!!!! I almost wanted to laugh at all those poor souls who were now going to have to spend the evening at McDonalds rather then watching the Misfits.
As we entered the club I was surprised at its size. I had been told that the club was pretty big. I was expecting a place that could hold 1500 people, what I got was a club that looked like it maybe held half that (even with the all of the fire codes being broken). The lights and sound were all right. I was expecting a little bit more out of this place but it was decent. It gave me the feeling of being in a really big sports bar more then a club. The place was already packed as we made our way to the back bar to get a decent vantage for one of the opening bands called reach the sky. Reach They Sky are a hardcore band from Boston. I had seen the band a few times before but didn’t remember to much about them. What I got was some good hardcore. Not the best I’ve ever heard but not that bad either. I think that under different circumstance I would have liked them a lot more. All in all they weren’t that bad and I would recommend them to anyone who likes positive and optimistic hardcore. They get bonus points for sincerely thanking the Misfits for being so supportive of them during the tour.
Up next was Cali heavyweights Ignite. This is another band that I have seen a few times but never really paid that much attention to. I must say that Ignite really made me stop and take notice on this night. They have that clean vocal hardcore sound which orange county seems to have a reputation for these days. I know these guys are huge in the hardcore scene and it’s easy to see why. They had a bunch of really great songs and a ton of energy to back them up. While I tend to like the east coast, metallic-new-school hardcore more then the West Coast style, I must say Ignite was great. They had the audience singing along (I noticed several die-hard Ignite fans in attendance) as well as dancing and crowd surfing throughout their set.
As Ignite finished up an unseen tension began to fill the room. The Misfits were about to bless us with their presence. About a half an hour after Ignite had left the stage the beggings of “Kong at the Gates” (the instrumental leadoff track from their latest album “Famous Monsters”) began to play. That was our sign that the Misfits were here and going to blow us away. Dr Chud could be seen behind his drum kit pounding away, bassist jerry only and guitarist Doyle emerged from the shadows and began to creep around the stage as “Kong” came to an end. As the last notes of “Kong faded away, the band tore into “The Forbidden Zone” another track from the bands latest CD. Vocalist Michael Graves walked out onto the stage with his trademark facepaint and began to prance around like a little kid who has had way to much sugar on Halloween. The band sounded tight as the rumbled along. Graves vocals seemed dwarfed by the audience, as everyone in the crowed was singer along at the top of their lungs. The band didn’t seem to mind as the smile on Jerry Only’s face showed just how happy he was to receive such a warm reception from his hometown fans. The bands early songs were focused from their last two albums, American Psycho (Geffen) and Famous Monsters (Roadrunner). The newer songs sounded great, all of them fast paced punk rock with melodic vocals. For or five songs into their set the band dusted off a few older numbers including “static age” and “t.v. Causality”. For their next tune they chose to play “last caress” to the fans roaring approval. While by no means the bands best song it is perhaps their most well know due to the fact that the Metallica has covered it. Those in attendance sang along with Graves as he chanted “I’ve got something to say, I killed your baby today, and it doesn’t matter much to me as long as she’s dead”. After the brief set of classics the band returned to their new work by playing such tunes as “Dig Up Her Bones”, “The Crimson Ghost”, “Pumpkinhead”, “Scarecrow Man” as well as several others. It seemed to me that much of the bands newer works was received just as well as the bands older, legendary songs. After a few more new ones the band pulled out “Mommy, can I go out and kill tonight?” Again, much like “Last Caress” the audience sang right along with Graves overpowering him at times. It was great to know that I wasn’t the only person who was glad the band was back. There were a few surprising during they show. Only called his daughter out onto the stage (she was really cute! Sorry Jerry, but she is a hottie) to sing her happy birthday. It seems that she had turned 18 that night. Only also had his son come up on stage (black circles under his eyes and all) to play bass during astro zombies and skulls. It was weird yet interesting to see Only in a lighter moment. He is not only a monster onstage, but a pretty cool dad as well….
The Misfits have never been known to be the tightest band in the world but they sounded good on this night. Punk rock isn’t supposed to be perfect. Jerry Only and Dr. Chud held down the low end nicely as Doyle seemed to decimate his guitar as he played. I don’t see how he can play that hard without breaking a string or two during every song! The highlight for me on this evening had to be Graves, whom it appears has finally grown out of the shadow of the bands lead original lead singer Glenn Danzig has a presence about him which suits the band perfectly. He has an energy and enthusiasm that seems genuine. He sings, but also growls, barks and screams during the songs seemingly trying to exercise some unseen demons. Graves has an excellent vocal range and delivery style as well, which I felt was best displayed during “The Crawling Eye”.
As I walked out of the Birch Hill after the show I felt very lucky to have been able to see the Misfits again. While they may never get the recognition they deserve they now that the have loyal fans whom have stuck with them through think and thin. After a show like tonight you know why they do it……..
REPORT
Reach They Sky – B
Ignite – A
Misfits – A+
Lights – C
Sound - C
Overall a good night but it was the Misfits that made the night really great.
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suckernyc
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Member: $uckernyC
Location: New York, NY
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