A Night with Danzig

The night was Friday, October 10, 2008, and this was my night to shine. I had not only a ticket, but also a backstage pass to this year’s “Blackest Of The Black” tour at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando. This was it- my moment to show the big dogs what I could do, and I was determined to get more than just a review this time around. As I walked inside the venue, a death core band named Winds Of Plague were on stage. They had some really great melodic riffs, but not much else to offer. Their singer’s almost- too guttural vocal approach was a bit unnerving at times. Moonspell were next up in line. Although I don’t really consider myself a fan, I was really looking forward to seeing how these Portuguese rockers would fair live. They definitely put a lot of energy in their performance that really showed through on such staple songs as “Alma Mater”.

Following Moonspell was Sweden’s Dimmu Borgir. Now, I’ve seen these guys once before at the 2004 Ozzfest, and I just don’t get their appeal. They’re good at what they do, but to be honest their music just plain bores me. And last but not least on the bill was the mighty Danzig. This was the third time for me seeing them, and as usual, I was not let down. Even though singer Glen Danzig did seem a bit tired this time, I got to hand it to him for still going at 53 years of age. This time around, members of Ministry, Type O Negative, and Glen’s old band Samhain, rounded out the lineup. Classic numbers such as “Am I Demon”, “Twist Of Cain”, “Her Black Wings”, “How The Gods Kill”, “Brand New God”, “Mother”, “Dirty Black Summer” and “Black Angel, White Angel” could all be heard, as well as some rarities like “Tired of Being Alive”, “Devil’s Plaything”, “Killer Wolf”, “Left Hand Black” and “Invocation”. One thing I’ve always enjoyed about seeing Danzig live is you never hear the same set list twice. Of course it didn’t hurt that this time I was watching them with the band Moonspell.

After the show, I had some problems getting backstage even with the pass I had. Luckily, one of the members of Moonspell recognized me and gave security the “ok” for me to go back. I felt like the kid in “Almost Famous”, trying to get backstage to interview Black Sabbath but getting the opening act instead. Upon my arrival to the backstage lounge, various members of Moonspell, Dimmu Borgir, and Danzig could be found, but Mr. Danzig himself was absent. Shortly after, the staff at Hard Rock asked everyone to leave the building. That’s when Danzig drummer Johnny Kelly decided to take the party outside, which is where I was able to briefly speak with him and Danzig bassist Steve Zing, amidst the chaos of roadies loading trucks all around us. I got the chance to ask Mr. Zing what it was like playing with Glen again after all these years (the two had played together in Samhain in the mid- 80’s) and he simply grinned while lighting his cigarette and said, “As good as it ever was”. Then he went off on a tangent and began to say, “I couldn’t see myself doing anything else man. I strap on my guitar and do my thing on stage, and that’s where it’s at for me”. Spoken like a true rock star. Just as he was about to say some more (at this point he was pretending to put a guitar around my neck), someone from his crew nabbed him. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to speak much with drummer Kelly, nor guitarist Tommy Victor for that matter. Although I would’ve liked to have got more out of Mr. Zing (and about everyone else there), I was satisfied to get what I did. Really, I was just happy to be there in the first place. As a fan, you really can’t ask for much more than that.