MISFITS – London – O2 Academy Islington

The legendary horror punk gods known as Misfits swung by the O2 Academy Islington in London on Saturday August 1 as part of their "Static Age" Revisited Tour and totally blew everything and everybody away with their blistering, highly entertaining, and thoroughly catchy tunes. Fronted by Jerry Only on bass/vocals, his son Jerry Ciafa II on guitar, and Eric Arce on drums, the night turned out to be a total bliss.

We were treated to an awesome 90-minute display of how and why Misfits still rule with an iron fist after nearly 40 years of doing this stuff. While some fuckers out there still cry and moan and act like a bunch of silly bitches due to Glenn Danzig (and to some extent Doyle) not being a part of Misfits anymore, we could not care less. We love the fact that Only is soldiering on, never giving in, always delivering the goods on stage and on record, and being one insanely nice and down-to-earth person who is always willing to talk to the fans and sign stuff etc. Lots of people from all kinds of different subcultures flocked to the O2 Academy on this particular night and the atmosphere was buzzing and electric. We missed the first support band that night, that being Creepers, but we were just in time to catch the second band of the night, one named JD & FDCs. To be honest, they did not really do much for us. They were clearly into what they were doing and the vocalist/guitarist definitely had charisma and so on, but the actual music was somewhat mediocre. It did not suck or anything, but neither did it make an impression.

At 20.10 Misfits went on stage with Jerry Only simply yelling "Static Age" into the microphone and the place exploded with joy , enthusiasm, and a huge-ass moshpit! The band was tight, the sound was great from where we were standing, the crowd freaked out and sang along all the time, and the band members were clearly enjoying themselves on stage. Listening to the entire "Static Age" record performed live was something that we will never forget. Truly a great experience. Other songs that were performed that night included "Skulls", "London Dungeon", "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" leading into "American Psycho", "Fiend Club", "Scream", "Dig up Her Bones", "Speak of the Devil", "Saturday Night", "Hunting Humans", "Astro Zombies", "Horror Hotel", and a bunch of others. It was a great set list, although we would have loved to hear "The Devil’s Rain" in a live setting, but considering the wealth of Misfits material out there it must be quite difficult for the band to choose what songs to play and what not to play. There are so many cult classics and hits. We also had the pleasure of hearing a brand new tune entitled "The Vampire Girl", which sounded quite cool. Jerry also said that they had plans to record some new material once they got back home, so maybe a new album will see the light of day in 2016. Who knows?

The show ended with "Die Die My Darling" and "Halloween" and we could not have been any happier. The London crowd was very appreciative and ecstatic throughout the show, and you could tell that the band fed off that energy and intensity. All in all the show ruled, and it was well worth the trip. What a night!