Pissing off Scenesters Since 1995
Danzig at The Nokia Theater, NYC, NY: October 18, 2005
You’ve heard the rumors. Glen Danzig is impossible to work with. He has small man complex. He will NEVER reunite the Misfits. Guess what? None of them seemed true as Danzig pounded out a dream set of Danzig and Misfit’s classics with former comrade-in-arms Doyle Von Frankenstein flanking his side at the new Nokia Theater in Times Square. The show was part of the Blackest of the Black tour, which Danzig conceived to rival Ozzfest. Fans paid $25 to see some crazy heavy metal action for six hours. But what stirred fans into a ticket buying frenzy was the chance to see a Misfit’s reunion, albeit minus co-creator and master pain in the ass Jerry Only.
Time for a funny family tree. Only and Danzig formed the Misfits in the late ’70s with another guy and an occasional keyboard. After a few line-up changes, the band solidified with Only’s brother Doyle on guitar and a rotating clan of drummers. The Misfits called it quits in the mid-’80s. Danzig formed Samhain and Danzig and became super famous. Doyle and Only produced a pile of crap until, after numerous legal battles, the duo reclaimed the name The Misfits, while Danzig got the rights to the legendary songs.
Around 1995, Only, Doyle, drummer Dr. Chud and singer Michael Graves pulled the Misfit’s catalog out of mothballs and proceeded to rock a pseudo reunion and record two good (but different) albums under the Misfits moniker.
Then things went to crap. Danzig swore never to reunite The Misfits. Only had a falling out with just about everyone. The Misfits were fronted by Zoli of Ignite for a spell, and now the band is barely packing VFW halls with a strange line-up consisting of Doyle, former-Misfit’s drummer Robo, and former-Black Flag singer Dez Cadena. They released one crappy covers album and are busy ruining the legacy of the Misfits.
Flash forward to last year. Turns out Doyle has no problem selling his brother out and has reunited with Danzig. Looks like Danzig has no problem cashing in on the Misfits because he’s now billing the Danzig tour as a special evening with Doyle and friends. Read between the lines and that means Danzig is doing Misfit’s songs–lots of them.
After a half our set of newer Danzig songs (no not the keyboard garbage, this was strictly metal), Danzig called out Doyle and proceeded to demolish the audience with a half hour of vintage Misfits tunes ranging from “Skulls” to “Last Caress” to “Mommy, Can I Go Out And Kill Tonight?” Since the band was in NYC, a stone throw from their hometown of Lodi, NJ, plenty of family was in attendance, as well as a few surviving Ramones. Marky Ramone waved from the balcony as Danzig flashed a smile. The bulky, but vertically-challenged singer was actually in rare form, running around the stage and occasionally diving into the crowd to share the mic. Rumors that he doesn’t stand next to his towering guitarists is a lie. Yeah, he had a little ramp to gain some height, but he barely used it.
After a brief break. Danzig, the band, reconvened for a 20 minute set of Danzig classics including “Twist of Cain” and their not-so-smash hit “Mother” before Doyle stomped back on stage for an encore of “Die Die My Darling,” much to the delight of the ravenous audience. To all our readers, unless Only gets his act together and decides to make some money, this is as close to a full Misfit’s reunion as you’re going to get. This is a full set of classics in all their glory and Danzig is on point through the whole show sounding as much the evil Elvis as ever. If you are a Misfits fan, this show is not to be missed.
dude jerry and doyle asked glenn if he wanted to sing for them when the legal battles were pver and he turned them down.. its not jerry’s fault
yeah i have a dvd were somebody interviews jerry only and they asked him if he ever asked danzig if he wanted to join the fits but jerry said dat danzig kicked them both jerry and doyle out of the hotel were danzig stayed at. Dont get me wrong danzig is badd ass i wish to some day reunite with the misfits.