LIVE REVIEW: The Original Misfits Live at Allstate Arena w/ FEAR, Venom, Inc. and Power Trip

May 8, 2019 Robert Chadwick Concert Reviews Comments Off

7A8C7253-82A0-422D-89BC-B0F04C9F89E6 — The Original Misfits at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, Chicago area, on Saturday, April 28, 2019. Photo by Maurice Nunez.

WORDS BY AMY CALLNER AND PHOTOS BY MAURICE NUNEZ | Go Venue Magazine

This much-anticipated show was way too much fun to do justice to in a handful of paragraphs, but here we go. I was lucky enough to have a floor ticket and to be at the front rail, smack dab center stage. In order to get this spot, my friends and I stood in line outside in the sleet for two hours and booked it on numb soggy feet past every concession and merch stand the second we were in the door. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Chicago’s weather can be a wily foe, but this was the Original Misfits, damnit.

Power Trip, who hail from Dallas, Texas, kicked things off with a set that blew the frostbite right off our faces. Frontman Riley Gale leapt all over the stage as the band delivered their brand of thrash to a very appreciative crowd. They have previously opened for Danzig’s 30th anniversary tour, which is where I first heard of them. If you get a chance to catch these guys, do it.

Venom, Inc. was up next, and powered through their set with charisma and intensity. Yes, I said charisma. The Allstate Arena is enormous, and Venom, Inc. is three people. We were rapt and thrashed along, and frankly I enjoyed watching The Demolition Man and Mantas’ faces almost as much as the thrashing.

Fear followed, and Lee Ving is in fine, witty form. “….Onetwothreefouronetwothreefour!” …and then blisters on the inside of my ears as the band ripped through classics such as “I Love Livin’ In The City” and “New York’s Alright if You Like Saxophones,” which featured a surprise appearance by Scott Haynes on saxophone.

And then this, the Original Misfits: The press of the crowd was getting intense, and the mood felt like cresting the top of the first big drop of a roller coaster. In the darkness of the arena, we could see the back of Jerry’s jacket behind the drum kit, and he jumped up and down a few times to tease us a little.

Out they came, and oh, did they sound good. Glenn Danzig, Jerry Only, and Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein were rounded out by Acey Slade on guitar and Dave Lombardo on drums, and they delivered a lengthy and tight sounding set with consistent zeal. That is a polite euphemism for “OMGTHISISFUCKINGAWESOME!”

Jerry did his bass work and power slides, Doyle pounded out the guitar bits, both brothers engaged with the crowd, and Glenn Danzig…sounded incredible. Look, you know why the guy is famous, and you probably have most of the lyrics in his catalogue memorized. We, the pressed, initiated, and enamored at the rail and in the pit, screamed along lovingly. Hearing recordings of the powerful baritone travel from the diaphragm through that famous jawline throughout your life as a music lover and fan is one thing, but watching this happen right in front of you is forever something else. He stood on top of the monitor and held that note until those of us singing along ran out of air, and then held it some more, smiling at us, because he could. He bantered between songs and chuckled, and he delivered beautifully.