After Dilly Dally gave a stellar performance, I half-expected the full floor to clear out while people waited for FIDLAR to appear. However, my expectations were subverted when, instead, the crowd stood in eager anticipation of the band. As the opening chords of “Alcohol” rang out, and the lead singer, Zac Carper, cried out, “I walk around with a screw driver,” the crowd immediately began to mosh, not only in isolated areas, but as a singular unit. If you were on the floor, you were in the thick of it. A crowd surfer could appear from anywhere.
FIDLAR came out with a look fitting of their music. Carper’s long hair obscured his face as he shredded his black fender painted with a cobweb. Bassist Brandon Schwartzel played a white fender mustang bass with “Don’t fear the weird” scrawled across it. Apart from appearance, they made sure to put on a show to match the excitement of the fans. FIDLAR was spirited in their body language and weren’t shy when prompting a call and response from the audience. As Carper danced and played guitar, his hair flew in every direction.
About halfway through the show FILDAR parted the seas, creating an aisle down the middle of the crowd. Carper then requested that only girls mosh in this narrow space. Although this was a noble pursuit, as soon as the band started playing the next song, a swarm of men surged the pit anyway. C’mon guys, you can take a song off from smashing into each other.
Besides the one muscular and bald 45-year-old dude, who seems to be at every mosh pit on a mission to injure people, the crowd wasn’t as violent as I had expected. People jumped, pushed and flailed for the purpose of experiencing the music. If anything, it was a cathartic display of dissatisfaction with the world for many of the fans. Overall, FIDLAR may be 30-year-old sober guys playing music about how they never want to get sober, but they have stayed true to their message in musicality and spirit. If you are a fan of their music, I highly recommend going to see them live.
Written and Photos by Mark Selden