“Further to my comments below, here's even more praise being heaped upon Gloucester for doing something so well, as posted on The Damned's own website...this comes from someone who travelled all the way from Edinburgh - you'll see they also make reference to people having come here from as far away as amsterdam - and look at their conclusions of Gloucester - all so positive! For this particular person, they told me they'd return to gloucester againa nd again after such a wonderful experience of the City...
Heres a summary:
¿.We both spent most of the 3-trains 5.5 hour journey home today gazing at my pics, which we got developed in Gloucester as I couldn't wait to see them. What a totally fantastic night, one of the very best Damned gigs I've seen to date

¿Amazing venue, excellent sound, crystal clear, band at the top of their game and enjoying every minute

¿I also loved when the power failed and the crowd carried on with the rest of the song.

¿loved the banter between the band on stage.

¿What great company and a great night. So glad we went.

¿After having to take 2 days unpaid leave he said it was worth every single penny and that he wouldn't have missed it for the world.

...met lovely people - some who had travelled from Amsterdam to see them too.

¿Also loved Gloucester, our first time there. Spent the morning exploring the docks and the Cathedral. Both beautiful.

¿I will remember this night as one of the very best of my life so far.

Blimey! Thats good stuff!”

“Bring back the ice rink IMO. At least with that it made the sq. have a sense of Christmas . . . Gloucester fail to get it right EVERY year. Perhaps the idiots organising Gloucester for Christmas should go to places like Birmingham, London for some ideas . . . .”

“Is the Spiegeltent is yet another tourist distraction designed to encourage more people to visit the Quays.
I ventured full of expection to Kings Square with my wife on Saturday with the intention of having coffee and meal in the Spiegeltent . How dismally miserable it was inside, not a bit of Christmas atmosphere and although the city centre was very busy there were only a few underwhelmed people inside. Like many others we
had a quick look inside then got out as quickly as possible.
As for The Golden Egg ... not even good in parts.
Gloucester must do better than this.”

“Wow how good was the spiegel tent the inside was fab and the Damned after 33 years get better year after year.
I think being closer to them was better than the guildhall lets hope this will be a regular event.”

“I went & had a fab time. The band took time with fans. It was a fun event, no trouble.”

“Morrissey said on Desert Islands Discs "Self-destruction is honourable" on the subject of suicide. On a happier note, to have a various line-up of acts playing in Kings Square, is also honourable. I hope this becomes an annual event.”

“The Damned were mighty fine, the tent rocked, the acoustics were great and you lot should go to the gigs rather than criticising what is a good effort by the organisers!”

“On Saturday there must of been half a ton of rubbish dumped outside by kids hanging around.
I can't believe the police/council don't fine them or just make them pick it up as it gives the whole area a bad impression.”

“What an amazing evening!

I met people at this show from places as far afield as Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and Oxford - They had all come especially to see The Damned play at such a wonderful venue - and spoke really highly of the Spiegeltent and the warm welcome they got here in the City. These people all stayed in local hotels overnight - helping local businesses during the recession and they enjoyed a wonderful experience here in Gloucester. I cant quite believe some of the negative comments on here. Doing something entirely different for both local people and to encourage visitors to the City is something we need to do more of. The inside of the Spiegeltent is really beautiful - just like the pictures - and they serve some lovely food and drink - I recommend just popping in during these colder days and trying a hot chocolate with marshmallows. I've already taken my son to the winterwonderland / santa post office and he loved it too.

As for the gig itself - and I go to A LOT of Damned shows - it was their best of the year in my (and others) opinion - the place was totally sold out - 350 people really enjoying themselves in the evening in the City Centre of Gloucester! The Damned played 2 sets - the first had a more psychedelic emphasis (songs included the inspirational "Dark Asteroid" (a tribute to Syd Barrett) from their new album "So, Who's Paranoid?". The second set was a bit more punked-up and faster - featuring classics, old and new.

Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian continue to lead what is now the longest running line up in the history of the band - and look/sound as fresh and vibrant as they did back in 1976.

As Captain himself said of the event at the end of the night : "Thanks to Gloucester City Council for being brave enough to put on bunch of shows in the spiegeltent including your old mates the Damned - we always enjoy playing here in Gloucester"

Set list:
Street of Dreams
Dr Jekyll
Generals
13th Floor Vendetta
Nasty
Under The Floor Again
Curtain Call
Blackout
Eloise
Dark Asteroid
---------------
New Rose
Antipope
Neat Neat Neat
Alone Again Or
History of the World
Under the Wheels
Melody Lee
Nation Fit For Heroes
Fan CLub
Perfect Sunday (with power failure right at the end, but they kept going)
Love Song
Smash It Up1&2
(part) Happy Talk with Pinch and Dave Vanian rolling captain up in a carpet - he kept playing though.

Here are some assorted quotes from the Damned's message board:

"This goes straight in at the top of my favourite Damned concerts. "

"Great gig - well worth three hours sleep then up for work at 6. "

"Thanks to everyone invloved at both Marketing Gloucester Ltd and Gloucester City Council for making it happen and for everyone who went along to make it such a success - Oh and to Cap, DV, Pinch Stu and Monty - 'thanks for the night'! "

"Superb gig, very intimate!"

"Really enjoyed the show well done glos council for making it happen"

"Not necessarily the best (Damned) gig of 2009... but certainly my favourite!"

"A perfect sequence of events"

Now thats what I call praise from people who I know are hard to please - lets have more of the same next year please Gloucester and lets all support the improving vibe of this fantastic City!”

“Yes but what were The Damned Like?”