Oh Charlotte, the metropolitan migraine to my native tongue. Home turf of the Carolina Panthers, tour stop of Ozzfest 2007 (y’know, the freebie before it stopped touring?), a corporate epicenter in NC that tries to mimic an art community with scattered surrealist sculptures uptown. For my money, navigating or ever considering a visit to the Queen City usually spells disaster: Both ICP shows were hosted by venues here with deplorable staff, and the last time I set foot in Tremont for RevCo, the audience participation felt relatively dead.
Tremont’s a warehouse club, a building on the cusp of downtown Charlotte. It is gated by a chain link, complimented by a dirt parking lot, with interior decorations provided by stickers from every band imaginable, and large wooden doors at the entryway. This is most definitely a punk space, no question, and the folks who work here are friendlier than the usual fare out this way; Tremont is the unpolished, underrated gem of North Carolina, and its upcoming visitor list includes names like Street Dogs, Eyehategod, and (for their third trip to NC in a year) Insane Clown Posse. The only visible difference from my previous stop here is a $5 parking fee and the statewide indoor smoking ban.
Fitting stage to present an old school horror-punk band with a list of established members that rivals industrial metal outfit Pigface.
Misfits’ Jerry Only and company have been the archetypal go-to for punk fans everywhere since the ’70s, and to witness even this current incarnation, for me, was one of those rare moments of shock and awe. At the kick-off, with a PBR draft in one hand and my autographed poster in the other, the show began. Opening for the Misfits on this 2010 tour were two acts local to North Carolina — Brit-punk influenced Pen15, rock outfit Biggy Stardust And His Wretched Hive — and Chicago power-punk band, JuiceheaD, which sonically resembled a three-piece Dropkick, and is currently signed to Misfits Records.
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After a chugging rendition of “Let’s Get Drunk” by Pen15, some co*cky swagger and riots against former Misfit Glenn Danzig from Biggy Stardust, and JuiceheaD’s monitoring of the evening’s first authentic mosh attempt, the demons of the night were ready for the Misfits. Cue the Halloween theme music.
The signature skull of the Crimson Ghost hung everywhere on stage, and while it dressed up like a rock show, it felt like an underground club scene. The Misfits’ entered, and after announcing “This…is ‘Halloween’,” the band went to work immediately. The 50 or so people who came to see them gladly donated a fraction of their group for a monstrous mosh romp, and the 30+ song set laid out for Only and his comrades bulldozed along with only a few interspersed crowd shout-outs. Every single song was given a brief counting off, and we were at home.
Black Flag covers “Thirsty And Miserable”, “Six Pack”, and “Jealous Again”; crowd favorites “We Are 138”, “Rise Above”, and finishing touch, “Die, Die My Darling”; classics from Earth A.D., tons of tracks from Static Age (minus “Last Caress”), it was all there and ready. The lo-fi crunch of the records was replaced with absolute loudness, except in more tribute-associated cases, such as “Descending Angel”, wherein Only dedicated a song to fallen rock royalty Steele, Dio, and Gray, who were lost in the tumult of 2010. Some might say little moments like this come across as half-assed and insincere, but there is no doubt that the Misfits felt for the universal mourning present. We rocked as they would have wanted us to rock, enough said.
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A path of fame and mythos can, in cases, be somewhat cyclical: You start out playing The 9:30 Club, or some smaller record store venue, you get spotted and signed, you play to the arenas and sell millions of CDs, and when it’s all said and done, you tour state fairs or just retire. Fame is a fickle bitch, and the Misfits have been lucky enough to avoid the stigma attached to having changed members like I change clothes by remaining the standard to live up to. Watching Only, in his age and rage, was a clear indicator that he had been in the punk life for a long time, and yet here his band stood, in make-up and Devilock’s galore, full of thriving energy in an old structure that could have been anything in its previous life.
Merchandise sold well at remarkably affordable prices, and the booth felt low-key and accessible; the small time shuffle was not a stepping stone for the Misfits, it has become their mantra. Jerry Only — vocalist, bassist, and sole standing original member — feels approachable, as does new drummer Eric Arce and former Black Flag guitarist Dez Cadena. This is punk rock for the DIYs and blue-collar fans from the old days, the Misfits are entirely embracing their natural habitat.
Out on the edge of nowhere, behind some worn bricks, high fences, and rusting railroad tracks. You take the wooden ramp into the first floor. Inside is grinding, raunchy American punk. Sidenote: to the fellow who was moshed into a stretcher, to the woman who lost half a tooth, congratulations on a night well participated in. Get well soon!
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Misfits Setlist:
Halloween
Earth A.D.
Bloodfeast
Horror Business
Hybrid Moments
Teenagers From Mars
Attitude
Some Kinda Hate
Astro Zombies
Skulls
I Turned Into A Martian
20 Eyes
Six Pack (Black Flag cover)
Horror Hotel
Ghoul’s Night Out
Angelf*ck
Hollywood Babylon
London Dungeon
Thirsty and Miserable (Black Flag cover)
Abominable Dr. Phibes
American Psycho
Walk Among Us
From Hell They Came
The Monkey’s Paw
Dig Up Her Bones
Kong At The Gates
The Forbidden Zone
Helena
Jealous Again (Black Flag cover)
Land Of The Dead
Saturday Night
We Are 138
Encore:
Descending Angel
Science Fiction/Double Feature
Rise Above
Die, Die My Darling
