Under their spell: Fcukers put the Fremont Theater into a nightclub trance

In the days leading up to Thursday, Sept. 24, it was nearly impossible to attend a class within the College of Liberal Arts without at least one classmate asking whether you were going to see Fcukers. If you were one of the lucky ones to respond with “yes” to that question, a real treat was in store. It’s really too bad you couldn’t buy a t-shirt to prove it. 

Naturally, the city was set abuzz with the announcement of Fcukers touring in town this fall. After a previous run-in with the alternative dance-pop duo on day two of Shabang Music Festival back in May, the demand for Fcukers to return has built up over several months now — a phenomenon that can only be resolved by dancing things out.

On this oh-so-special night, a crowd adorned with body glitter amassed at the Fremont Theater to do just that.

The night is young and the liquor is surely flowing for audience members as wisps of theatrical smoke begin to drift through the air of the theater’s dimly-lit interior. Concertgoers file in, staking their claims by the stagefront or sprawling out over the velvety spectator seats to partake in a pre-show chat with friends. Trip-hop playing over the speakers precedes the on-stage arrival of Total Wife, the night’s opener. 

Fronted by a bleach blonde duo, Total Wife brings hazy, experimental-pop to the stage. Elements of shoegaze and electronica are prominent; it’s loud, but intentional. You can feel it in your chest. The space fills with all-becoming noise for some amount of time, which fades to a pulsating, industrial hum. The group leaves on a mysterious note, but mystery need not be equated to being unapproachable.

“This room is really gorgeous,” vocalist Ash Richter said, standing with the band in the lobby of the Fremont. “I feel immense history here… I feel quite excited to play in California, we’re from Nashville.” In regards to KCPR’s audience, Richter said, “keep listening to college radio. The regular radio is maybe a little bit cooked.”

Standing room nearly spills into the venue’s seats as the crowd packs in further after the opener’s conclusion. Before we know it, the staccato, beat-forward backing track to “Mothers” fills the room and the touring band is on stage. One half of Fcukers, Jackson Walker Lewis, stands elevated on the center-stage sporting a cherry-colored bass. Vocalist Shanny Wise dances out into the spotlight to an eruption of cheers, immediately getting the crowd jumping and the night’s party off to a good start. The crowd claps to the beat, hands up in the air at all times. 

After one of their first releases, “Mothers,” plays, the duo’s album that released earlier this year, “Ö,” is spotlighted. Tracks one through six from the album play in-order, with Fcukers classic “I Don’t Wanna” and a secret, unreleased song sandwiched in between the remainder of the album to follow. 

If anything, Fcukers’ set is characterized by movement. The duo on stage is rarely stagnant and the audience follows suit, but it’s the moment  “L.U.C.K.Y.” begins that really seems to get everyone’s energy up. The electronic-pop track opens with a soft-spoken version of its chorus; as we all spell it out with the band, the song’s name feels quite fitting. It’s a lucky night at the Fremont, indeed. 

Part of the reason why Fcukers has gained such a fanbase is because of how fun and catchy their songs are. Not every lyric has to or does make sense (see “UMPA”), but “if you wanna party, come over to my house” is pretty direct in getting to its point. The phrase becomes a rhythmic hook as it’s repeated throughout the song, uncomplicated and built for movement. 

Intentional repetition and genre fusion are two additional things that characterize the sound of Fcukers. “I Like It Like That” brings us to another excitable repeated loop, getting the crowd jumping again (if they ever stopped).  

“TTYGF” leans into a more reggae-groove, starting off with a sampled airhorn and verse by rapper Skiifall. “Why don’t you tell it to your girlfriend?” Wise sang, countering the beat with her signature deliberately-cool, airy vocals. 

“Getaway” transports the crowd to a dreamy space, immediately furthered by “Feel the Real.” For these tracks, the audience is bathed in moving, textured patterns of light cast from the stage. Wise takes over playing bass on “Feel The Real,” standing center stage as Lewis shakes percussion at the back. Layered vocals and atmospheric soundscaping put the crowd in a trance. 

After the track comes to a close, Lewis takes a moment to talk and introduce the band — Rhythm Luna on drums, and Luka Dwells “scratching decks.” The moment turns into a message, one that Fcukers says at most of (if not all of) their live shows. “It’s a cruel, cruel world right now,” Lewis says. “We just want to be clear: ‘Fcuk’ Donald Trump, ‘fcuk’ our government… no more war, free Palestine,” as the crowd screamed the loudest they had all night, drowning out the final words of what he had to say. 

“B**ch,” Wise deadpans to the mic as the beat for “Homie Don’t Shake” starts to play directly after. It’s like their intention is for fans to get lost in the music, channeling their frustrations into body movement. Again, not everything has to make sense. Thinking about something very real and then transitioning to dancing along to beat-set creative rhymes — “Silks real, leathers fake, say you’ll DJ at my wake, blacked out, show up late, ‘cause homie don’t shake,” for example — proves to be pretty therapeutic.

“Sound of a beat,” as dubbed by fans and setlist.fm, is frequently performed yet unreleased. The instrumentals are reminiscent of those in “Homie Don’t Shake” and the lyrics are easy to catch onto, making it feel quite familiar even to those who know the band’s released discography front-to-back. “I want the sound of the beat like this, I want your hands in the air like this,” Wise sings. The track is like a game of “Simon Says,” and San Luis Obispo knows how to play. 

The lighting progresses to frequent, short flashes, casting a stop-motion illusion upon the crowd as we gaze up at Fcukers performing “Tommy.” Red and blue blink across the field of vision, illuminating the stage’s backdrop in a 3-D glasses kind of way. In the middle of the song, the performing duo are crouched up at the front of the stage together — Wise tossing her head side-to-side as she delivers the lyrics, Lewis on one knee, locked in on playing bass and looking out on the crowd. 

“Bon Bon,” one of the group’s breakout singles, brings the night to its peak. Featuring a prominent beat and countdown in its live performance, furthered by Luna’s fierce drumming, the track gets everyone dancing in a heartbeat. Lewis continues to accelerate the energy by darting behind Wise, riling up the crowd. The thumping bass has everyone under Fcukers’ spell. 

It’s over too soon — and Fcukers is too cool for an encore. The floor is covered in glitter. Makeup is messed up, straightened hair turned curly again. Too much sweat, but just the right amount of dancing. It was the perfect pregame for Thursday night bar night; all is well in San Luis Obispo. Until next time, Fcukers.