Last night (September 11), I attended The Original Misfits’ show at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA and it was an extraordinary night of legendary punk.
Harley Flanagan’s Cro-Mags opened the show, which they dedicated to the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The short, hard-hitting set was the perfect way to kick things off and those who showed up early were not disappointed. The group played a number of tracks from their catalog, but one of the highlights was “No One’s Victim” off their latest EP “Don’t Give In.”
As soon as Cro-Mags were done, The Damned took the stage for an awesome set. The band sounded great and they were certainly one of the strongest acts of the night. They were also very energetic, especially keyboardist Monty Oxymoron, who kept breaking out in crazy dances. Highlights from their set included “Smash It Up” and “Love Song.”
Once The Damned finished up, it was time for the East Bay’s own Rancid. The band busted right out of the gate with “Roots Radicals” and continued to play hit after hit with several songs from their latest album “Trouble Maker” thrown in for good measure. The band seemed to be having a great time onstage, which is cool to see and they even had a few humorous stories for the fans. One notable one was from guitarist Lars Frederiksen, who said he asked his son if he wanted to celebrate his 12th birthday with his dad’s band and the Misfits, or if he wanted to go see Iron Maiden at the same venue the night prior. He said the kid rejected the offer to see his band almost instantly, saying “Maiden bro!” Aside from that anecdote, other highlights from the group’s set included performances of “Fall Back Down,” “Time Bomb,” and “Ruby Soho.”
After Rancid, the legendary Misfits descended upon the stage to bring Halloween to the crowd 50 days early. The band opened with “Death Comes Reaping,” before launching into “I Turned Into A Martian” and “Vampira.” The nearly 30 song set was amazing and the band sounded absolutely incredible. Despite the years of feuding between Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only, everything went off without a hitch. Danzig’s vocals were as powerful as ever and Only and Doyle’s stage antics were fun to watch. Having a masterful drummer like Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer, etc.) and a killer guitarist like Acey Slade (Dope, Murderdolls, etc.) only enhanced the experience as well. Aside from the music and showmanship, the band also had solid stage production with big screens that changed the imagery for each track, cool light displays, big jack-o’-lanterns, etc. As far as highlights go, it was definitely cool to see the group perform tracks like: “Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight?,” “Horror Business,” “Hollywood Babylon,” “Skulls,” Where Eagles Dare,” “Last Caress,” “Die, Die My Darling,” and their closer “We Are 138.” All in all, it was phenomenal show full of timeless classics.
