Westminster, Colorado
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Concert review: Sold out show at the Marquis proves that even after 30 years The Adicts still deserve your attention
Posted on September 15, 2012
By Tom Walsh
Thirty five years is a long time for any band to stay together and still manage to muster up enough energy and excitement on stage to still be entertaining. The Stones did it, Aerosmith is still doing it and KISS has mastered the art of a stage show down to a science. But what most people don’t know and that is widely known in punk circles, is that The Adicts are still doing it and doing it well. The Adicts might not put on a show of the same scale as KISS, but their shows are still fun, entertaining and interactive.
An Adicts show is like a gigantic birthday party, on New Year’s Eve, in Times Square with old school punk rock blasting you in the face. There’s confetti and streamers but in place of party hats there are bowler hats, and instead of cake and ice cream there is alcohol. And then there is Monkey.
Waltzing on stage to roaring cheers after the band finished their version of “Ode To Joy”; Monkey was
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resplendent in his over the top, ultra colorful, shiny jacket, bowler hat, and white and black joker style face paint. But he managed to go even more over the top by wrapping his already shiny jacket in a dazzling display of lights, which glittered and reflected off the foil like material of the jacket setting him ablaze in light. With the band dressed in their Clockwork Orange-esque, signature white clothes, The Adicts were ready to show this packed house why they still have a huge following after all these years.
As soon as Monkey took his place on stage The Adicts lit into “Joker Of The Pack” which resulted in immediate crowd surfing, moshing and stage diving from the crowd. If you have ever been to the Marquis Theater in Denver then you know it’s a decent sized venue. It’s not huge, but it can hold a respectable crowd and on this night the place was sold out.
Imagine hundreds of sweaty punk rockers circling in a mosh pit while others bob up and down on top of the crowd, trying to make their way to the stage but in most cases being denied and sent right back out into the ever increasing intensity of the crowd just to try and do it all over again. Imagine all the mohawks, shaved heads, combat boots, tattoos, piercings and suspenders there are in a crowd like that. Now imagine that kind of crowd roaring for ribbons, streamers and stuffed animals. Yep, an Adicts show is almost a contradiction.
It was impressive to see all the young punk rockers standing side by side with the old guard, both generations belting out old favorites like “Numbers” and “Fuck It Up” and even lending a hand at singing some of the slower songs like “Troubadour” all the while having confetti and streamers zinged towards them. The Adicts also played some stuff from their new album and the new songs sounded excellent live, but I was really surprised at how many people sang along to “All The Young Droogs”, “Stomper” and “Give It To Me Baby” from the new album “All The Young Droogs” especially since it was officially released on Sept. 11th.
It seemed that there was a never ending supply of streamers, ribbons and stuffed monkeys being tossed, shot with a streamer gun, or flung from an umbrella into the crowd, but that is all part of the charm of an Adicts show. At one point Monkey started pulling a long streamer from his mouth, he then handed the end to someone in the audience, who then handed it to someone else, and so on and so forth until Monkey had a good 16 to 20 feet of streamer protruding from his mouth. You never really know what to expect from an Adicts show…….
And so it went for the rest of the night. Every song brought more energy and with more energy the crowd got increasingly wild until the floor was just a mass of moving bodies jumping up and down, arms and legs flying this way and that. Excitement was in the air because we were seeing a part of punk rock history on stage at the Marquis and no matter how much they played, no
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matter what new tricks Monkey pulled on stage it never got old. The Adicts are a hugely entertaining punk rock show, not only with their music but with their antics as well. I can’t give away too much of the show because it’s something you need to witness yourself and mere words can’t describe the sensations of being at one of their shows anyway.
For over thirty years they have been putting on these kinds of shows and remarkably, other than getting older, they haven’t changed at all. I’m thankful that I was able to attend this show because who knows when or if I’ll be able to see The Adicts again.
If you get the chance to see The Adicts I highly suggest you do so. Yeah, it’s a great punk rock show but it’s also a once in a lifetime experience……..an experience that you shouldn’t miss because chances are you may never, ever see anything like this again.
Viva La Revolution!
Read our review of The Adicts new album 'All The Young Droogs' HERE.
For more information on The Adicts please visit:
Photos from the show
All Photos Copyright © 2012 Interstatelive.com
The Adicts
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The Adicts on stage at the Marquis Theater. Photo By Paul Edmisson
Monkey from The Adicts electrifying the crowd. Photo By Paul Edmisson
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