Photo: crlsblnc on Flickr.
Hands up if you remember the time Fucked Up caused a miniature riot performing in an MTV Canada bathroom? Okay, you’re old. No, but really, whether it’s that blood-letting piece of infamy, the band’s anti-social moniker, or, you know, their actual music, you know what I mean when I say Fucked Up. Personally, I’m into the funny-ha-ha juxtaposition against Sloan’s righteous Canadiana, which is why it’s rad/crazy that the bands share a bill this week – sort of – for two holiday benefit shows. Even Fucked Up, officially on recording hiatus and covering the current issue of SPIN for album of the year (David Comes To Life), agree the pairing is kind of unconventional.
“We have a practice space right next to the guys from Sloan, we’re friends with some of them, and we’re fans, too,” says Fucked Up guitarist Josh Zucker. “We’ve been talking about how to collaborate. But we don’t think playing shows together would actually make sense, so we thought about playing shows that are related but not on the same night. And I think everybody was like, ‘Yeah… that sounds about right.’”
Fucked Up has released and participated in Christmas singles in the past, and Zucker says he thinks bands have a responsibility to give back. “We have all this cultural capital – friends who are musicians in bands that people are willing to pay money for, and this is how we make our living – and, pragmatically, this ability to put on a show and raise a bunch of money in a really quick time,” he says. “It’s kind of incumbent on bands to realize how little work, really, it is for them to play a concert but how much it can benefit an organization that can really use some money.”
Beneficiaries of the event’s proceeds are the COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program’s drug memorial, acknowledging the high number of user deaths in the Toronto community, and the Barriere Lake Legal Defense Fund supporting a small First Nations Community in Quebec. Zucker notes that while both causes are important, the timing to bring awareness to Barriere Lake is especially so, considering that Attawapiskat’s in crisis and in the news.
“Canada has this huge blemish when it comes to First Nations issues, and there are a lot of similarities between what’s happening in Barriere Lake and Attawapiskat,” he says. “Barriere Lake is a small community of about 250 people three hours north of Ottawa and they’re not on the power grid at all. Their electricity comes from a generator despite the fact that there’s a huge hydroelectric dam not too far from where they live, built on grounds where they traditionally would hunt and fish. They’ve been promised to be hooked up for years but it’s never happened, housing is overcrowded like Attawapiskat and they’re also under third party management. When you find out about this stuff, it’s pretty unbelievable.”
Fucked Up play all of David Comes To Life Tuesday night at the Great Hall with The Sadies, PS I Love You and Quest For Fire. They host – not play – Wednesday night’s Sloan-headlining show, which also features The Rural Alberta Advantage, Ohbijou and Bonjay. Tickets, $20, available online.
