Live Review: Fucked Up, Cuntz

The first half of tonight’s double bill of profanity-laden band names is local group Cuntz.

They open with a slow dirge, driven by a repetitive bass line. Gradually the song builds up into the raw, primitive punk they deal in. Like The Stooges or The Cramps only more menacing, their songs saunter along as singer Ben Mackie snarls barely intelligible lyrics over the top, while occasionally lifting his shirt and rubbing his torso. Technical trouble plagues the guitar for a few songs but, with such a bare-bones sound, it almost sounds intentional. Mackie hardly acknowledges the crowd throughout, save for a shout-out to some friends. The set ends without a bang (or a whimper, for that matter) – everyone just starts packing up as soon as one of the songs ends. It’s Melbourne garage-punk at its sloppiest and finest.

The room fills up quickly as the stage gets set up for Fucked Up. Canada’s hardcore champions are back for their third Soundwave and a sideshow to a packed Ding Dong Lounge.

After what feels like forever, five of the six band members take to the stage, minus singer Damian Abraham. Their tuning turns into a slow-building instrumental song. Abraham appears halfway through, watching the band from the side. All of a sudden, the song stops and turns into Queen Of Hearts. Abraham takes to the stage and the crowd surges forward to shout along and throw themselves around.

The set features a good mix of all their albums and a few random singles. The older material definitely gets the best out of the crowd though and Abraham puts the mic in various peoples’ faces as he runs around the crowd. No part of the venue is safe as, throughout the set, he visits the bar, the sound desk, booths on either side of the room and even the front room. All eyes are on Abraham (or at least trying to find him) while the rest of the band devote themselves fully to creating their maelstrom of noise. The three guitars are a little hard to distinguish in the mix, but songs such as Generation and Sun Glass have the riffs front and centre and benefit fully from it.

The set finishes on a gapless trio of Son The Father, Generation and Two Snakes. Each song is played with more fervour and urgency than the one before until finally it all crashes to a finish. A noise curfew means they return immediately to quickly bash out fan favourite Police. Abraham thanks the crowd profusely and immediately jumps down to hug, chat and take photos with punters. Like a good punk song, tonight is quick, rough and no nonsense, just like it should be.