We’ll have to see if the new documentary The Damned: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead helps the Damned get their place in punk history. Ever since their “New Rose” single in 1976, the Damned have been punk pioneers, squeezing out vinyl before anybody else and painting the outlines for goth-punk, punk-pop and psychedelic punk purely through force of personality. (They also gave the L.A. punk scene a healthy jumpstart on their first U.S. tour, too.) They’ll be celebrating with a 40th anniversary show next May, but right now they’re in the middle of the big three-nine, with a current (and long-running) line-up helmed by singer Dave Vanian and guitarist Captain Sensible—two titans of the genre who seem quite prepared to live forever.
Fri., Sept. 4, 8 p.m., 2015
