Live review: The Exploited and guests at The Sanctuary Detroit

Hamtramck, MI – 22 Sep 2024

The Exploited were spot on in a great night of punk

Every now and then I’m reminded of how much different my life is than the average middle aged man. On Sunday September 22nd, while my peers were settling in for beer, BBQ and football, I was making the nearly three hour drive to Detroit to see a 44 year old Scottish punk band. Not just any punk band mind you, but THEE FUCKING EXPLOITED. It had become a running joke in my peer group that I was never going to see them. Numerous cancellations due to lead singer Wattie’s health seemed to seal my fate. Even as anticipation built, I didn’t let my hopes get too high. 

Local female fronted punk band The Lowcocks opened the show. I knew the name, but had never seen them. I must admit, they were a pleasant surprise. It was ripping, angry punk, with a side order of levity, as evidenced by their cover of Dolly Parton’s 1980 hit “9 to 5”. They had a good amount of Detroit grit and were a fun half an hour. 

Los Angeles’ based Tarah Who? feature two French women on guitar and vocals. They were an odd fit. Their in-ear monitors and background tracks showed an unexpected level of professionalism. (And financial backing?) Their sound was a mix of post punk and artsy metal. (Quicksand meets Tool?) I was most impressed by the lead guitar work.

Total Chaos were what you’d expect. Their anarcho street punk hasn’t really changed in over three decades. It’s hard driving with tons of angry political shouting. The sold out crowd really started to fill in during the California quartet’s set. Let’s face it, Total Chaos is a perfect opener for The Exploited, and most of the fist pumping crowd enjoyed every minute of it. 

Truth be told, my expectations for The Exploited were relatively low. Videos of recent years showed a band that played way too fast, and an aging but legendary frontman that was barely comprehensible. I was in for another pleasant surprise. New drummer Garry “G-Man” Sullivan (former Cro-Mags and B-52s) kept the band playing at the right speed all night long. Eternally shirtless singer Wattie Buchan also seemed to be in fine health. The sole remaining founding member spit out the lyrics without even seeming winded, and I could mostly understand him!

It was hot in the Sanctuary when The Exploited started things off with “Let’s Start a War”. They played a good mix of old and new, with the newest songs being over 20 years old at this point. Yet another pleasant surprise was how funny Wattie was. He had no problem with mixing it up with the loudmouths up front. He also let us know who was on his naughty list. At various points it was “fuck Israel”, “fuck the UK”, and of course, “fuck the USA”. He certainly kept the rabid crowd engaged.

The Exploited left the stage after 19 songs. For their encore, the Warttie-less band invited what seemed like half the crowd on stage for a spirited version of “Sex & Violence”. After clearing out the riff raff, Wattie came back for the song everyone was waiting for, “Punk’s Not Dead”. They finished up with the oddly personal “Was It Me”. It’s a surprisingly earnest song from a band who’s spent 44 years sloganeering. Ultimately, it was a really good 75 minute set from the aging punks. It was nice to cross one off the bucket list AND not be disappointed. Punk’s not dead, indeed. 

The Exploited setlist: “Punk’s Not Dead”, “Fightback”, “Dogs of War”, “The Massacre”, “UK 82”, “Chaos Is My Life”, “Alternative”, “Noize Annoys”, “Troops of Tomorrow”, “I Believe in Anarchy”, “Holiday in the Sun”, “Rival Leaders”, “Beat the Bastards”, “Cop Cars”, “Fuck the System”, “Porno Slut”, “Army Life”, “Dead Cities”, “USA”. Encore: “Sex & Violence”, “Punk’s Not Dead”, “Was It Me”. 

Confessions of a merch whore: There was a pretty good selection of swag. I broke down and bought a classic black T-shirt and a screen printed patch.