The crowd was throwing crashed beer cans, a guy was banging hard his head on the amps, front row people were pushing and moshing, going crazy, probably a little drunk or pretending to be? After all it was the 4th of July but it was still early when the band Fidlar opened the night at the Echo. As soon as the very loud quartet took the stage, a punk energy filled the room like a sudden tornado, with a liberating wall of sounds that could soon be endorsed by any surf/skate/beer/Four Loko commercial. Yes they are another surf-punk band but the twister-like sound of their guitars and their aaaahhhhhs-power-choruses were a lot of fun.
With harmonies and melodies behind the powerhouse performance, they certainly put a happy face on everyone’s expression and were playing with a laid back attitude songs entitled ‘I wanna be your Cocaine’, ‘Cheap beer’, ‘No Waves’, ‘No Ass’, ‘White on white’, ‘Max can’t surf’, ‘Wake bake skate’. But they have even more fun with acronyms, as their EP (that they were only selling in vinyl or cassettes, yes cassettes!) is entitled DIYDUI, and their band name would mean (according to some urban dictionary) ‘Fuck it Dog Life’s A Risk’.
Brandon, Max, Zac, Elvis, and Ryan, (knowing that Zac’s father is Hawaiian John Carper, one of the world’s premier surfboard shapers) make pretty straightforward trashy punk songs that rolled over the audience like a furious wave, making more damage than a cocktail of amphetamine and energy drinks.
Sure, their garage rock is sometimes reminiscent of marijuana smoker Wavves’ Nathan Williams (they have a song called ‘Chinese weed’!) and their party attitude of the Black Lips’, but this seems very good signs of their potential.
Their trash-beach enthusiasm and unrestrained-drunk attitude was perfect for a 4th of July, and I have just seen they are opening for Fucked Up on July 26th at the El Rey theater!