Danzig Concert: February 1995

Glenn Danzig: musician, writer, artist, comic, publisher, director, producer and death-metal band leader. On the evening of Wednesday, December 14, he was Glenn Danzig, performer. As the concert got started, the set looked like a scene from one of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser movies. Thick black robes were draped over the stage speakers and stretched painfully behind the drummer stood a 20 foot face, straight from a Hellraiser comic book cover. The atmosphere was eerie (no pun intended to Bassist) as the band took the stage like four threatening Cenobites all dressed In black. Though once they took the stage they were more invigorating than ominous. Glenn Danzig grabbed the microphone and punished the will ing crowd with his biting lyrics as Eerie Von (Bass), John Christ (Guitars) and Joe Castillo (Drums) all added to the powerful eruption of testosterone infecting the crowd. Particular compliments to drummer Joe Castillo, newest member of the band, who didn’t miss a beat and played ferociously all night. Comic fan himself, Danzig looked much like Wolverine of the X-men with his spry antics complete with sideburns, build and body language. His voice was powerful, reminiscent of Jim Morrison or Ian Astbury of The Cult; his vocals shared a mesmerizing strength and quality that was similar if his music is not. The audience proved ready for the band with many singing along verse for verse. A few concert goers even received medical attention due to their enthusiastic appreciation of Danzig’s music. One fan, anxious to get back to the concert, refused needed attention from a medic while blood still ran down his face from a broken nose. The band played on tirelessly for two hours with an encore. Though sometimes individual numbers seemed to blur together, all were well received by the crowd, from hits like “Mother” to Danzig’s new release like “Can’t Speak” or “Going Down To Die.”

 Surrounded by groupies backstage, Danzig handed out autographed “Deathdealer” posters to celebrate his upcoming comic book project with Frank Frazetta. A surprisingly refreshed looking Danzig commented that its tough to predict who will attend his concerts these days, with the mix of his death-metal legion widening all the time. The conversation soon turned towards comics and Danzig’s own comic publishing company, Verotik. As with his music, Glenn is doing it his way and could care less what people think of the comics he publishes as long as they are forming their opinions by actually reading them. When asked about the violent and erotic nature of Verotik’s line, Danzig stated, “You have that right to say and do what you want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. There’s a new right-wing in America that is trying to repress the whole country. You cannot control how people think, act, talk, where they’re gonna go, what they’re gonna be reading, what they watch on TV—not in a country that’s called America. This is supposed to be the shining light for the whole word to look at.”

On a side note, Glenn Danzig’s recent venture into comics publishing was also evident with the “Little Whip” concert T-shirt, drawn by the outrageous “Faust” artist, Tim Vigil. In addition, Danzig continues to use “The Shadow” comic artist Michael W. Kaluta for CD cover art. Who better to know what evil lurks in the heart of Danzig?

In the end, braving the long drive out to The Saltair, poor parking (though better than Wolf Mountain), the rancid smell of the Great Salt Lake (even in the cold) and a freezing walk in the dark, a good time was waiting for the perseverant. 

Read more local music reviews here:
Concert Reviews: October 1994
New Band Spotlight: Road Frisbee