The great Swedish punk band Refused broke up once already, in 1998. They returned years later, after their final album The Shape Of Punk To Come became a generational touchstone, and they made a few more records that nobody likes as much. The last breakup was sudden and messy, but this one has been in the works for a while. Last year, Refused were set to play Stockholm’s Rosendal Garden Party in what was billed as the band's last-ever festival show in Sweden. They had to cancel at the last minute because frontman Dennis Lyxzén suffered a massive heart attack right before the show. A few months later, Refused announced that they are indeed breaking up again and that they will tour North America one last time. On Thursday night, Refused began that tour in Washington, DC -- not too far from the Harrisburg, Virginia basement show where the band broke up for the first time.
Last night's Refused gig was actually the first Refused gig in five years. They hadn't played live since a Los Angeles set in March of 2020 -- literally days before the pandemic made touring impossible for a while. This particular Refused show as not in a basement, though it was in a room much smaller than the places that they're playing for most of the tour. They started things off at the Atlantis, the DC venue that's been made to look like the old 9:30 Club. In their set, they played the Shape Of Punk To Come classics, but they also did some deep cuts, including an opening song that they'd never played live before last night.
Refused began last night's set with "Poetry Written In Gasoline," a seven-minute song taken from 1998's New Noise Theology EP. It was the first time they'd ever played the song live, and I haven't found any videos of that one yet (though someone recorded audio of the whole show, below). There is, however, video of Refused playing their early demo track "Blind" for the first time since 1993, as well as a couple of other songs. There are some false starts and rusty moments in there, and the crowd definitely could've been more active. But when Refused get going, they are still something to witness. Also, I am pleased to report that Dennis Lyxzén is looking great. He's not holding back in the way that you might expect from someone who just had a heart attack. Below, check out a few videos from the show as well as the full audio and setlist.
SETLIST:
01 "Poetry Written In Gasoline"
02 "The Shape Of Punk To Come"
03 "The Refused Party Program"
04 "Rather Be Dead"
05 "Life Support Addiction"
06 "Pump The Brakes"
07 "Blind"
08 "Malfire"
09 "Liberation Frequency"
10 "Summerholidays Vs. Punkroutine"
11 "Refused Are Fucking Dead"
12 "The Deadly Rhythm"
13 "Protest Song '68"
14 "Elektra"
15 "New Noise"
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16 "Coup D'État"
17 "Circle Pit"
18 "Worms Of The Senses/Faculties Of The Skull"
