Last Friday, one of my top buds, Brian LaBenne, and I made the short, stressful journey out to Detroit for the Fucked Up/Wavves/Mexican Knives show that was to take place at the Magic Stick. We arrived just as Wavves' set had started, so I have no idea what Mexican Knives sound like, though, I would guess they play punk rock of some sort.
I had three complaints with Wavves on this particular night. Singer/songwriter Nathan Williams' ego is a little off-putting. The band played at least 15 minutes too long. And, after hearing three of my four favorite jams, all the songs just ran together, thus making the set seem even longer. All of that aside, Wavves were pretty great. HA. But, for real, they were pretty good. I did not expect the band to be as tight as they were, in spite of how fast they were playing. This was a pleasant surprise. I will admit that King of the Beach centerpiece "Post Acid" was a little too fast, while the title track was perfectly blistering and "Super Soaker," my favorite track from the album, was just as I had hoped. I hadn't listened to the stupidly titled new EP, Life Sux, at this point, so I wasn't really excited about, interested in, or impressed by any of the new songs (I since have listened to it, and it's not too shabby, actually).
Now, believe it or not, but this band, Wavves, played an encore, when they weren't even the closing act. This blew my mind and made me guffaw (figuratively and introspectively) at the same time. I couldn't believe it! At least it was the one good song from Wavves' second LP, Wavvves (such a clever title!), "No Hope Kids."
Overall, and to be completely honest, I don't really see my interest being held by Williams' music for much longer. He's a little too stoner/beach bum/young kid for me really, anyway. However, for now, I'm glad he's ditched the shitty, fuzzy lo-fi punk he was doing earlier on for this more polished, upbeat, Weezer-meets-really bright sounding Nirvana sound.
There were so many cool things about Fucked Up's set. There was, like, only ten minutes from the point that Wavves ended and Fucked Up began. That is uncharacteristic of any show, let alone at the Magic Stick. It always seems like there's at least a half hour wait between the main supporting act and the headliner at a Magic Stick show. Maybe I'm crazy. Regardless, Fucked Up were not shitting around.
The band opened up pretty much exactly as I expected, with "Queen of Hearts" and "Under My Nose," the first two real songs from their 2011 masterpiece, David Comes to Life. It was intense, incredible and seamless. At some point too early on they played my top jam from that album, "The Recursive Girl," and it ruled. Other highlights from David Comes to Life they were played awesomely were "The Other Shoe," "Turn the Season" and "A Little Death." The band played a set that was considerably shorter than I expected (seemed like Wavves played longer), so earlier albums were left out a little, though if my memory serves me correctly, "Black Albino Bones" from 2008's The Chemistry of Common Life and, curiously enough, "David Comes to Life" from 2006's Hidden World were played. And, also, "I Hate Summer," which I believe is from a single, and makes me want to dig into their more exclusively released material. The only way this set could have been any better is if "Crooked Head" and/or "Lights Go Up" had been included.
I am just as surprised as anyone who knows my general taste in music by how much I love Fucked Up, but when you think about it, it totally makes sense. Sure there's all this anger and screaming, but underneath that, it's not hard to notice the inspiring musicianship and blatant pop guitar hooks. I mean, really, Fucked Up are basically an intelligent, heavy pop punk band with a screaming, professional wrestler-type character for a lead singer. Seeing them perform in a more intimate setting than the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival was fantastic not just because of how much I love the band's music. The charming personalities of each of the members came out, albeit subtly, and they totally seem like people I would love to hang out with. Not to get all sentimental and geeky. But, you know, look at the name of this blog.
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