No band currently touring embodies rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle more than Southern California punk band FIDLAR.
The band played a show at the Observatory in North Park on Oct. 18 in support of its upcoming album “Almost Free,” which is set to come out in January. The show was the first stop on its North American tour with fast and brash punk band Side Eyes, and distortion-heavy grunge act Dilly Dally, both bands fronted by women.
Astrid McDonald, the lead singer from Side Eyes, was in disbelief when FIDLAR invited her band on tour.
“I could not believe it when I heard from them that they wanted us to play, it was very surreal,” McDonald said. “I’ve been going to their shows since I was in high school.”
When FIDLAR dropped the backdrop that had its name spelled out in blood red, the crowd was ready for the band to come on. The band soon came out to a completely dark stage, aside from old and broken television set that would change colors and occasionally flicker frantically to the music.
FIDLAR opened the show with the drunken ballad “Alcohol” off its forthcoming album, and single, “No Waves,” from its first album. On the latter, singer and guitarist Zac Carper opens up about his struggles with addiction.
“I feel, feel like shooting up / I feel, feel like giving up my skateboard / ‘Cause I’m f—–g bored,” he sang.
Carper finally addressed the crowd during the fifth song of the set the band’s song “40 Oz. On Repeat,” from its second album “Too.”
“You guys are way better than those L.A. people,” Carper joked as the band played the song.
On a more serious note, Carper addressed a recent case of sexual assault at a FIDLAR show and didn’t hold back at all.
“If someone is f—–g with you you have full permission to punch them in the f—–g face,” Carper said. He then proceeded to invite all the women in the audience for a girls-only mosh pit during the song “5 to 9” off of FIDLAR’s self-titled album.
Andrea Renney, computer science sophomore, was at the concert and said it met all of her expectations.
“This was my first FIDLAR show and it was pretty much what I expected – loud, sweaty, fun, great crowd,” she said. “There was too many guys still in the all-girl mosh pit.”
The crowd went crazy for every song with circle pits and crowd surfers in abundance, but two of the biggest songs came at the end with “Why Generation,” and the song the band closed the main set with, crowd favorite “Cheap Beer.”
The crowd was demanding an encore, and when FIDLAR came out for one last time, Carper made the entire crowd sit down for the last song of the night “Cocaine” until the song kicked in and the crowd could not sit still any longer. FIDLAR are playing all over the United States through November, with a stop at the famous Hollywood Palladium to end the tour.
