The Mission, Chameleons, Theatre of Hate
White Oak Music Hall
September 14, 2023
My ticket for last night’s “Deja Vu” tour didn’t even mention the acts involved (they’re in the topline of this post), just the date and venue. Maybe it’s because the idea of having experienced something before is increasingly ubiquitous as more and more GenX era bands embark on what may be their final outings.
Or maybe Ticketmaster’s just pinching pennies by cutting down on printer ink. Potato. Potahto.
All three of last night’s bands had something in common besides being goth and/or post-punk darlings: they all fetched up short on the shores of musical fame. Sure, if “Deliverance” or “Don’t Fall” or (maybe) “Original Sin” pops up on your Smart Shuffle, the average listener might go, “Hey, I remember that song.” But no one could honestly claim Theatre of Hate, the Chameleons, or the Mission enjoy the universality of their more popular contemporaries.
The lineup went in band chronological order (ToH formed in 1980, the Chameleons in 1981, and the Mission in 1986). The Chameleons and the Mission were also forced, for a time, to add “U.K.” to their names domestically in order to differentiate themselves from identically named American counterparts. Theater of Hate and the Mission also traded band members during their heady break-up/reformation periods.
With three bands on the bill, there wasn’t time for any deep dives into the material. Given what we know of local crowds and cranky aging goth/post-punk performers, that was probably for the best. Of the three, most of the audience were most familiar with the headliner. Still, Kirk Brandon and Theater of Hate received appreciation for “Original Sin” and “Do You Believe in the Westworld?” “Propaganda” is also as bouncy a tune that references Nazi radio broadcasts as you’re likely to get.
The Chameleons were next. Not gonna lie, they’re who I was at WOMH last night to see. Always the perfect combination of class rage (“For Christ’s sake give us something!”) and sonic atmospherics, Mark Burgess and company never got the attention they were due, influencing the ’80s Manchester scene without actually benefiting from it.
And his voice is still as harrowing as ever, conferring its sinister chill on songs like “Monkey Land” and a rendition of “Souls In Isolation” which featured an … odd medley that included the Doors, “Eleanor Rigby,” Buffalo Springfield, and the Smiths
The Chameleons’ set was over all too soon, the band tearing through the likes of “Swamp Thing” and “Home Is Where the Heart Is” before closing with “Second Skin,” which Burgess dedicated to his mother, who passed shortly after this tour started and pointedly (and profanely) told him not to quit the tour to be by her side.
Despite going through several lineups (like just about every band formed 30+ years ago) the Mission’s current incarnation comprises three original members: Wayne Hussey (via Dead or Alive and Sisters of Mercy), bassist Craig Adams, and guitarist Simon Hinkler.
Their performance really drove home the differences in the styles of the respective bands on the bill. In contrast to ToH’s snarly gothcore and the Chameleons’ aural landscapes, the Mission’s music is more anthemic. One might call them “arena ready,” in an alternate reality where they were playing to Cure-sized audiences.
This is their “Deja Vu” tour, after all, so the set leaned heavily on early albums God’s Own Medicine and Carved in Sand. Having said that, of course they opened with a cut from Children: “Beyond the Pale,” a song that only reinforced my assertion about their stadium bona fides.
It carried over to their respective stage presences, as well. Where Burgess was clad in a T.Rex T-shirt and jeans, looking like he just finished a shift working your local record store, Hussey was all swagger and shades, even taunting those in the crowd yelling for “Severina” with, “You like the old songs, right? This is not one” before launching into “Within the Deepest Darkness (Fearful)” from 2016’s Another Fall from Grace (“Met-Amor-Phosis” also put in an appearance).
“Severina,” of course, showed up not long after, followed swiftly by a closing trifecta of “Butterfly on a Wheel,” “Wasteland,” and “Deliverance,” which hopefully satisfied any antsy goths in the audience.
Time marches on. Last night’s show was a welcome opportunity to (finally, in one case) catch some of the formative bands of the 1980s postpunk scene in person. Circling back to my initial thoughts, I was saddened to see how relatively small the crowd was compared to other acts of similar vintage. Your Cures and Depeches Mode continue to draw audiences because their music is being picked up by younger generations, but I fear small to mid-range acts like those last night are going to be largely forgotten. That’ll be a damn shame.
Personal Bias: I’m the guy who always tried to get you to listen to the Chameleons when you just wanted to chill out to the Cure’s Disintegration for the millionth time.
The Crowd: Middle-aged and clad in enough black that you could pick out the one guy in the golf shirt at all times.
Overheard In The Crowd: “Sorry. She’s a really big fan.” Said by the friends of the drunk woman to the guy she stagger-danced into at least four times during the Chameleons’ set.
Random Notebook Dump: “You can tell Hussey and Andrew Eldritch used to be in the same band.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
