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| Couldn't find a pic from the show but this one is pretty cool |
First, I've never been to Reggie's before but this place is actually pretty cool. It has a great atmosphere, especially for punk concerts. It's pretty small but the warehouse style interior design added to the experience. Also, since it is a small place, the experience is close and personal whether you are on the main floor or up in the balcony.
Anyways, Still Alive was the first band up. I'd have to say that they were a very good fit of an opener for Anti-Flag. They weren't very political but their sound was very comparable to Rise Against (with maybe a little more metal) which fit right in with the style of music that most of the people there would like. Other than that, they weren't very memorable other than the random ska breakdowns they would have. I, personally, could have done without the ska parts.
Another opener, The Homeless Gospel Choir, is just one guy playing acoustic guitar and singing. What made him different than every other white guy acoustic guitar act is that all of his songs were some kind of protest song bringing up both important and not so important social issues. In my opinion, they were also cleverly written; some of them written sarcastically in a way where he would sing about things that he sarcastically loves but in reality they are the things that he hates most.
I really enjoyed his music and what he had to say and recommend checking him out. However, if you are a Republican or right-wing thinker, than you probably would hate his guts. Then again, if you are a Republican or a conservative thinker, you're probably not going to be at an Anti-Flag concert anyways...
The last warm-up band Such Gold wasn't too bad either. They kind of suffered a bit from their generic style of punk/metal. They weren't really that memorable and I probably won't remember who they are in a few days but I think that they have a great framework to eventually develop into something unique.
When Anti-Flag finally came on at 11pm, that was when the fun really began. Anti-Flag was slated to play through their album The Terror State that night so naturally they started the show with their fan favorite "Turncoat." It was at this moment when I realized how great of a crowd the place had. Just about everyone in there was a pretty big fan of Anti-Flag so a lot of the crowd went nuts when "Turncoat" kicked in. Needless to say, it was a hell of a mosh.
Like at Riot Fest in September, Anti-Flag sounded spectacular. Their sound matches their albums almost exactly with even more intensity. They also move quite a bit and know how to pump the crowd. Seriously, they know exactly the right things to say, down to the line about how it's messed up that The Terror State is still relevant today like it was during the dawning days of the Iraq war.
The song selection, from my perspective, was excellent. We already know that they were going to play through The Terror State which is an incredible album but they also played a lot of songs from For Blood and Empire. They played "The Press Corpse," "1 Trillion Dollars," "This is The End For You My Friend," and a few others I can't remember at the moment. Of course, they also played the fan favorites "Fuck Police Brutality" and "Die For The Government."
Overall, fantastic show. If you like punk music, you need to see Anti-Flag as they are one of the best out there. In fact, I would go as far as to say that they are the best punk live show I've seen. Unlike most of the bands stemming from the punk genre, these guys know how to make a statement, right down to the backdrop that reads, "THE BLOOD OF MILITARISM IS THE DEATH OF A NATION." This band knows the roots and true purpose of punk and picks up where bands like The Dead Kennedys and Black Flag left off.
Anti-Flag pic: http://members2.jcom.home.ne.jp/anti-flag/Anti-Sun.bmp
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