Lead singer of legendary horror-punk band the Misfits rocks an upward of 3,000 fans at the Ancol Carnival Beach on April 10. Courtesy of Felix Daas
Thousands of fans went wild. It was certainly a dream come true for the majority of fans. Never mind the shoddy performance of the band, they have every reason to be grateful, after all it’s the horror punk legend, the Misfits.
A progenitor in punk rock, to some the Misfits are deemed to be rock gods. Their horror-film inspired lyrics, aggressive music that spawned the hardcore punk movement in 1980s and on and offstage antics from band members has won them something of a cult following.
The majority of the band’s catalogue was not released for the Indonesian market, but the band’s music has been massively bootlegged by a legion of punk and heavy metal fans in the country.
Thanks to the massive bootlegging and word of mouth, more than 3,000 fans showed up for the Misfits’ gig – the only Asia gig that the band agreed to play for their world tour – earlier this month. The fact that there was only one original member left with the band, the appropriately named Jerry Only, did not dampen fans enthusiasm in worshipping their heroes.
Fans have show promoter Solucites to thank for its effort in bringing the legendary band to Jakarta.
The Misfits have been the talk of the town days before the gig began, at least among serious fans of the band.
In fact, one day before the show, Only and Eric ‘Goat’ Arce, the band’s drummer, made a surprise appearance at a party held by a Jakarta-based music rag. It seems that the two members of the band, who arrived just hours before the party, were eager to know what the scene here is about.
Fans went berserk after learning about the presence of the two Misfits members in the party and before long, Only was mobbed by fans who wanted their photos with him.
Recently, the Misfits added to their line-up the legendary guitarist of the seminal California hard-core band Black Flag Dez Cadena, who they brought along for their Jakarta gig. Cadena joined the band in 2000.
The air of nostalgia was palpable when the Misfits appeared on stage at the Ancol’s Carnival Beach. It was certainly for old time’s sake, when middle-aged punks coming to the show with their spouses, even with their children, in the hope that they could see the live performance of a band that mattered so much during their adolescent years.
But they were to be ready for disappointment.
Seconds after the gig started, fans knew that they could not expect much. Fans had to bear with ear-splitting noises that came from the sub-par quality sound system. The glitch, however, did not dissuade them for doing pogo dancing and stage diving.
“It wasn’t even a good concert. The sound was really bad, it was a total mess. But hey, I came only for the Misfits,” said Iman Fattah, 32, who has been a fan of the band since high school.
Iman also did not seem to mind that the present Misfits are othe shadow of their former glory. “I don’t care if this is not 100 percent Misfits. It’s no longer the original Misfits since the departure of Glenn,” Iman said.
He was referring to Glenn Danzig, a punk rock icon who founded the band in the late 1970s. Danzig, born Glenn Arzalone left the band in 1983 after which he engaged in a legal battle with Only over songwriting credits and the use of the band’s name. An out-of-court settlement in 1995 entitled Only to use the name of the band and share merchandising rights with Danzig.
Others came to show just for pleasure.
“I came here for some fun,” Indra Asikin Isa, a thirty-something who listened to too much Misfits during his teens. Indra did not seem to bother with the fact that three members of the Misfits were just doing their job and recoup their paycheck when the show was over.
“You can see for yourselves that there was nothing in the way of two-way communication. The band just kept on playing song after song. Jerry Only didn’t do his part very well. It’s just like a job for him, playing dozens of songs, but it is his trash talking that I am here for.” Indra said, who kept his distance from the stage.
During the performance, Only did not bother to communicate with the fans. It did not help that Cadena stood further away from the stage center. Only and Cadena were warm and amiable, however, when responding to questions from journalists at a press conference.
The only thing that amused fans that night was the fact that the Misfits played without a set list, maintaining an element of surprise and unpredictability. The Misfits played just about any song that fans wanted such as Attitude, Hybrid Moments or the infamous Die! Die! My Darling. Another surprise that night was when Cadena sung three songs from Black Flag’s catalogue.
When the stage went dark and members of the Misfits returned backstage, I could not help but remember what Only said during the press briefing: “You have to put what you love above all.”
It was certain that after a shoddy performance, it was the fan’s love for the Misfits, and the chance to stage dive, that sent them home satisfied that night.
“I was a teenager if only for one night,” Iman said after the show.
