Refused rumble with The Bronx in Vancouver

Swedish punk legends The Refused played in Vancouver on August 26-27, 2012. (Robert Collins/CTV)

While Metallica and their three-show 3D-movie circus have dominated the city’s music headlines this week, for many Vancouver rock fans summer’s real highlight was the arrival of reformed Swedish punk legends Refused.

Admittedly, Refused have never been a household name in all but the noisiest of houses, but that doesn’t distract from their musical and historical importance. Their 1998 album “The Shape of Punk to Come” proved to be exactly that, a radical departure from the sound of mainstream punk rock superstars like The Offspring and Green Day, incorporating ideas from genres as diverse as techno and jazz, influencing an entire generation of angry young musicians in the process.

The band broke up as that album was released and their unlikely reformation, 14 years later, has taken them on a world tour that saw the first of two shows in Vancouver last night at The Vogue.

Punk in concept, if not image (all five members were appropriately dressed for an informal wedding), Refused began ferociously with an aural barrage of

“Worms of the Senses,” “Refused Party Program” and “Liberation Frequency.”Pausing briefly to call for the release of jailed Russians Pussy Riot, ten minutes into the show the entire band’s suits and shirts were noticeably saturated in sweat.

“I was an angry, angry, angry young man when we wrote these songs,” explained lead singer Dennis Lyxzén in his Swedish Chef accent. “Now all the distorted visions I had are all coming true.”

Granted, on paper, an evening of Scandinavian neo-Marxist post-hardcore sounds about as much fun as grouting. In reality, it was super-theatrical and massively entertaining. Lyxzén is more screamer than singer, but he’s still a world-class frontman, a linguini-thin combination of James Brown and Steven Tyler, full of high kicks and furious wiggles. The energy never dropped below frantic, Lyxzén mounting monitors, the drum kit and even an unfortunate roadie.

“You kept this music alive when we were too stuck up to play it,” he smiled, as the band launched into “Refused are F***ing Dead,” before entering the crowd and leaving the mic for fans to scream the words themselves.

The crowd sung the opening question of the band’s biggest hit, “New Noise” back at the band, who answered those words, “can I scream?” with the best two chord riff ever written. Even today, it remains a staggering blast of venom, the ultimate combination of punk fury and profound heaviness. Time may have allowed the Refused legend to ferment and mature, but on last night’s form, their precision mix of riffs, anarchy and screaming still sounds like nothing else on earth.

Support band The Bronx’s underground celebrity hasn’t reached the level of Refused, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less rocking. Their last appearance in Vancouver was in support of The Foo Fighters, where they played as their Mariachi band alter egos, Mariachi El Bronx. That version of the band sways with gentle musicality. The Bronx, in last night’s punk rock mode, are Satan’s own bar band; a high speed Guns ‘n Roses without the heroin, on a mission to play every song faster and heavier than the previous one.

Singer Matt Caughthran was having a particularly boisterous night, commending the crowd throughout on their enthusiastic participation, then joining them in the melee for set closers “Knifeman” and “History’s Stranglers.”

“Think about it,” smiled Lyxzén towards the end of Refused’s set. “The Bronx and Refused is a f***ing good bill. You’ll tell people you saw this in 15 years time and they’ll never believe you.”

Rumour (unsubstantiated) had it that Metallica were visiting The Vogue on their night off. Taking notes perhaps. Arena metal perfection may be great fun, but for sweaty, unforgettable, life-enhancing rock and roll for the soul, Refused and The Bronx delivered the concert of the year.

Refused and The Bronx play The Vogue in Vancouver Monday night.