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Oh Glenn, why do you make it so hard to be fan?

I’m a massive Misfits fan; in fact they are my favourite band of all time. So much so that for the first few years of my radio show, I’d play a “Mandatory Misfits of the Week”. It was 1989 when I first heard a Misfits song, Metallica’s cover of “Last Caress/Green Hell”. It was “Last Caress” that made the impression, I mean, how could you not love that catchy little ditty about killing babies and raping mothers? I quickly bought any Misfits I could get my hands on, and at the time that meant buying ‘Collection’, ‘Legacy of Brutality’ and ‘Walk Among Us’, the only albums that were readily available. Part of the mystique of the Misfits at the time was not knowing anything about them; just the music, cover artwork and a few blurry photos includes in the liner notes. I just wish that mystique had remained as-is. With the explosion of the internet in early late 90s, and early web sites like Misfits Central, everything you wanted to know about the Misfits was immediately available, warts and all.

The Misfits broke up in 1983 and lead singer Glenn Danzig formed Samhain, who I like but never could get into as much as I did with the Misifts. Samhain morphed into Danzig in 1987, playing much more blues-based metal than his previous bands. Danzig reached the pinnacle of their popularity in 1993 when a live version of the song “Mother” became an unlikely hit. It was around this time that I first saw Danzig for the first time, playing at the Spectrum (R.I.P). The show was good, but it was not a sellout which prompted Danzig to skip Montreal for quite a few years.

Meanwhile, the popularity of The Misfits kept growing and after years of legal battles, brothers Jerry Only (bass) and Doyle (Guitar) settled their legal battle with Danzig over royalties and started playing and recording again as the Misfits with a new singer. I saw this version of the Misfits a few times over the years, each time being less fun than the previous time. While I can’t fault anyone for trying to make a living, they were somewhat killing the legacy of the Misfits in my mind.

Meanwhile, public perception of Danzig has not been overly positive for the last decade as videos of him being knocked out backstage with a single punch or stories of backstage surliness over lack of soup have somewhat tarnished his reputation. Last I heard, there was now a new lawsuit between Jerry Only and Danzig over Misfits merchandising deals that Jerry was making without Glenn’s knowledge. What I’m getting at with this long introduction is that I miss the days when I could unabashedly love the Misfits without knowing anything about the members. 

The last time I saw Danzig was two years ago in New York at the now defunct  Roseland Ballroom, and I figured I was done seeing Danzig. Doyle joined him for a memorable short set of Misfits songs, and I was happy with that as it was the closest I'd ever get to a Misfits reunion. So what brought me back? Prong. 

I've been a Prong fan since 1990s "Beg to Differ" when I heard the title track on the CKUT show 'Cups and Cakes'. I tried to see them that year at Foufounes Electrique with opener Pantera (who had just put out "Cowboys From Hell") but was refused entry for being underage. Finally got to see them opening for White Zombie a few years later when they were touring the album “Cleansing”, which was great, but I’d never had a chance to see them headline a show. Finally though, Prong were scheduled to headline a show at Foufounes in November. However, my hopes were dashed when that show was cancelled and Prong were added to the Danzig ‘Blackest Of The Black’ Tour. Regardless, the chance to see Prong again was enough to draw me back to see Danzig again.

I arrived at the Metropolis just in time to catch Prong (missing the 1st band Witch Mountain). The crowd was sparse, especially in front of the stage, and the balcony was closed so this far from being a sellout show. Prong started with awkwardly arranged version of “Beg To Differ” that just didn’t have the same zip as the original version. They then played “Unconditional”, a new song called “Ultimate Authority”, “Doomsday” (Discharge cover), “Whose Fist is this Anyway?” and finally “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck”. That was it… six songs. Stage banter primarily consisted of the members of band trying to get the crowd in the back of the club to move towards the stage, and then them complaining about the lack of response from the crowd. Guitarist and lead singer Tommy victor tried his best to get the crowd going, but it just wasn't happening. A tiny mosh pit started for the Discharge cover, but it was only 3-4 people, and it just made the crowd in front of the stage disperse more.

Ideally they should have been later in the bill, but with Tommy Victor performing double duty as the guitarist for Danzig, I assume this was done for logistical reasons. After seeing this short set and the muted crowd response, my fear was that Prong would not likely come back to Montreal, but happily a headlining show at Foufounes was recently announced for May 2016 in support of a new album.

By the time Chicago deathcore band Veil of Maya came on, the crowd had started to get bigger. Not really my type of metal, but I was impressed with lead singer Lukas Magyar and his ability to switch between from clean vocals, hardcore squeals and death metal growls.

Phil Anselmo's newly resuscitated Superjoint were up next and were pretty damn entertaining. Formerly known as Superjoint Ritual (name changed for legal reasons), this was their first appearance in Montreal since forming in the early 90s. I had never heard Superjoint Ritual so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised by their effective mix of sludge metal and hardcore. I’d also never seen Phil Anselmo sing live, but I’d read stories of his surliness (including one well documented incident that occurred in Montreal in 1995. However, on this night, he was a great front man with great audience rapport (although I’m not quite sure why a crowd in Montreal would take part in a “Texas!” chant, but I digress). When the set was done, he lingered for quite a while to interact with the crowd.

Finally, with “Overture of the Rebel Angels” from his classical album “Black Aria” playing in the background, it was time for Danzig. Glenn walked on stage, threw up the horns, and kicked into “Skincarver”, and any regrets I had melted away. Regardless of my misgivings, I still get a kick seeing Danzig, the lead singer of my favourite band of all time, perform live.

