Fucked Up

14th November 2012, Deaf Institute

8/10

The Deaf Institute has a death wish. Whoever booked Fucked Up here has either never seen the Canadian punks – who once played a 12 hour set – in a live environment, or they’re willing to stick their neck out and accept whatever damage, human or otherwise, comes their way.

Whether it’s by design or by accident, Fucked Up take an awful long time to take to the stage, but when they do, the venue descends into near wanton chaos, but in the greatest way imaginable. Opening with a couple of songs from last year’s excellent, nuanced David Comes to Life, it takes only the second track before rotund singer Damian Abraham is physically pulled into the crowd by the baying yet loving mob, and Abraham is all too willing to reciprocate, climbing across the bar, making his way into the seated area. The squares weren’t getting away so easily.  Despite his intimidating broken glass howl, there’s something infectious about the lilt in his eyes as he hugs fans or attempts to scale the balcony, an incident which could have gone very awry were it not for the faithful willing to catch him.

Musically the band is also a treat. Their Poison Idea meets Broken Social Scene racket is uncompromising but has an almost graceful quality to it; careful melodies peek through the noise. ‘Black Albino Bones’, one of their finest songs, gets a delightful airing, with guitarist Ben Cook swirling dreamy vocals into the mix as Abraham meets his adoring public. Set closer ‘Son the Father’ is what really detonates the building with a coruscating energy, truly making the bouncers sweat. The band returns for a one two punk punch of ‘Police’ and ‘Generation’, bodies flinging themselves everywhere, well and truly, the venue devastated, and the crowd sated.