Fucked Up

Damian Abraham's showmanship -- swinging his mic emphatically in the air, throwing audience members from his shoulders back into the pit and enthusiastically wading through the crowd -- often comes at the cost of his singing, audibly, into the mic, but such is the price of a killer hardcore show. Holding down the musical fort (despite some low-end mixing problems) were the rest of Fucked Up -- onstage, playing the tracks from their brilliant new disc David Comes to Life, with searing intensity and note-for-note precision. This was especially true of Ben Cook, who stood in admirably for most of the missing guest vocalists from their records. On both set opener "Queen of Hearts" and David highlight "The Other Shoe," Cook was aided by bassist Sandy Miranda, vocally, but it was "Turn the Season" and Chemistry of Common Life track "Black Albino Bones" that really sold the show. And yes, the back of the crowd might have yearned to hear more from Abraham, but if the front of the crowd wasn't heaving violently around a sweaty pink centrepiece while the band played on, well, it just wouldn't be a Fucked Up show.