Fucked Up (8pm), Off! (9pm) and The Descendents (10pm) played at Dundas Square tonight. It was one of the nightly free shows put on by NXNE. Thank you NXNE and the aforementioned bands. What a difference the sound man makes. From the echo-y imprecise canyon of Fucked Up's sound to the crisp, CD-like sound of Off! was about as far a leap as sound can take. All the bands gave excellent performances. Fucked Up's singer was touring the crowd for the whole set, taking it to the people. He knows how to work a crowd. Off! played short tight bursts of furious punk. It reminded me that I haven't seen a band that heavy in too long a time. I don't get out like I used to.
For some reason they couldn't co-ordinate the picture on the big screen with the sound. On the screen there were a lot of perfectly timed shots of interactions between the singers and the crowd. It couldn't have been timed better by a director. Some of FU's most ardent fans are a sight to behold on the jumbo screen. Larger than life and a warning to all about over indulgence in punk rock living. Not the beautiful people suffice to say.
I didn't really know the Descendents catalogue until tonight. For variety there was a section with the singer's kids reading the 'Commandments of All'! The routine, complete with one large tablet รก la Moses, was peppered by 6/8 dissonant melodies and punches that were flawless and made me think they were going to break into some schmaltzy jazz as a joke. Lucky kids, going on tour with their punk rock Dad.
No jokes but lots of smokes. It was like the old club days, all the stinky cigarette smoke. Unlike a club, you aren't "allowed" to drink at Dundas Square. Everyone was. Simply everyone. And all so well behaved. It gives me hope for mankind. A security guard came to my friend and said "I won't take your drink but you have to drink it fast." Never mind the chillum circle going right next to us. An awesome night, especially for the budget-conscious. Look for twice the people and four times the number of people wearing glasses at Devo on Saturday.
The singer from the Decendents said that he thought he was in Times Square or Japan as he surveyed Yonge and Dundas and the assembled at twilight. Does that meant that our efforts to Times Square-ify the intersection have not been in vain? The square may not be level but at least they can put a stage on it and have concerts like this in the summer.
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