Doyle. Or rather, Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein. His reputation is about as big and as intimidating as his hulking stature. As the longest running and easily most popular guitarist of the spooky punk band The Misfits, he has made a huge impact and influenced countless musicians over the years.
While he may be best known for his work with the Misfits, his solo band is worth checking out. While the music has a much harder and Metal edge that punk fans may be used to hearing, Doyle’s guitar tones are still unmistakably his own.
The Thompson House gives off the perfect vibe to catch an act like Doyle at. It’s the birthplace of the Tommy gun for starters, so it has seen its fair share of violence and massacres. Plus seeing a show in an old house that’s been revamped for live music gives that classic underground venue feel.
Speaking of massacres, that is exactly what happened to the audience when the Woo Woo boys came crashing into Newport, Kentucky. As the lights dimmed down for the night’s headliners, the band slowly started to emerge on the stage one by one. Once Doyle stomped his way on stage all and the band launched into the the fan favorite “Abominator”
Frontman Alex “Wolfman” Story is the perfect match to Doyle with his fearsome and almost comical style. He introduced each and every song as a “Love song,” and “You can dance to it if you want.” I’ve seen Doyle live a few times and Story does this at every show. I don’t care how many times I hear it; it’s always funny.
The band played several songs off Doyle’s 2 albums, Abominator and Doyle II: As we Die. Among them were “Beast Like Me,”” Dream of Dead Girls”, “I Hope Hell is Warm” and my personal favorite, “Valley of the Shadows.”
This time around the band has a new guy behind the drum kit, a newby by the name Luke Wright. Luke recently turned 18 and just started playing with the band on this tour. Years ago he met Doyle after a show and expressed his interest in playing with the band. Doyle and company encouraged him to look them up when he was older and he actually landed the gig. He definitely has the chops and executed the song perfectly and even had a moment to shine with a solo.
If you have ever seen Doyle live rather it be his solo act or any of the variations of the Misfits over the years, you know what to expect. A savage no nonsense take no prisoners assault on the senses. The show at the Thompson House was no different. While Doyle stomped around the stage and beat the ever living shit out of his trademark Annihilator guitar, the rest of the band was putting in the work as well. With his menacing build, ghoulish makeup and long black devilock hairstyle, Doyle is not the kind of guy you want to mess with.
Unless you are in the band.
At one point in the set, Story climbed up on bass player Brandon Strates’s shoulders for a game of chicken with Doyle. Remarkably Doyle managed to keep a straight face as the Story and Strate followed him around on stage for a bit. While most of the fans in the audience came out to see the legendary punk guy artist, the rest of the band proved they are well worth the price of admission.
