[PREVIEW] Refused @ Vogue Theatre
Photo by Jason Persse
After a 14-year absence, Swedish hardcore punkers Refused are back on a full-blown North American tour, with two sold-out dates at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver August 26 and 27.
The band announced their reunion earlier this year, with an extensive post on their website. It explained that, while the members had gone in their own directions, each of them found a calling back to music. Part of the statement read:
“
There were a couple of phone calls, lots of skepticism, some hesitant enthusiasm before one of us basically said, ‘This is ridiculous. There are friends of ours who would murder close relatives just to go see bands there. Let’s just do it, one last time.’ And with that, socialist fag-loving PC scumbags were on the road again.
We never did The Shape of Punk to Come justice back when it came out, too tangled up in petty internal bickering to really focus on the job. And suddenly, there’s this possibility to do it like it was intended. We wanna do it over, do it right. For the people who’ve kept the music alive through the years, but also for our own sakes.
We feel that you deserve it and we hope the feeling is mutual.
See you in the pit.
”
The line-up will feature vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, lead guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, rhythm guitarist Jon Brännström and bassist Magnus Flagge.
Lately, they’ve been touring the festival scene with stops at Pukkelpop and Coachella, among others. Their raucous setlists are made up of fast-paced, energetic cuts from their three studio albums: their 1994 debut, This Just Might Be… the Truth; their 1996 follow-up, Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent; and their 1998 curtain call record, The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts.
By showing up, Refused promises an absolutely wild performance, and they newly renovated Vogue Theatre might require another reupholstering job after this rowdy two-nighter. If you’re going to the show, please keep your destructive energy in the moshpit!
Tickets for both shows are sold out. Sorry!
