Misfits - Ritz, Manchester, 5/4/2013

by Aaron Brown

published: 28 / 4 / 2013

...while Aaron Brown at the Ritz in Manchester, despite their less-than-authentic line-up, finds them still masters at their work

Article

Punk’s greatest cover-band is in town tonight. Much has been said of this latest incarnation of the Misfits, which features Jerry Only, allegedly not a founding member of the group, and Dez Cadena from Black Flag and Eric "Chupacabra" Arce. Regardless of your opinion of reunions this lot know how to carry a tune and, sacrilege or not, we are watching the masters who inspired everyone at work. The band, start the proceedings with their title track from their most recent effort, 'Devil’s Rain', named after a schlock horror flick starring William Shatner, and which is a typically Misfits number with riffs-a-plenty. What is apparent from the outset, however, is this audience isn’t enthusiastic about the material off their latest effort. Yes, it has got everything you would expect but its very paint-by-numbers Misfits with its horror imagery, songs about serial killers and an element of sci-fi. They are here to hear the classics that inspired the generations of bands, and, boy, are they treated. The band play thirty plus classics tonight and the crowd are baying. The stand-out track of the night is 'Skulls', to which there is an audience sing-a-long. The Misfits stick mainly to the original material from the first incarnation of the band, but we do get to hear material from the more recent 'American Psycho' and 'Famous Monsters' albums, with Jerry Only dedicating 'Descending Angels' to his departed grandmother. Only, built like a line backer, as always with his bat shape bass and trade mark Devil Lock, is menacing but very approachable, and he obviously genuinely loves what he is doing. Whatever you think of reunions, in it for the money, selling out etc, it might be sacrilege to some but it is like looking at the sun. You are always going to keep doing it.