| Blood or Whiskey State Radio The Academy, Dublin, Eire 17th May 2008 Have to admit that the prospect of making a 200+ mile round trip for an all ages punk bash headlined by a band i had a limited knowledge of, was not something I was looking forward to. But Spikey Steve's a big Anti Flag fan so there was no way I was gonna let him down and have him miss one of his fav's. And it turned out in the end to be well worth the effort! The ironic thing was the band were playing in Belfast the following night, but due to the local club's age restriction policy SS wouldn't have been allowed into the venue as he's only 14, so we had no option but to travel. We arrived in Dublin around midday and went to locate the venue which turned out to be very easy. The young punks and emos were already queueing and there was still two and half hours till the doors opened. So we went sightseeing around Molly Malones patch to kill the time in between. The Academy is a nice venue, well laid out with a high stage and no obstructions between the bands and the audience. Which is a big improvement on the Belfast AF venue. I was probably the oldest punter in the place except for the bouncers but found myself a great vantage point next to the mixing desk and that was me sorted for the duration. First up was an unadvertised suprise addition to the bill, Dublin city trad punks Blood or Whiskey who had the youngsters jumping from the off with their highly enjoyable mix of banjo solos, tin whistle, drums and loud guitars. They were frantic and fantastic! Highlights of their set included No Answers', 'Poxy Pub', '14 Years' and a rip roaring 'King Of The Fairies'. This was my first encounter with the BOW experience and i know they've been around a long time, but I'll definitely be checking them out again in the very near future, they were a great! Up next was Boston's hippyesque State Radio who were on a hiding to nothing trying to follow up the raucous BOW with their grungy mid paced sub Nirvana/Alice In Chains groove. The energy level just dropped like a stone with these guys,lethargic choreographed twin stage jumps and funky jamming in the centre of the stage,like the awful Red Hot Chilli Peppers. They were obviously great musicians but i was finding it all a bit self indulgent and to be honest a bit boring. There was only two songs of their seemingly overlong set left 'Black Cab Motorcade and 'Camilo' when for some unknown reason it all suddenly kicked in and i really started to like these guys. State Radio are a pretty good band and possibly an acquired taste, but following a band like BOW certainly did them no favours today, especially with a teenage audience that was bursting at the seams with the explosive energy of youth needing a release and what about that gasoline can guitar. After the negro spiritual intro which isn't something you hear at a punk show very often it was the turn of the headliners politi-punks Anti Flag to take the stage by the scruff of the neck! These guys had everything that makes punk rock great. They looked great in matching outfits kicking off with 'Spit In The Face'. They were noisy, aggressive and put on one hell of a show. Okay they are a bit preachy and right on but they mean it maaan! And musically you couldn't fault them. The set was full of big songs with big singalong choruses and the audience participated at every opportunity, Anti Flag were fierce! The bass player Chris #2 (Barker) is a showman, he never stopped for a moment between doing his vocals as well as starting a US style circle pit. He lead the chants and peace signs, stage diving, crowd surfing and playing a side stage tom tom where in a fit of anger he bounced the sticks off the drum skin and they flew like rockets at a frightening speed towards the heads of the stand in drummer ??? and guitarist, aptly named Chris Head. Then he kicked the drum across the stage, it was a real spectacle and the kids lapped it up. In the very brief intervals between songs the sweaty young punks were rushing back and forward to drink the much needed free pints of iced water lined up along the bar by the thoughtful bar staff, before getting back into the fray for another round of pushing and shoving punctuated by bouts of mass pogoing. The set was packed with real show stoppers like 'Good And Ready','This Is The End','Bright Lights Of America' and 'Underground Network'. But due to the license curfew the band dispensed with the pretend amateur dramatics some bands go through before a sometimes undeserved encore. Chris #2 told the audience "they could only play two more songs" and they tore into 'Die For The Government' spitting out the words with rea venom. The place erupted every kid was shouting the lyrics "you're gonna die gonna die gonna die for the government, Die for your country that's shit". Ah! teenage anarchy theres nothing like it. And its great to see the spirit of radical punk is still alive and well. Anti Flag finished the brilliant set with 'Cities Burn' then said their thank yous to the ecstatic fans and put down their instruments. But instead of running off stage which is the norm with most bands they went to the barrier and started signing autographs, posing for pics, talking on the kids phones and getting hugged to death. I was very impressed they were really decent guys who treated their fans with real respect and after taking a few minutes to catch a breath and get cleaned up backstage they went outside and did the whole fan meet and greet all over again. Nothing was too much trouble for these guys and even though they were clearly knackered they carried on regardless making the kids day. They were still signing when we left to head back on the journey home to Belfast. On first hand experience I can't speak highly enough of Anti Flag, a lot of the old school punk bands still on their well past its sell by date star trip could learn a lesson from these guys on how to treat their fans. Hand on heart this was one of the best punk gigs I've ever attended and I've been to a few in my considerable time. The stars must have aligned for this gig as it was a fantastic show with great bands in a great venue with great sound plus the security kept themselves to themselves and Anti Flag were pure class! They could have easily played a half hearted ramble through their back catalogue as it was after all an all ages show and in the afternoon but they gave it 100 %. Over the past few years I've been getting more and more disillusioned with punk in general. Its probably an age related thing but this gig has reignited an old flame inside me i haven't felt for a while and reinforced my previously dwindling faith in the power of rock'n'roll, it did my old cynical heart good. One last question...could Justin Sane be a distant relation of Jerry Nolan (Dolls/Heartbreakers)? Because I've never seen anyone who resembles (even with a Johnny Thunders black quiff), sounds like or has mannerisms so similar to the man himself. Joe Donnelly Belfast 19.5.08. |
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