Having grown up having listened to long-defunct punk/hardcore band Refused mainly on record, it was exciting to have them reform and play live earlier this year. Seeing them at Terminal 5 earlier this year was the every bit the chaotic frenzied singalong many assumed it would have been before they broke up 14 years ago. That’s why seeing them make their American television debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from the audience was somewhat surreal. The band absolutely slayed, yet watching them play in front of a bemused crowd, there was a disconnect from the enthusiastic performance they put on.
While the Refused taping was happening, there was also a torrential rainstorm going on outside. That resulted in the cancellation of their Brooklyn show. However, the band decided to play a show anyway, at Brooklyn’s Europa. The 500-capacity club was much smaller than the Brooklyn waterfront where the show had been scheduled, so the free show was first come-first serve. One of the highlights of their shortened set was when John Joseph of the Cro-Mags came up to play The Age of Quarrel’s “We Gotta Know,” followed by Bad Brains’ “Attitude.” Check out fan-filmed footage of the Cro-Mags cover and the Fallon performance of “The Shape of Punk to Come” after the jump.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v5FV34dwCk[/youtube]
