Danzig at Showbox SoDo (11.8.08)

One of my music regrets is never having seen the Misfits back in the day in Chicago. I saw many bands at the Metro, the Double Door, the Lounge Lizard, the Elbo Room to name a few. I saw flyers for the Misfits, but they never made my radar until well into the new millennium well after their break-up. Alack!

Last night, Danzig played, led by Glenn Danzig, the former lead singer for The Misfits. Danzig isn't punk; it's metal. There are a few metal bands I enjoy, but there is something about Glenn Danzig I love. It could be called an obsession. At 53, he's still rocking. I've spent more than one night watching Danzig vids with C&A ("who bought this??"), so when I saw the ad for Danzig's show, we three were on board.

We started our adventure at the Triangle in SoDo. It was quiet, unlike during Mariners games. From there, we headed to the venue to check the lineup. It was a night of death metal. The tour was named the Blackest of the Black. I don't know much about death metal but as an outsider looking in, I can appreciate the face paint, studded gear and themes of death and destruction. What didn't amuse was the line that ran about three blocks outside the venue. We waited it out at the Hooverville across the street. There we watched as the line didn't diminish. We had some fun there as well as meeting some scoundrels that were going to help us sneak in (it didn't work), thereby avoiding the very long line:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we made our way over, the line went fast for the girls, but we made a terrible discovery--all cameras were banned! Andy's wallet chain was prohibited as well. These rules were not venue-made but requested by bands (which one??) This made things problematic as we took the bus to the venue. What to do? We left the line to strategize. Carrie hid her camera and Andy's chain in some bushes. I knew that I couldn't leave my camera, so I had to take more extreme measures. No need for detail but we made it in and all was well. (On a side note: The Showbox does not fool around when they prohibit cameras. Carrie saw one person getting dragged out for attempting to get a shot.)

Dimmi Borgir--the Norwegian death metal band was the last act to warm up for Danzig. I went to the front with the new friends. We entered the mosh pit. Having been out of pit practice, I was knocked down a few times, but this was a friendly crowd. I was brought back onto my feet by the crowd. The energy was fierce. The band played hard. When they ended, we had a break to prepare for the real moment of the night...the night that has been building since September when the show was announced. The Danzig pit was way too rough. These fans were serious, but I had to stay up there and watch Glenn and company in action. This band puts on a great show. Amazing to watch him, his energy, his love for the music. The huge smile plastered across my face all night probably made me look a fool, but I was HAPPY. Even though I never got to see the Misfits, this was a great consolation. I hope Glenn and Danzig keep rocking into his 60s.

Following was the only band-related picture--the band van. While we couldn't confirm it was the Danzig van, I'm going to pretend it is so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.8.08--A night to remember.