10/21: The Damned at HOB

While the Sex Pistols got all the punk glory, the Damned should get at least some of the laurels. They not only released the first punk record — Damned Damned Damned, a worthy rival of the Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks — but have demonstrated real staying power. Though there have been a number of different iterations of the band over the past 30-plus years, they’ve remained a remarkably consistent outfit with a still-incendiary live show. Led by founding singer Dave Vanian and guitarist Captain Sensible, the quintet plays a tuneful blend of punk, garage, psych and goth — the latter a perfect medium for Vanian’s deep, theatrical croon. The band’s first decade produced seven albums; in the 23 years since, they’ve managed to release only three records, the latest of which — last year’s So, Who’s Paranoid? — returns to their goth and pop sides. In concert, they’re more likely to offer up the grimy, hard-charging garage-punk of classics like “Smash It Up,” “Neat Neat Neat” and “New Rose,” keyed by Sensible’s scratchy, distorted guitar squalls and breakneck rhythms. The Damned, with Danko Jones and American Werewolves, play House of Blues (308 Euclid Ave., 216.523.2583) at 8 p.m. Tickets: $20 advance, $23 day of show. — Chris Parker