By Andrew Bansal
November 27th 2015, Complex, Glendale CA: Fuck The Facts, hailing from Ottawa, Ontario, have stuck to their guns as a grindcore band for more than 15 years, through ten full-length studio albums, multiple split/EP releases and relentless touring. Being a grindcore band with a name like that, you have a lot to live up to, and Fuck The Facts have certainly done that over the years. They self-released their latest LP ‘Desire Will Rot’ earlier this year, and are currently on a D.I.Y. US headline tour, playing with local support in every town, in all kinds of venues. On Black Friday, they made a visit to Complex in Glendale along with locals Doesn’t Matter, Panties, Wilderness Dream and Spit On Your Grave for a gig titled ‘Blackest Of The Black Fridays’ Vol 2 presented by Church Of The 8th Day.
Doors opened at 8 and the show started at 9 with Spit On Your Grave taking the stage for a 20-minute set of hardcore/crust punk. This young quartet, based in the murky depths of South Central Los Angeles, put on a highly energetic set, with the vocalist performing on the floor in front of the stage and his band mates laying down the heaviness on stage. Spit On Your Grave showcased a lot of promise as a new force to be reckoned with in extreme music, and got this show started on the right note.
Next up, Wilderness Dream changed things up considerably, as they brought a much more metallic and melodic variant of hardcore music. They played a great set and were shredding their asses off, but got a surprisingly lackluster response from the audience, which really discouraged them, so much so that they seemed to end their set earlier than planned. I commend them for their performance and encourage them to not let the crowd response (or lack of) affect them to such an extent. They were an excellent oddball choice by the promoter for this gig, but they’ll certainly find themselves on shows more directly suited to their style of music.
One can always rely on Panties to deliver their brand of offensive, crude punk/thrash/hardcore. With their signature visual element of the drum kit decorated with actual panties, they did exactly the same on this occasion and got a great response from the crowd for their fast, short, to-the-point songs intertwined with funny and unapologetically offensive stage banter and samples. Their inclusion in this event was overwhelmingly obvious and justified, as one could not have imagined a band like Fuck The Facts coming through town and Panties not being on the bill.
And since Church Of The 8th Day promoter Daniel Dismal’s own band Doesn’t Matter fit this lineup perfectly, they played as main support, presenting their unique three-piece grindcore setup wherein the bassist (Dismal himself) doing all the talking in between songs and the drummer wearing a microphone John Gallagher-style to do all the lead vocals. Dismal was unabatedly hilarious and absolutely in his element, once again proving himself to be the finest stand up comedian/musician in our community. But the most hilarious and ironic aspect of this Doesn’t Matter set was the fact that the crowd responded to the comedy but stood still for the music itself. In a different setting, with this band perhaps opening for the likes of Exhumed or Cannibal Corpse, their music alone would make crowds go nuts. Doesn’t Matter don’t live up to their name whatsoever because they are brutal with their music and funny with their banter in equal measures, and do in fact matter.
The show was moving along at lightning pace, as each band was taking 15-20 minutes to get ready, and played 20-minute sets. At around midnight, all was in readiness for Fuck The Facts to begin their onslaught, and they set the stage for themselves with their own array of lights, asking the venue to turn off all the house lights, and turning the atmosphere from jovial to bleak in a matter of seconds. It further enhanced the impact of their bone-shattering music, which sounded as extreme and powerful as it possibly could have, thanks to the impeccable and exemplary quality of Complex’ sound system, the efficiency of the sound guy, and not least of all, the professionalism and expertise of the band members themselves. Guitarist and founder Topon Das and longtime vocalist Mel Mongeon were at their vicious best and formed the forefront of the sound, while their three band mates, who’ve been part of a steady Fuck The Facts lineup since 2009, went about performing their roles effortlessly. I saw this band rule one of the smaller stages at the Scion Rock Fest in 2011 but this was my first time seeing them since then, and they proved that they’ve only become stronger through this period.
Complex has seldom witnessed anything as intense as this Fuck The Facts set, and together with the efforts of the local openers, this was indeed a very black Friday of extreme music.
Fuck The Facts remaining tour dates:
11/30 Albuquerque, NM @ Blu Phoenix
12/01 Amarillo, TX @ Zombiez Bar and Grill
12/02 Dallas, TX @ Reno’s Chop Shop
12/03 Austin, TX @ Dirty Dog
12/04 Houston, TX @ Barret’s
12/05 Metairie, LA @ Twist of Lime
12/06 Pensacola, FL @ The Handlebar
12/07 Tampa, FL @ Epic Problem
12/08 Miami, FL @ Churchills Pub
12/09 Orlando, FL @ Uncle Lou’s
12/10 Tallahassee, FL @ Midtown Speakeasy
12/11 Raleigh, NC @ Slims
12/12 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
12/13 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
01/15 Toronto, ON @ Coalition
01/16 Peterborough, ON @ The Spill
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