Fucked up had taken risks on Tuesday night, how can you follow an act like Trash Talk who had installed such a level of energy fueled by fear and violence? Well, they did follow them very well, not letting the energy down a second, but transforming the atmosphere into something more convivial if I dare to say, switching from hard time to good time with a frontman taking care of every single crowd surfer landing on him.
Hey, Damien Abraham looked like a huge teddy bear compared to Trash Talk frontman Lee Spielman, a tender man with a rough voice, constantly offering his large sweaty body to the crowd and thanking us ten times between songs, with a surprising gentle voice contrasting so much with his singing raucous howl.
They opened with ‘Queen of Heart’ from their latest concept album ‘David comes to Life’ , and when the first notes and Damien screaming voice filled the large room of the El Rey Theater, people went crazy, and the moshing and crowd surfing never stopped till the end of the friendly battlefield that the place had become. I want to say how great the security was, not too invading but really present and efficient, taking care of each stage diver/surfer, letting everyone having a good time at the risk of getting hurt, not making a bad move during the whole night; after such a mayhem, I bet they cannot wait to have a Coldplay-style bill next night they are in service.
But Damien was having the time of his life, he told us so several times, not spending even a minute on stage, but rather being constantly in the pit, bending over the audience, screaming and spiting his vocals to the adoring fans who knew all the lyrics, lending the mic to them to sing along, stealing their hats, hugging them tight, and high-fiving all the people crowded in the front rows. He is a loving and loveable character, I even experienced it closely as he posed for a photo opportunity holding a photographer around the neck and asking me to take a picture, then switching, posing on my side and asking the photo guy to take a picture…
Damien gives so much to his public that you have to wonder what this kind of events really represent for people, they are more than simply concerts, they are a collective communion in perspiration, as fans were literally eating him alive, drenching in his sweat, putting their head deep into his chest, trying to pull his shorts down and slam his ass at the disapproval of a security guard who made a face watching the scene. Damien crashed a plastic glass on his forehead at one point, and it got stuck there for a long time making him look like a half-amputated narval.
If all the attention was on Pink Eyes-Damian, the band was making waves on stage with their raging fast but melodious post-hardcore riffs. Mike Haliechuk on lead guitar, Sandy Miranda (wearing a summery red dress) on bass guitar, Josh Zucker, on rhythm guitar, and Jonah Falco on drums were behaving so nicely compared to the chaos going on around them, that it was a strange scene to experience.
The set was heavy on their two latest efforts, ‘The Chemistry of Common Life’ and of course ‘David comes to life’ but they had also included a lot of other songs, as I tried to read the setlist written on a paper plate (not quite sure I got it entirely right).
Damien called a friend to join them on stage during the last song which turned into another wild ride with a wall of fast and fuzzy guitars, and, before embracing a kid wearing a sort of black S&M mask, he strode over the barricade into the crowd and disappeared into the mosh pit.
Setlist:
1.’ Queen of hearts’
2. ‘David Comes to Life’
3. ‘Looking for God’?
4. ‘Black Albino Bones’
5. ‘?’
6. ‘Crooked Head’
7. ‘I hate summer’
8. ‘The other shoe’ (dying)
9. ‘Twice Born’
10. ‘A Little Death’
11. ‘Oasis’?
12. ‘Police’
13. ‘Son of the Father’
14. ‘Baiting the Public’
15. ‘Generation’