The band proceeded with a solid set of songs from throughout their discography, with the exception of the 2 industrial-tinged albums “Blackacidevil” and “Satan’s Child”, the low-water mark of the Danzig discography. For me though, the highlight were the three cover songs from the upcoming “Skeletons” album: Elvis Presley’s “Let Yourself Go”, David Allan & The Arrows’s “Devil’s Angels” and Black Sabbath’s “N.I.B.”. Of the three, I was most impressed with “Devil’s Angels”, but that was because it was the most punk-tinged song. This is not surprising since it was arranged by Danzig in the late 70s while he was in the Misfits.

The current lineup for the band is probably the best they’ve had since the original lineup from the first 4 albums. Tommy Victor (Prong) on guitar, Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative) on Drums and Steve Zing (Samhain) on Bass.

About halfway through the set something happened that I’ve never seen before. I looked over to my right and there was a guy in a wheelchair crowdsurfing! I wasn’t the only one amazed by this as the members of the band started motioning to it and started laughing. When the song ended, Danzig commented on it and called it one of the craziest things he’s ever seen.

All in all, I would have considered this the most pleasant performance I’d seen Danzig do. He was in a great mood and had good banter with the crowd who was eating it all up. Song selection was great too. However, as the show went on, I was becoming more and more aware of the overzealous security team who’d confront anyone they thought were trying to take a picture of Danzig. One thing about Danzig shows is that there’s always a strict ‘No Camera’ rule but I’m fairly sure that in some cases, the person was not trying to take a picture but were instead just checking their phone. Happily no one confronted me as I was using my phone all night to type out notes for this show. Things came to a head near the end of the show when someone near the front supposedly took a picture and Danzig called him out and threatened to break his neck. I was near the back of the venue at this point of the show, so I didn’t see exactly what happened to he guy, but the rest of the story has gone viral. I leave it to you read the accounts and online arguments and make up your own mind as to what happened.

However, this incident was the tipping point of the concert for me, where it went from being a good show to yet another event to further corrode my love of his musical legacy. In a recent interview, Glenn Danzig has stated that he’s likely retiring from touring, and I’ll be honest, I felt a bit of relief when I read that. I can now safely say that this was the last time I’ll ever see Danzig again. Unless of course he reunites with the Misfits, which is incredibly unlikely right now. But oh what a beautiful train wreck and final nail in the coffin that would be.

For more punk and stuff, listen in to Matt's show Thursdays from 8 - 9PM.  

Hosted by Jocelyn Beaudet

Stories by Saturn de Los Angeles, Sam Obrand & Patricia Petit Liang

Produced by Catlin Spencer

Directed and written by Thom Andersen and Noël Burch

Thom Andersen's collaborative 1996 essay documentary Red Hollywood was shown last Sunday at the Cinémathèque Québécoise as part of RIDM's retrospective of the filmmaker's career. Red Hollywood, a compilation film coordinated with theoretician Noël Burch, traces the legacy of the wave of directors and screenwriters targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee between 1947 and 1953, under suspicion of being communist insurgents.

Andersen, a self-described 'proto-communist' in the mid-80s, paired off with colleague and "ex-communist" Noël Burch when research for the film began as faculty at the Ohio State University. Years later, the two enfants terribles of this all-American institution would complete Red Hollywood, a robust counter-narrative to an official history that has overlooked the true progressive vision of the blacklisted artists behind these barred "communist" pictures.

Andersen appeared in a beige blazer sardonically introducing his film as the forerunner to his "masterpiece" (his better-known 2003 feature, Los Angeles Plays Itself). Through his disarming public presence and pre-screening banter, it became apparent that the filmmaker places himself in the role of a preservationist. He explains his attempt to allow space for the film clips of Red Hollywood "to speak for themselves", whilst humbly inviting the crowd to challenge him on this claim during the post-screening Q&A.

True to this description, Anderson and Burch's documentary primarily comprises of a compilation of clips taken from over 50 ideologically dubious films from the mid-30s to 1953, with minimal voice over provided by the auteurs. The end result is fascinating. I was immediately taken aback at the politically engaged and socially subversive nature of barred works, I would have claimed were unimaginable coming from the Hollywood studio system.

A hysterical scene from Tom Dick and Harry (1941), written by the blacklisted Paul Jarrico, includes a bizarre dream sequence where protagonist Janie imagines her life marrying one of her suitors. She is shown as an aloof housewife in an expressionist kitchen, caring for three grown men disguised as babies. Her doting breadwinner husband keeps coming through the door, continually exclaiming yet another promotion at the car dealership. Janie sarcastically mimics his manic excitement, as the prefix of his title grows longer (assistant-junior-executive-in-training) whilst wailing adult "babies" multiply on the floor of the kitchen. Considering its 1941 context, this scathing critique of the 9 to 5 work week, the nuclear family, and reproductive futurism is shockingly ahead of its time. Red Hollywood dismantles a tendency to think of the Hollywood golden age as ideologically homogeneous and curated for a naïve audience. 

Allowing the films "to speak for themselves", Andersen and Burch's collaboration exudes a love for cinema tangible in the meticulous curation of clips, resuscitating forgotten artists such as working-class hero John Garfield and proto-feminist Susan Hayward. Red Hollywood is a fascinating, highly informative essay documentary, deserving of a place at the top of the cinephile's "to-see list".

Hosted by Catlin Spencer

Stories by Emeline Vidal, Saturn de Los Angeles & Julia Bryant

Produced by Catlin Spencer