E.R. Fightmaster is a creative who wears many hats. Their resume consists of improv with Chicago’s Second City group to doctor on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.
Summer 2024’s Bloodshed Baby Tour was their first traveling as a musician, under the stage name FIGHTMASTER, and it included a stop at The Atlantis in DC not too long ago.
The tour made its second to last stop at The Atlantis on June 29. While this was their first tour, Fightmaster made it clear that this is just the beginning of their music career.
The Bloodshed Baby Tour showcased Fightmater’s most recent EP of the same name, as well as their previous EP, Violence, which came out in 2023. In total, they played their entire discography, a treat audience members often only receive during earlier stages of ones’ career.
Stream Bloodshed Baby by Fightmaster on Spotify:
The first section of the tour was an introduction to the earlier EP, minus the title track, which came later. The first song of the night, Bad Man, was also the premiere song they had ever put out as Fightmaster. Later this month will be the track’s one year anniversary.
After the introduction section, they explained to the audience how the set is split into two parts, the Sadder Song Set and Angry Set. It was an intimate evening that felt as though it was made for The Atlantis, a 450-cap venue, where the space is small and sound travels swiftly no matter where you are.
“I know I’m not near a mic, but I know you can hear me!” they said at one point.
The experience felt like a conversation as much as it did a show. Their short discography covers a lifetime of themes, like grief, shame, and love. They talk about their identity, romantic relationships, and the insight they want from the universe.
Before playing “Teahouse,” the closing track on Bloodshed Baby, Fightmaster called it their love note to the universe. They talked in depth about the walk with their partner the song is based on, where they went on a walk and she asked Fightmaster if they have any big questions for the universe.
Before ending their set they talked about childhood, and dedicated their performance to children in Palestine.
Perhaps the most unique part of the night was the encore, which was two songs total. After a tremendously powerful cover of Heart’s “Barracuda,” they introduced the song “Trouble,” from Grey’s Anatomy, and explained how they were about to do essentially a cover of themself.
The Grey’s Anatomy creators had asked Fightmaster to write a song for their character, Kai, to perform in season 18. They explained how during filming they sang it live, but were fake-playing guitar to a crowd of crew and extras pretending to be an audience. This was different, because it was not only real singing, but also real guitar playing. And, to top it all off, there was even a real crowd who definitely knew the words.
Here are some photos of Fightmaster performing at The Atlantis on June 29, 2024. All pictures by Sami Pye.
