Misfits – Live In Vancouver (11/09/14)

At this point in their career, the Misfits are known just as much for their famed skull logo than they are for their music. The logo has been co-opted by clothing lines, shoes, posters and more – a Hot Topic mainstay that has surpassed the punk rock lexicon and entered the general pop culture consciousness.

Yet, many people who wear those shoes with the skull logo imprinted on them will have no idea which brand is behind that logo – and Misfits are most definitely a brand. So much so that many of their legal problems over the past several decades have been due to the branding machine that Danzig, Jerry Only and the rest all promoted so perfectly upon the band’s creation.

Ignoring the whole which Misfits incarnation is the real incarnation (its like the Flag/Black Flag debate that we’d all like to just forget about for the time being), Jerry Only leads the way at the moment and as the horror-punk quartet from the suburbs of New Jersey made their way to the Rickshaw Theatre last night, Misfits fans revelled the glory of the classic songs.

Yes, there were moments that seemed forced – too practiced and sometimes trite. There’s very few bands that started back in 1977 that are able to truly maintain their staying power without becoming a bit of a running joke. Hell, just watching legendary Black Flag guitarist (and Misfits lead axe man for the past decade) Dez Cadena tear it up on his six string is worth it, even if the 53 year old’s sunken features makes him a spot on match for the logo that has come to symbolize the band’s persona. The only difference is Dez has a never ending flow of air riding on the waves of the wind machines pointed towards the stage.

Yet despite the moments of saccharine nostalgia, Jerry Only and the Misfits still know how to put on a show and use every gimmick in the book to truly make it a show. The microphones were swallowed by skeletons and ribcages. The drum riser built on a Halloween-style brick wall with their skull logo emblazed into the rock. Looking down upon the crowd was a giant blow-up of Jerry Only’s face from the Dead Alive! album cover and even every roadie and drum tech had specialized shirts stating that they work for Misfits.

Even after all these years, Only is pushing the brand to new heights. Luckily though, he’s also maintained a pretty solid stage presence to avoid turning that brand into a farce.

Beginning with a red glow and smoke billowing out from the aforementioned drum riser – the signature piano melody of John Carpenter’s Halloween theme song seeped through the sound system.  Then came the cheers as Only (with an almost Gwar-like costume on), his son, Dez Cadena and drummer Eric Arce walked on stage and, fittingly, launched into Halloween.

For almost the next two hours, Misfits never stopped. Only rarely spoke – instead falling to the rock and roll trope of “This is Song Name! 1-2-3-Go!” But that enabled them to cram in more songs than you’d think would be possible. Teenagers from Mars, Hate Breeders, Skulls, Astro Zombies, Hybrid Moments, Some Kinda Hate, Angelfuck, Scream, Descending Angel, Die Die Die My Darling, Fiend Club were just a handful of the set list.

There was only one true “Rockstar moment” where Only threatened to leave the stage if one more crushed beer can was thrown on stage. “Someone tell the owner that there’s no bottles and no cans – it’s on my rider” he screamed towards the crowd – who patiently waited for that one flying can to push him over the edge that luckily never came.

Still, contrasting that – Only treated his fans well. They are, after all, the reasons he’s still wearing the goth make-up thrity seven years after he first dawned the signature hair style. After their second encore of the night, the first was scripted and the second sincere, Only jumped into the crowd, giving high fives and signatures to all who asked.

37 years in, Misfits are a brand –  but a brand that delivers to their fans.

 

Photos by Nick Dudar