Danzig
House of Blues, Anaheim, CA
3/15/05
What a wonderful incongruity I was lucky enough to witness this evening. Smack in the center of Downtown Disney, an outdoor mall that offers shops and restaurants adjacent to the Magic Kingdom, is the concert venue House of Blues Anaheim. Interspersed through the masses of vacationing Middle American families were numerous black t-shirted social misfits and scantily clad females who had converged to see Danzig on his last scheduled U.S. concert in support of Circle of Snakes.
Danzig fans are a ravenous, dedicated group. Many people showed up to the sold-out event in hopes of a miracle. I was constantly asked if I had an extra and to my regret I didn't. You could tell these people were searching in earnest, not the usual ticket hustler who was going to turn it around for a profit moments later. These fans planned poorly and were unaware that Danzig could sell the place out. Their loss.
The stage was decorated with the skull and snake motif from the album. "Wotans Procession" was played, announcing Danzig's arrival. The crowd screamed with enthusiasm. Then nothing; the music stopped and the lights came up a little. There was some technical glitch that the roadies were dealing with. The crowd grew restless. After some adjustment, the band emerged and the crowd went wild.
The band sounded really good. They were up to task of creating the music from the Danzig catalog as every studio album was represented in the set except for Danzig 5: Blackacidevil. Their performance and Glenn's vocals on the four songs off Circle of Snakes sounded much better than they did on the album.
Glenn is a good showman. When he asked the audience, "How about an old one?" They loudly cheered affirmatively. He is obviously in tune with what his fans like. After the first song of the encore, he asked them whether they wanted something from the first, second or third album; the decision to be made by whatever got the biggest audience reaction. The first album won and he played "Am I Demon?"
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