Review: Danzig

Danzig did not permit photogrophers into Thursday's show so we raided his Facebook page. Photo courtesy of Danzig/Facebook

Glenn Danzig leaves audience all shook up.

The man known as the "Evil Elvis" took care of business Thursday at the Uptown Theater. Glenn Danzig, a vastly influential icon of punk and metal, demonstrated his affinity for the King of Rock and Roll in a brief but bracing outing.

Danzig, 56, shares Elvis' bluesy voice, penchant for martial arts moves and intangible but undeniable charisma.

Thursday's concert served as a survey of his career. Danzig founded the Misfits in 1977. The punk band's ubiquitous skull logo is familiar even to people who've never heard the band. Danzig went on to form the band Samhain before creating the sinister metal act Danzig in 1987.

The characteristically disturbing song "SkinCarver" opened Danzig's set.

A thunderous version of "Twist of Cain" was another example of Danzig's ongoing flirtation with horrific and satanic themes. The subject matter might have seemed silly if not for the primal force of the music. The vocalist was backed by a powerful trio. The extremely punishing volume inside the Uptown Theater made the sinister work of guitarist Tommy Victor, the founder of metal band Prong, particularly menacing. Danzig's masculine bluster makes it nastier than Motorhead, meaner than AC/DC and far more malevolent than Ozzy Osbourne.

After 35 minutes of metallic bombast, Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein bounded onto the stage like an enraged rodeo bull. Fifteen frantic minutes of Misfits material ensued. Shirtless and wearing face paint and an impressive devilock hair style, Frankenstein chugged through a handful of Misfits classics including "The Last Caress," "Astro Zombies" and "I Turned Into a Martian." During this segment, Danzig's vocals shifted from mellifluous bellowing to clipped shouting.

After an instrumental interlude, Danzig sang "Mother," the biggest hit of his career. As he tossed water bottles into the crowd and tirelessly offered high-fives to fans near the stage, Danzig's reputation as an overly temperamental artist seemed undeserved. Alas, things wouldn't end well.

After performing for just over an hour, Danzig and his cohorts abandoned the stage. The crowd of about 800- many of whom had been inside the venue for over four hours- initially responded with hearty calls for an encore. Within five minutes their cheers transformed into discontented grumbling. Five additional minutes passed before the house lights were turned on and stage hands began tearing down the set. The "Evil Elvis" had apparently left the building.

Opening acts: Hammerlord was the most impressive of Danzig's three opening acts. The area band's fearsome thrash is free of excess, a commendable trait not shared by MonstrO or Kyng. The stoner metal of Atlanta's MonstrO only began to coalesce at the conclusion of its 35-minute set. The most memorable moments of an appearance by Kyng were the Los Angeles-based power trio's responses to impatient hecklers.

| Bll Brownlee, Special to The Star

Comments

[Country Jesus]

I was seriously considering this show especially to see the Misfits covers - but only 15 minutes worth and and hour show sounds like a rip off to me. Glad I went to Blitzen Trapper, which was the best show I've seen all year.

[Green]

Wanted to see Blitzen, I should have went out last night, glad I didnt go to Danzig, just an hour of music, that's weak! Was Blitzen a packed house?

[Madball]

I was at the show last night. Danzig was amazing. Clearly their was an issue with the sound because the feedback on his vocals was prevalent but he still was amazing. It was worth the money I have been a fan since 1989. Also Hammerlord was killer they had an old school thrash vibe. Kyng and MonstrO are also good bands. To me it really seemed like their was an issue with the sound system when it came to the vocals of all the bands except for hammerlord.

[Bubba]

I was there last night as well. Last time I saw DANZIG was 1995 at Memorial Hall when MARILYN MANSON opened. GLENN DANZIG was certainly giving it his all at the Uptown gig. Was a bit disappointed that they didn't return for two more songs. Also sort of liked opener MONSTRO. Show was good, worth catching - glad tickets were kept under the $40 mark. I would have likely passed up on it if it costed more.

[Country Jesus]

BT was pretty packed. They'll be in Columbia at the end of the month.

[Too Much Rock]

I disagree with the review entirely. I think the people that were thrilled to see Danzig and Doyle would have been just as happy if the duo came out on stage and took a dump. I saw them in 2005 and they tore it up. This show was pretty shite actually. If interested check out my thoughts and photos of the night on Too Much Rock at http://toomuchrock.com/shows/danzig2.html