Minneapolis’ The Fuck Knights came to Milwaukee’s Circle-A bar on Saturday and ripped the place apart. Part of the Circle-A’s “Alive at Eight” concert series, shows start at 8pm and end at 10pm. The Circle-A venue is designed like being in someone’s living room, with a really cool bar. The place can probably hold about 30 to 40 people. The shows are intimate; the band plays on the floor just feet away from adoring fans. After a slight delay, Dave (harmonic/trumpet) was AWOL; the Fuck Knights came out swinging. With vocals by GD Mills, also on the 3-piece drum kit, the Knights are a vibrant garage, psychedelic, punk rock explosion reminiscent of the 1960’s rock and roll of the Back From the Grave series. The tight thirty minute set, loud and to the point, from 60’s pop rock to 80’s garage rock. At times they reminded me of watching the Lyres or the Cynics at O’Cayz Corral (Madison, WI), with a little puck rock swagger of Bantam Rooster thrown in. This was the music of my youth (sort of) listening to bands on labels like Estrus or Crypt. This performance was rock and roll the way it was meant to be played. It seems so easy, why don’t more musicians perform this genre? The 20 or so people saw one of the best shows to hit Milwaukee this year, with some of the nicest guys you will ever meet. They have upcoming shows in Kalamazoo, Cleveland, and Toledo. Support Midwest rock and roll, and buy them a beer, or two or three.
