Buzzcocks and The Damned 'Smash it Up' in the O.C.!

The title above is a reference to The Damned's seminal punk classic, "Smash it Up":

The second clip is The Buzzcocks, "Why Can't I Touch It."

And, from the Orange County Register, "Musink Day 2: Ye Olde English Punks Rule":

It’s not so unusual for the thrashy ghouls of the Damned and the hyper-melodic speedsters of Buzzcocks (above) to turn up in Orange County for a gig, although until Saturday night in Costa Mesa neither group had played here for several years. It’s rare indeed, however, to see both pioneering English punk outfits one after the other in the same night.

Add in some ripping retro fun from the Head Cat, a grungy rockabilly side project from Motörhead main man Lemmy Kilmister and Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and the second day of the third annual Musink Tattoo Convention & Music Festival became a special treat: three of the U.K.’s most legendary punk/metal figures all performing back-to-back.

Divvy that up, $10 a band, and the evening’s $30 cover charge didn’t seem so steep for those who didn’t care about the mostly unknown local bands earlier in the day, or who weren’t getting inked in the hall next door. Frankly, considering how resolutely strong each act was, they probably deserved double.

I don’t remember seeing the Damned anywhere nearby since KROQ’s second Inland Invasion in 2002, the one that celebrated a quarter-century of punk rock via groups both old (Sex Pistols, X, Social Distortion) and then relatively new (Blink-182, New Found Glory). How astonishing that eight years later original members Dave Vanian (below right, entering like a Goth Cary Grant in shades and scarf) and guitarist Captain Sensible (nutty as ever in a red beret and beady white sunglasses), along with their current supporting cast, are playing more fiercely than ever. The pace of already fast staples like “Neat Neat Neat” and “New Rose” and “Love Song” was positively blitzing Saturday night, and yet these 50-somethings were unerring -– one moment they’d seem to tear away recklessly, the next they’d stop on a dime.

RTWT.

Lemmy and Stray Cat Slim Jim!

Man, that was some far out gig!