Bleached and The Damned play to adoring Seattle crowd

Excited fans arrived early to fill up the Showbox Market for the legendary The Damned.  The sold out show was part of the British punk band’s 40th Anniversary U.S. Tour, supported by LA based sensation Bleached. The night brought out only the best punk outfits and a lot of vampire inspired tributes to lead singer Dave Vanian.

Around 8:30 Bleached stepped up on stage to kick off the show. Founded by sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin in 2011, the band added bassist Micayla Grace and drummer Nick Pillot.  Their latest EP Can You Deal? has received much praise in the industry and the band’s future is looking brighter and brighter.  This is a name you’ll want to keep in mind as they will be back soon.

Jen took her stance in the middle of the floor and completely dominated the performance whether she was only singing or also playing the guitar. She stopped and chatted about how excited they were about touring with one of their favorite bands and how she wanted to get her septum pierced in Seattle and did it just thirty minutes before the show started.

Jessica fiercely strummed her guitar waving her bleached blue hair in the air, while Grace struck her see-through colored bass.  The audience really got into their set and constantly cheered them on through the night. Check out our interview we did last week with Bleached HERE.

As the stage was quickly switched over, the anticipation grew stronger and the dedicated crowd screamed when keyboardist Monty Oximoron walked on stage. He began the set playing a little solo alone and then the rest of the band joined him. Dave Vanian was dressed in a suit wearing sunglasses as his coat helped to cover his injured arm sling. Guitarist Captain Sensible was wearing his signature red beret and a vest that had The Damned 40th Anniversary printed on the back.

Their backdrop looked like a rock wall that was lit by different colors for every song.  They played a wide range of songs from their ten studio records along with a few covers.  The twenty-one song set-list had the audience singing along, moshing, crowd-surfing, and going wild. During a high energy “Ignite,” the band encouraged everyone to sing with them and the whole room filled with “Woow’s,” which was a highlight of the performance.

Sensible did most of the talking throughout the night joking around with the fans either by pausing for a few seconds and saying “We’re too old,” or “We’re such a great band,” after the crowd cheering.  Their main set ended with popular “New Rose,” and “Neat Neat Neat,” as they returned for two encores.  The adoring fans couldn’t get enough of the night and it was a real treat to witness their performance in Seattle. These guys still can put on a great show 40 years later.

See more photos HERE.