Orlando launches whirlwind tour for Florida punks Gouge Away with hot sellout

THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
Gouge Away record release show with Culture Abuse, Will’s Pub, Oct. 4

Rocketing Florida punk band Gouge Away are rising with palpable heat. The groundswell they’ve been amassing by the minute has been officially consummated by a blistering new album (Burnt Sugar) that just dropped on notable punk label Deathwish Inc. Although originating in Ft. Lauderdale, most of the band have moved to Orlando, giving us claim to a prime young breaking band and cause for an in-town record release event organized by esteemed local promoter Bad Balloon.
Believe the hype on these guys because the new album is a force. Musically, they’ve got the raw power and nerve to pass hardcore muster but enough dimension and range to not be confined to it. On top of all that, the band explode onstage with the kilotons to ignite an entire room. And this momentous release show was a triumph.
Fully seizing their moment, this kickoff show was the launch of an intensive two-month national tour that spans both coasts – even shoehorning a quick UK leg somewhere in the middle – before circling back to Orlando on Dec. 4 for a homecoming performance with Drug Church. If you missed the recent show, start planning now for the return, also at Will’s Pub. Seriously, lock down your tickets because it was the kind of a hot sellout that suggests that these might be some of your last chances to see them at a venue this intimate.
Their tourmates for this whirlwind concert run are the excellent Culture Abuse, who impressed here back in 2016 opening for Nothing and Wrong.
The San Francisco group are themselves an upward and notably signed band on Epitaph Records. And for all the fun they inject into their jams with freewheeling party spirit and some remarkable pop instinct, nothing can blunt the snot of their pure punk attitude. Together, this two-band touring ticket should do a lot of beautiful damage.
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