LEEDS - RIO'S
Tuesday 11th December 2007


Tues nite...11th Dec..Rios .Leeds...great venue...great gig..

In with wor lass nice n early for guinness and red wine..into position for the Twisted Cabaret...burlesque show..very interesting...and different...

Then the lads swept on...and into "Wait For The Blackout"..and a battle with the sound..soon reeling thru the classics.. Neat Neat Neat particularly enjoyable with extended middle section...Jekyll And Hyde a nice surprise..

Thought the lads played well...crowd warmed thru nicely..and finally went wild at "Ignite"..what a roof raiser that one...finished with that....then back on for Love Song... MGE ..and of course Smash It Up to finish...love the part one

..Found Vanian very entertaining...great vocals...great stage presence..the sweeping movements...etc..etc.. Capt still looking the all time punk hero/god..would have watched them play all nite...but onto the lower bar for more liquid...and right on cue...in strolled the Captain.. met my hero from the punk days at last...and got me Damned Anthology CD autographed..all in all...a brill nite...hoping to see them again at Rios...think its great damned venue..very gothic surrounds...and The Damned bandwagon just keeps on rolling...come back soon....

Kevin Trigg


First time at Leeds Rio's, (I used to like the toilet that was Bradford Rio's) and you can tell from the layout that it used to be a nightclub, bar service is awful, bloke that served me all night was off his face (alledgely).

I didn't catch the name of the support band, but they were fun (Arctic Monkeys tribute act?) and grew in confidence as their short set went on. (Support was 'The Vangos' -A.)

Next up two burlesque acts, one big tits, one small, both tasteful and entertaining, god bless The Damned for trying something different.

On to our headliners, they start with 'Blackout', 'Dozen Girls' and 'Neat Neat Neat' I don't usually approve of the extended version of 'Neat' prefer it as a 3 minute blast, but tonight it really works.

The sound here is amongst the best I have ever heard for the band (30 plus times over the years), Generals, Disco Man, Dr Jekyl, all good, Capt' says his guitar keeps going out of tune (how would we know ?) but this means more time for banter with the audience (entertaining pops at Weller and the reformed Pistols).

History of the World is great, only duff tune of the night is New Rose, slow, weedy version with awful drum intro. Love Song, Smash It Up, and then I have to leg it for the last train, great gig, hope they play this venue again.

Richard Lawson.

 

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