‘As evil is, as evil does.’ Top 5 moments from the Misfits at Austin's Moody Center

Old heads. New heads. Bald tattooed heads that read “Bad Religion.” Generations of punks pulled up to the Moody Center for a 90-minute resurrection of the original Misfits.

Black clad massses of moshing rockers filled the stadium with a generational love of loud punctuated with every push and shove. Now in their golden years, the classic lineup put on a show that cemented their legacy as headbanging heroes.

1) Reverend Horton Heat led a 'Psychobilly Freakout'

Dallas rockabilly trio Reverend Horton Heat, led by James C. Heath, was a surprising addition to the heavy opening lineup, sandwiched between Agnostic Front and Suicidal Tendencies.

The punk crowd sat flabbergasted, both captivated and somewhat perplexed by the addition of this hardcore hoedown. Nevertheless, a mosh pit pulsed to the powerful bass tones and masterful country fingerpicking.

Jimbo Wallace laid his upright bass down flat and plucked vigorously. From far away, it looked like he was trying to start an onstage campfire. Soon enough, they had the crowd scream-spelling J-I-M-B-O for their titular “Jimbo Song” in a first grade flashback.

“Psychobilly Freakout” was a standout in this bout of biting, intense rockabilly.

2) Four innocent instruments were obliterated

Rest in peace to the four instrument casualties.

Singer Glenn Danzig foreshadowed the onstage antics, throwing a mic stand across the floor the moment he hit the stage.

Barely three songs into the set, guitarist Wolfgang von Frankenstein snapped his guitar in two pieces over his knee. Clad in black leather pants, smashing seemed second nature to this muscle man whose face was painted in a white death mask. Four songs later he did it again.

A bass guitar was punched into bits, and the exchange for a new instrument acted as a brief interlude where Danzig likened Texas weather to his New Jersey birthplace. “It’s humid as (expletive) here. I’m sweating my nuts off.”

Spiked mohawk Jerry Only went feral during “Earth A.D,” assaulting yet another bass to smithereens. After introducing the band members to the audience, Danzig snidely told Only, “Don’t you have a bass to go break?”

3) Texas waited 42 years to thrash with the Misfits

Last time the Misfits took Texas was at Dallas’ Hotklub in October, 1982.

“It was a crazy time back then, I bet you could just imagine,” Danzig said. Long touring hours muddled the 69-year-old, who backpedaled with, “Oh (expletive), we’re in Texas right?”

Not holding back for their return to the Lone Star State, the Misfits dove back into the mayhem with “Horror Business.” Pit dwellers ran amok as concertgoers cranked it out in the mosh.

“If you can handle it, we can handle it,” Danzig said. “That’s for damn sure.”

4) 'Halloween' in August

The Misfit’s 1985 song “Halloween” went the hardest. Thousands of die hard punks blared every word back to the stage. Towering pumpkin heads decorating the stage started vigorously flashing their glowing eyes to the beat. Never before has there been more fervor for Halloween in August.

Grand-punks banged their silver heads with conviction. The pit became a war zone with two mosh pits turning like tornados, one clockwise and the other counterclockwise. Orange and purple spotlight beams washed over a crowd of spikey punks screeching like fangirls.

Really a rock your face off moment. Even Danzig noticed, “You like that one, huh!”

5) From Martians to Marilyn Monroe

The backdrop screen garnished each song with its own signature visual. Animated UFOs with little green men rained down for “I Turned Into a Martian” and “Teenagers from Mars.” Clips of Maila Nurmi took center stage for “Vampira,” and a montage of Marilyn Monroe ran for “Who Killed Marilyn.”

The most surprising inclusion in the Misfits set was archive footage of Kennedy's "Camelot" era, while scenes from George A. Romero’s "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) fell on target for their song of the same name.

As the night drew to a close, people were borderline strangling each other with elbows hooked around swinging necks in the seat banks. The pandemonium in the pit must have been unimaginable.

“There's no one else I’d rather be with than evil (expletive),” Danzig said, thanking the crowd at the end of it all. “As evil is, as evil does. Just like I like it.”

This article originally appeared on Austin 360: Concert review: Original Misfits rocked generations of punks in Austin