It’s amazing where time has gone. It’s been nearly 20 years since Michale Graves came, saw, revamped, and solidified the now legendary punk horror kings the Misfits. Since then Graves has been offering music in which he describes a deep forrest of his f’d up life. The Beginning of The End tour recently made its way to Revolution in Amityville, NY. Michale and company’s mission was quite simple: raise hell and scorch anything or anyone in its path.

Opening the show with “Bedlam” from the album When Worlds Collide, you could already tell that the band was super tight and ready to take no prisoners. Wasting no time, Graves served up a triple threat assault of Misfits with “American Psycho,” “Speak of The Devil,” and “Walk Among Us.” Absolutely blown away at this point, I noticed something. I have to say this had to be the most clear sounding renditions of these tunes that I have ever heard. The bass and drums were thunderous but not consuming. The guitars screeched at just the right tone. The vocals were layered on top to perfection. An ideal dish served, if you will.

Going back into his catalog of solo efforts, it was cool to hear the full band version of the acoustic “Night of The Living Dead” (not the Misfits). Graves’ voice shined on the fan favorite “Saturday Night.” The crowd embraced it and sang along word for word.

The set was a nice mix of his solo work and the era he spent with The Misfits. A standout song from the set “3 Days ‘Til Dawn” had a catchy chorus that I’ve been humming in my head since hearing it.

Poking fun of the inevitable encore that usually concludes most shows, the band said this is where we leave the stage and you call us back. Let’s skip that and just keep playing. Closing out the night with the Misfits staples “Helena” and “Dig Up Her Bones”; the energy never stopped for a minute.

The band consists of Loki on guitar, Christopher Dean on bass, and Tony Baptist on drums. They bring a more metal than punk sound to the band, which is A-Ok in my book.

Graciously, Michale Graves accepted my request for an interview after the show [raw footage available below]. It was cool to talk about various projects Michale was involved with including writing an album with Damien Echols and spending sometime in the WCW. Michale is a real standup guy and did not leave until he greeted every fan that stayed to meet him.

Be sure to catch Michale Graves as his tour runs until the end of year. –NzaSixx

Setlist:

Bedlam
American Psycho
Speak of The Devil
Walk Among Us
Night of The Living Dead
Beginning of The End
When Worlds Collide
Saturday Night
Pumpkin Head
Melts Away
Monster
Robot Monster
We Wait
Beware
Teenage Monster
3 Days ‘Til Dawn
Scream!
Shining
Crimson Ghost
Lost Skeleton
Helena
Dig Up Her Bones

Michale Graves Interview Part 1 – Raw Footage with NzaSixx – Discusses Recent Kickstarter Projects; Working with Damien Echols on Illusions in 2007; Stupidity of Arkansas Politics

Part 2 – Raw Footage with NzaSixx – Getting Involved with Vampiro and WCW; Meeting Sting, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Hulk Hogan Backstage; Horror Themes on Misfits’ Albums; Working with Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg

Photos by NzaSixx / Video by Sara G.