Friko ended their recent set at Union Stage with a couple of songs about transportation, which is apropos given the band produce energetic music as if they were parts of a finely tuned engine. Indeed, Friko have emerged as one of today’s finest young post-punk groups.
Out of Chicago, Friko visited DC not long ago to open Royel Otis at 9:30 Club. They returned for their own headlining tour this time around for a show at Union Stage on March 3 to showcase their debut album, Where We’ve Been, Where We Go from Here, released just over a year ago on ATO Records. Friko thumped through a 14-song setlist in a neat hour. In addition to playing eight grand-slam tracks from their record, Friko played six new songs, including two transportation-themed numbers that consisted their encore.
“I’ve always been obsessed with trains, and now we have a song called fuckin’ ‘Choo Choo,’ and that’s what this song is about,” said frontman Niko Kapetan at Union State, introducing the first song of Friko’s encore. The crowd roared its approval.
Friko got more relaxed and in the zone as the show progressed — and by the end, they were on fire. Niko wailed and pounded on his guitar as his band stomped through “Choo Choo,” one of the band’s most thrilling compositions.
Of course along the way, Friko played tracks already known to the audience including crowd-pleaser “Get Numb to It!” — from Where We’ve Been, Where We Go from Here — which closed the main set.
Watch the official music video for “Get Numb to It!” by Friko on YouTube:
“Love you guys!” Niko called out before the band threw themselves into “Get Numb to It!” It’s a dance number that inspired everyone to start shaking across the floor from the first notes. The audience jammed hard to by the first chorus: “You see the face, but you can’t remember the name/It’s a constant state of worn out phrases, do-do, do-do-do/Oh-oh, oh, oh!” Niko was screeching the lyrics in the latter half of the song: “So, you better get numb to it, get numb to it, get numb to it!” — and the crowd went crazy along with him.
And prior to “Get Numb to It!,” Niko declared, “This is the title track!” and then performed “Where We’ve Been.” The nearly full house swayed in respectful hushed silence as he sang the ballad. As the song built to a peak, drummer Bailey Minzenberger carefully escalated the beat, driving Niko to a full-throated yelp for the number’s final verse, and then quietly wound it back down to let Niko finish a cappella. It was masterfully done!
Niko and Bailey are the only two permanent members of Friko although the band tours as a quartet. Friko has recruited David Fuller on bass and Korgan Robb on guitar, who have played as touring members over the past year. Fuller and Robb are dynamic players, ready to jump headlong into the music and bounce around stage as they feed on the energy of the music.
Friko sprinkled their unreleased new songs throughout the set, including “Dirty Diamond,” which got a big reaction from the audience. Everyone also embraced “Hot Air Balloon,” another transportation-themed number, soon afterward. Friko closed the entire show on “Dear Bicycle” with Niko explaining, “We’ve been on tour for about a year-and-a-half, so there’s a lot of shit about traveling.” No matter! The audience ate up the slow and gentle ode to bicycles.
With these new songs, I am glad to hear that Friko is certainly not slowing down. The young guns make some of the most interesting rock music on stage in recent times. Rolling Stone said they sound a lot like “Bright Eyes,” and I say you can really hear early Arcade Fire in their songcraft if you stripped back the Arcade Fire chamber pop to post-punk arrangements. Friko make this sound their own, and they forged a strong sonic foundation on which to propel their vigorous live performances!
Here are some photos of Friko performing at Union Stage on March 3, 2025. Pictures by Mickey McCarter.
