Mark Burgess: The Legacy of The Chameleons
- Samantha Blovits
- Oct 14, 2019
- 4 min read
Saturday 12th, October 2019.
Chameleons Vox played Small's Bar in Hamtramck, just Northwest of Detroit. Chameleons Vox consists of "Mark Burgess and whoever wants to play alongside him" (taken directly from their Facebook bio). In the 80's, Burgess was the frontman of the highly influential post-punk band The Chameleons, filling the role of singer, songwriter, and bassist. Unfortunately, the original lineup parted ways in 1987 after releasing three full albums together. Now Burgess tours Europe and the U.S. with a rag tag group of musicians, young enough to clearly have been fans before they became band members.
It was my first time at the venue, a cozy hole in the wall bar that specializes in post-punk/goth bands, along with fantastic tater tots if you're into that kind of thing. The walls are ridden with band stickers and a stoic painted portrait of Elvis Presley. Two opening acts played, Jay Aston & Theatre of Hate; both of them I would consider to be novelty acts from the decade. I won't lie, I was at the bar talking to Mike, the owner, about the Clash during both of their sets.
By the time Burgess and the boys walked on stage, I had positioned myself next to a friend at the base of the stage, directly to the left of his microphone. The band romped into "A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days" and the floor nearly shook from the noise radiating out of the bass amps. Fantastic. The band, and a large majority of the audience for good measure, were dressed head-to-toe in black. The sound of dueling guitars echoed around Burgess's still impressively powerful vocals.
"What kind of times are these, as they drag you to your knees."
The Chameleons are mainly praised for their crafted sonic soundscapes, but I'd like to draw attention to Burgess's highly underrated lyrics. Burgess manages to capture the feeling of loneliness, angst, and melancholy in his poignant songwriting. It's a no-brainer why the The Chameleons were idolized by many teens during the post-punk movement, along with the likes of Joy Division, U2, and the Cure. A discography that stands as a perfect soundtrack for personal turmoil and the confusion that comes along with growing up.
The lyrical content sounded fresh as ever, holding it's relevancy through the years, especially during an ad-libbed lyric hinting at the troubles of Brexit and "false leaders". Burgess even had a "Stomp Out Prejudice, Hatred, & Intolerance Everywhere" sticker on the front of his bass. It's quite a shame we still have to fight against the same exact injustices that we as a people were fighting for 35 years ago about, but I am very glad that we still have proper punks around standing on the right side of history.
The middle section of the set showcased some of the band's less popular songs, digging deeper into their catalogue with "Return Roughnecks", "Perfumed Garden", and "One Flesh". The crowd began to grow restless, but was immediately soothed as the drums kicked in to "Souls In Isolation". There was no break in the set onwards. Next came "Swamp Thing", their massive 1986 hit, ringing in with one of the most iconic guitar intros I can think of. You'd have to be soulless if you don't bob your head to this tune. Burgess stomped and soared through the song, showing no signs of nearing 60 years of age.
"Let's act like that was the last song", he joked as the last chord of "Second Skin" rang out. After a brief break off stage, the band emerged once again for an encore, kicking into a raucous version of "In Shreds" off of their album "What Does Anything Mean? Basically". This song and "Don't Fall" were hands down the highlights of the evening for me. During "Don't Fall" Burgess jumped down into the crowd, bass guitar and all, making his way through the audience without missing a beat.
The song ended and Burgess applauded his own band from the pit before leaping on stage and following them off, after humbly thanking the audience. Everyone began to funnel out into the bar area as I hung around to try my luck catching the band. Barely 15 minutes after the stage lights went out, Burgess came out to mingle with fans and take pictures. I had brought my vinyl copy of "Script of the Bridge" which he signed and was gracious enough to take a picture with me as well.
It was a very rad moment for me to meet the frontman of one of my favorite bands, especially after I had previously accepted that I would probably never get the chance to do so. I cannot put into words how kind and earnest Burgess was. He told me to drive home safe and asked me to come back when they play Detroit next. Like he really had to ask! I will definitely be there, doing what little I can to help keep the legacy of post-punk alive.
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