Fuller Concert Video Showcase!!

I apologize for the delay in this making the site, but remember the Fuller reunion show at LopLops Lounge on December 28th? Well, almost the whole thing was live-streamed on Facebook! The Facebook event page (something usually forgotten about after a concert begins) ended up being a hub for videos from the event, possibly aided by the fact that 2/3rds of the bands that night don't have Facebook pages (and the one that does only posts there on occasion). These still made the rounds on personal Facebook pages, hence the comments/views on each. The videos were shot live by concert co-promoter Jimmy Polnick, and just to get this out of the way now, yes, all were shot vertically. I wish they weren't, but kudos to Jimmy for getting this much footage at all! We'll start with the 66 minute video of the reunited emo/punk trio Fuller, featuring founding frontman Jamie Vincent, late-era bassist Mark Rand, and guest(?) drummer David Peredun, who was heavily thanked during the set.

The set proper begins after six minutes of setup, with Jimmy talking to viewers watching on Facebook in the lead-up. Song names are partially sourced from a picture shared on Mark's personal Facebook page of him writing out the setlists used on stage on the 28th, though the name of the last song was obscured by Mark's arm, and I know that some were credited under short-form names. Also, as far as I know, none of these songs come from Fuller's 2002 EP, which Mark did not play on, and which infamously had no titled songs. I have yet to review it for the SMS, but I know that it was relatively softer than they eventually got. In order, their setlist led off with original songs labelled as "Batts", "And I End", and "Crush", before covering "Honestly?" by the Midwest emo band American Football. Further songs included "Image" and "Love Is Always", whose full name I know thanks to this YouTube video from back in the day.

Free Beer/Id Iota alum Dustin Goodall and Honest Work's Wayne Watkins take the stage next to do guest vocals on a cover of Moneen's "The Passing Of America", and the set ends with songs labelled as "Embarrass", "Kerosene", and the one whose name is obscured in Mark's image, which was more of an extended jam. While I was never a massive emo fan, Fuller turned in a fun set here with lots of energy, and it was nice seeing Jamie and Mark singing on stage together again! Jimmy did leave his prime spot in the front row for the last few songs, but you get a good look at the sold-out crowd as a result, and the recording quality is solid (vertical camera aside). Give Fuller's return set a watch below!

The middle band was local punk supergroup The Gambit in their first public concert set in exactly one year and just their second under this name. Jimmy's 40 minute live stream begins relatively promptly with the set proper. I'm admittedly struggling to identify all the songs on offer, which was a problem when trying to catalogue old Sick Sons/Gambit videos, partially due to vocal clarity with this audio setup and partially due to the band not introducing all songs by name. That said,  I am 100% positive that they covered NOFX's "It's My Job To Keep Punk Rock Elite", Gob's "I Hear You Calling", and Pup's version of Grandaddy's "A.M. 180", plus original songs named (I think) "Lonelier Tomorrow", "Lucky Seven", "Depth", "Clickbait", and "Faultline". In practice, fans can expect some solid indie-inflected punk covers and originals from The Gambit, complete with multiple band members taking vocal duties, and the variety is definitely welcomed!

Jimmy is stationed further from the stage in a stationary spot, and you can only see three band members with any frequency, but The Gambit's set was entertaining, and hopefully the original compositions are a good sign! Hopefully they ramp up their online presence too, and credit the full lineup by name on social media, but check out The Gambit's full LopLops set last month out for yourselves below!

Finally, the opening band (new and online page-less local punk quartet Honest Work) were joined in progress, with Jimmy's live-stream beginning late in their opening song, possibly an original named "Straight To My Heart". Honest Work (not to be confused with defunct indie rock band Honest Job) is basically the former Nebraska Arms with guitarist Wayne Watkins (also of The Northwest) now on lead vocals, and with bass now handled by former Rising Tide fiddler Sheldon Jaaskelainen, who also sings on some songs. Dedicating their half-hour set to fallen local musicians, their set otherwise included songs named (I think) "Left Friends" and "Be Better", among others, plus covers of Dead To Me's "Die In Los Angeles" and Alkaline Trio's "Radio". Entertaining set that restores some of the punk that has been phased out of newer Northwest material, and Wayne and Sheldon handle vocals well, so give their debut a watch!

With the Facebook event page intentionally being used to host videos from the event, more have been uploaded that we will touch on in an upcoming post. Thanks again to Jimmy for filming everything last month, so definitely give these a look to see what you missed out on (or want to relive) from Fuller's first show in almost 20 years, and hopefully those teasers of more activity in the future do lead somewhere positive! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!