People aren’t always fighting to touch a screaming, half-naked, overweight man’s belly but when they do, it might be because they’re at a Fucked Up concert.
After a bit of a late start, Fucked Up began and the ground shook March 30 at Babylon Nightclub.
A mosh pit formed and bodies crashed against each other as Fucked Up frontman Damian Abraham got up close and personal with the crowd. Hands reached out for the opportunity to touch Abraham as he got face-to-face with those in the front.
For nearly an entire song, Abraham was out in the crowd, the microphone cord being guided by fans. Shirtless and pantless, the lead singer made his rounds as he screamed into the microphone before returning to the stage with the cord wrapped around his face.
The scene seemed like a fitting end to the night of streamers, blackouts and local bands with names like Pregnancy Scares and Party Knives.
The band rocked one of many venues across Ottawa for JunoFest, which featured Juno-nominated groups. Fucked Up was nominated for alternative album of the year, but lost to the much softer cooing of Dan Mangan.
Hollerado rounded out the local acts. The indie rockers may be Ottawa natives, but they’ve climbed their way up as international artists and picked up Juno nominations along the way. They were up for video of the year at the ceremony, but got beat out by the Sadies.
Before breaking into their set, they warned they have a tradition of playing some of their worst shows during the Juno Awards.
“We’re going to try and butcher some new songs and some old ones,” said frontman Menno Versteeg.
The show hit a small snag quickly after the first song when they cut out during their first attempt at “Juliette.”
“And the tradition continues,” Versteeg said. “This is avant-garde ‘Juliette.’”
The band recovered and launched into “Way Down Low.”
Streamers were let loose as the band began “Got to Lose.” Versteeg had the audience singing along: “You’ve got to lose love if you want to find love.”
The crowd really came to life, however, as the first chords of “Juliette” broke out. A mosh pit quickly formed in front of the stage and pretty much everyone was moving to the music in one way or another.
“It’s looking cool to be [in Ottawa],” Versteeg said.
