Author Topic: In Praise of F'ed Up  (Read 1409 times)

Erik from Bushwick

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In Praise of F'ed Up
« on: December 27, 2011, 04:36:40 PM »
Hi everybody! I'll bet some of you have seen F'ed Up a zillion times by now, but I just had the first opportunity to do so. In fact, it was a pretty unique experience: I got on the press list by way of Brooklyn Vegan (my photos are here - http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2011/12/fucked_up_dom_b.html ), and it was at a kind of popup venue called Brooklyn Night Bazaar. Anyway, I got to have an Almost Famous-like experience and meet the guys; they were all some of the coolest musicians I've ever met.

The actual show was AMAZING! I don't even like hardcore, and it was still perhaps the most fun I've ever had. Of course I was in the photo pit dodging flying teenagers, which adds a whole level, but even if I were all the way in the back it would have been great. Damian was in the crowd most of the time, and made sure to stick around after the show and just hang. What a class act.

Anyway this is dipping into show review territory, so has anybody else seen them live? What did you think??

PS - I might be shooting Ted Leo in a couple days, maybe one time I'll get to take a "Jazz Man" shot of Tom that he used to go on about.

ted_

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Re: In Praise of F'ed Up
« Reply #1 on: December 27, 2011, 05:35:47 PM »
This sort of goes without saying, but F'ed Up are one of the most consistently inspiring live bands I've been lucky enough to see, and they just keep getting better. What they did in Austin at SXSW '07 and '08 is the stuff of legend - in '07 they played one of the most amazing shows ever, on a pedestrian bridge across Town Lake (commonly referred to as the Punk Bridge, where the PA is run on a generator and the cops can't shut shows down 'cause it's on the water and out of their jurisdiction). Video footage of "Circling the Drain" does a pretty job of conveying the moment; the whole show can theoretically be seen starting here (F'ed Up start about 2:36 in):

Lion of Judah and F'ed Up on the Punk Bridge, Austin, TX, 2007 - Part One

Click on the link if you're interested; there's more where that came from but I can't seem to get it to play anymore. Google Video isn't cooperating.

Of course, seeing shows is not really about videos or photos or any of that - it's about ineffable moments of joy and catharsis and being part of something larger than the sum of its parts. Hearing F'ed Up begin the opening notes of "Police" (even though I think Damian has mentioned being a little tired of playing it live at every show) is just one of those things that does it for me, and has for years. So yeah, in sum... they're a pretty great band, live and otherwise.