Show review
the Cramps
4th & B - Downtown San Diego
June 12th 2003
See review of the Cramps from October 21st 2002

By Michael Breen, SDAM Staff Writer
©Copyright 2024 SDAM.com/Michael Breen

Yet another classic show at 4th & B. I love seeing bands that I'm clueless about, but that tons of ravenous fans obviously know extremely well. Reminds me how limited my musical scope is, even though I've seen literally hundreds of concerts! This show was no exception...

The crowd outside was quite interesting. The clothes, the hair, the attitude...I was wondering where these people work during the day? Then we went inside and it became clear that just about every freaky dressing person in town had to be there. I felt tragically normally dressed, even though I had dressed up a bit for the show.

Once the band hit the stage, it became clear that I had no idea what I was in for! The lead singer is a very strange dude, who yells and shrieks and shouts and sticks the mic all the way in his mouth. The guitarist is a girl who spends the whole show scowling at the crowd. The rhythm section was definitely the most "musically talented" part of the group, but the singer and guitarist were definitely "the show."

Because I don't know the band, and don't know their music, I can't comment on details. Suffice it to say it was loud, there were a lot of four-letter words, and it was very aggressive and fun! The guitarist plays a hollow-body guitar cranked up really loud, and she can't play that well but definitely makes some wonderful noise. The drummer reminded me of the drummer in my very first heavy metal band. The bassist was good but his chops were definitely not being challenged by this music. And the singer...well, he's one of those guys who you wonder what he'd be doing if his band hadn't "made it," or if he hadn't discovered music as a way to let out his extremely aggressive tendencies. Perhaps he'd be working at the DMV, enjoying torturing innocent people? Maybe he'd be a shrink, screwing people up from the inside out? Makes me realize that there are tons of people out there just like him, but not in bands, and hopefully they've found something productive and not too destructive to do with their lives...