Live Review of Fucked Up with Weed @ Loving Touch Ferndale USA 7.11.14
The evening started off in front of a fire at a friend's house. The kids and I watched as the
homeowner finished off the remnants of his 4th of July fireworks stash. This is a perfect way to
start any Detroit weekend. Unfortunately though, due to my mid-evening activities, I missed local band Destroy This Place. Their next show is at the New Dodge in Hamtramck on August 2nd.
I pulled up to the Loving Touch Friday night, anxious to see Toronto outfit Fucked Up, who
are on tour in support of the recent full length release, Glass Boys. I was briefly concerned I'd
have to wait outside due to the apparent line I saw as I passed the WAB. Those worries were
soon alleviated when I realized it was just a cluster of smokers congregating by the door.
Inside, the beer choices were down to drafts out of plastic cups, typical of shows at the Loving Touch. I appreciate the safety aspect of this decision, but nevertheless, drinking out of plastic sucks.
The second opening band, Vancouver's Weed, I did catch. Their live sound is a mixture 90's grunge and indie rock, similar to Mudhoney, Dinosaur Jr., or Bleach-era Nirvana. Some of
the reverb laden, lazy, vocal delivery that is present on their recorded material is lost live. The hollow stark feel of the sung vocals sounded flat, monotone, and poorly delivered. The screamed
sections were another story, a good representation of what a listener can expect from their records. Their set was interesting, but not memorable, which is a shame as the recorded
material is quite good. After Weed, I headed up Woodward to the New Way Bar to have a quick beer with some friends.
After a short walk and a brief wait, Fucked Up came on. Lead singer, Damien Abraham, was in full effect in all his shirtless, back hair riddled glory, with signature (in my opinion, Negative
Approach inspired) growl. Abraham is the show, frequently inviting the audience to participate, whether on stage, with the mic, or joining them on the floor, typical of a good hardcore frontman.
This is my first time seeing them live and I was curious how their layered recorded sound would transfer to a live show.
The answer is magnificently.
Songs from David Comes To Life, such as The Other Shoe, lose a bit of their initial, anthemic build up live, but come off more passionate and raw than their recorded counterparts. Jonah Falco's drumming was superbly aggressive, driving the triple guitar rhythm of the sextet. Their set was relatively short, but amazing, and I will be watching to see when they come back to town.
The show and the night overall exceeded expectations, only briefly interrupted by stepping into vomit in the men's bathroom. After that, it was a quick trip to the merch table and I
was homebound with some of the sweetest locally made tour posters you could ever get.