Fucked Up
London ULU
19.08.08
Variety may be the spice of life, but unfortunately, the combination of Mindless Self Indulgence and Fucked Up on the same bill seems to work better on paper than it does in reality. MSI have sold out venues three times the size of the ULU, but tonight is visibly not sold out – a bizarre state of affairs, given that both they and Fucked Up are known for their devoted fanbases.
Still, the Death Set get things off to a fine start, with a frenetic set of sample-infused punk rock in a Test Icicles kinda vein. They hurl themselves around the stage amidst a maelstrom of scratchy guitars and scattergun beats, barely pausing for breath between songs, and then throw their guitars to the ground before exiting. Job done.
Fucked Up sound excellent tonight, but are clearly not in their ideal environment – with a barrier in place at the front of the stage, and seemingly just a small handful of folks in the crowd who know (or, indeed, care) who they are. Still, portly vocalist Father Damian (a.k.a. Pink Eyes) remains a fine host, climbing down onto the barrier whilst his band rip through a life affirming ‘Crusades‘. Those outside of the pit clearly don’t know what’s good for them, but hey, it’s their loss.
It’s fair to say that there’s never a dull moment at a Mindless Self Indulgence gig. “This is why I’m never gonna have kids,” declares permanently mock-obnoxious vocalist Little Jimmy Urine, to the baying masses, “because you won’t shut up and eat your spinach!” A case of the pot calling the kettle black, perhaps, because Jimmy never shuts up either – and his ‘ooh, I’m crazy, me’ shtick does get pretty irritating after a while.
Fortunately, the crowd is on their side, and MSI have enough quality tunes in their arsenal to keep us happy tonight. Like a child with chronic ADD, they throw together elements of punk, metal, rap, drum n’ bass, techno in a wilfully schizophrenic (and often homoerotic) fashion. It doesn’t always work, but the likes of ‘Stupid MF‘ and ‘Shut Me Up‘ are genuinely catchy industrial-pop anthems for the cybergoth age. Rarely do so many black-clad folks look so happy – and for that alone, MSI deserve kudos.
Alex Gosman