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Anti-Flag / The Nightwatchman / Strike Anywhere

live in Cincinnati (2004)
Fat Wreck Chords

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: ZDP
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on October 12th 2004

A crowded room, a great deal of smoking (although the band tried to make it a smoke free show), and loads of "political insight" (ie: Fuck Bush!).

Yep, sounds like an Anti-Flag show to me. On this night however, one act would go ahead and steal the show from the headlining AF: Those Virginian desperados known as Strike Anywhere

Mike Park hit the stage about half an hour before the show was even scheduled to start, acoustic guitar and DVD projector in hand. He hit the play button on the player, and launched into his set without any sort of introduction. The media presentation drew cheers from the audience, as the screen played a video displaying Park holding up all of the records which he claimed got him through high school, and later his thoughts on Asian Americans in American society and entertainment. All the while, Mike sang through a few of his songs, his voice never wavering. Although his media presentation was insightful, it detracted from the songs themselves, as a great deal of the crowd was paying more attention to Mike Park in the video rather than Mike Park himself. Overall, an enjoyable, albeit short, set.

The A.K.A.s (who are still apparently everywhere) took the stage second. They immediatley started playing "Gotta Get Outta Here" from their debut album White Doves and Smoking Guns. I'd have to say that The A.K.A.s are a band that comes off a lot better live than on record. All of the songs sounded fuller, and rocked harder as a result. The only thing lacking here was the energy of the band themselves. With the exception of lead singer Mike Ski, the rest of The A.K.A.s were quite subdued. A few kids in the audience sang along, but for the most part stayed almost completely still (except for the obligitory "let's start a circle pit" song that seems to plague every band that tours with AF).

Midtown seemed a bit out of place on this tour. They also seemed to be in total denial of the fact that they also had two other CDs besides their recently released Forget What You Know, as the bulk of their set came from that album. These thoughts aside, they managed to put on a somewhat enjoyable show.

Then, in the coup d'etat of the evening, Strike Anywhere stormed the stage and managed to prove to everybody that they should have been the band headlining this tour. Easily the most high-energy band of the night, they played a nice mix of tunes from the two full lengths, opening with "Lights Go Out" and keeping up the momentum until the climactic "To The World". Quite possibly worth the entire ticket price, Strike Anywhere is the band to see on this tour.

Playing on select dates, The Nightwatchman (aka Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine) came on next and played what sounded to me like a series of almost sterotypical protest songs, all delivered in a strangely Johnny Cash-esque voice. A lot of people probably cheered just because of the man's pedigree, but as a musician, his act could use some work. What was entertaining to see though was Morello pulling out some of his RATM stage moves all while playing an acoustic guitar.

Then, after an enternity of a set up time, in which loud screeches of noise came from something on #2's bass setup screwing up, Anti-Flag took the stage after being introduced by an independent filmaker (who's insight for the night could be summed up with the line "Fuck (insert controversial topic here)". "Rank and File" was first, and of course, the crowd lost their shit. Hearing "Captain Anarchy" live for the first time since the first time I saw them was a pleasant surprise, as it also acted as a way for them to lighten up a bit. The show ended with the 1-2-3 punch of "Got The Numbers", "911 For Peace", and "Death Of A Nation".

Then came the encore, that of course being "Die For Your Government" and in a pleasant surprise, Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land", which became a total all-star sing-a-long, with everybody from almost every band up there singing along. A great way to end the show.

Something I have noticed about Anti-Flag in the past year or so, is that they are becoming more and more cartoonish as time goes by. Be it the height of their mohawks, or the more juvenile their onstage banter is becoming. I've always been against our current president, but when I'm looking for people to allign with in the struggle against him, I'd like to hear a bit more insight into the situation than "Fuck Bush!" or "Fuck the War!". I will commend AF for making voter registration a larger priority this time around, but at the same time, I wish they would give the crowd more information, so instead of kids just running around screaming about how much they hate Bush and the war, they'll have more concrete reasons to back up their feelings. How about distributing literature on the other candidates in the election? Or more literature on the issues in this election? Anything could help to make us sound a little less ignorant than bands like AF are sounding now. They should take an example from Mike Park or even Strike Anywhere.

Overall, however, the show was a good time, although the slightly aimless and excessive political banter, plus the apparent lack of energy on a few bands' parts put a slight damper on the experience for me.

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Anonymous (October 17, 2004)

LOL Kirby you fag. Pizza and french fries. Who gives a fuck?

Anonymous (October 15, 2004)

"can't wait till anti flag cashes in on their next record and are shown for the tools they actually are...trust me it'll happen"

okay. you're a balloon head. I've been following Anti-Flag since 1996 and they have cashed in more and more on each album and still maintained credibility. The first time I saw them play was in a basement to 75 people. Just because they grew by leaps and bounds to be playing large theaters and clubs by the time you saw them doesn't mean they're going to take the next leap on the next record. You're new to the bandwagon, not an old school fan who has seen more credible days. Jackass.

Anonymous (October 15, 2004)

holy shit.. you mega-punks act as if anti-flag are the worst band in fucking history. they arent the best, thats for damn sure, but fuck, whenever you think about bashing them, just make fun of limp bizket. now everybody, keep rolling rolling rolling. thank you los angeles and good night!

Anonymous (October 15, 2004)

replace midtown with NMDS and this would have been a much better show.

Anonymous (October 14, 2004)

can't wait till anti flag cashes in on their next record and are shown for the tools they actually are...trust me it'll happen

Anonymous (October 14, 2004)

God... all anyone does here is bitch bitch bitch.

Anonymous (October 14, 2004)

"Die, gonna die, gonna die for your government, die for your country like shit..."

Deep, man...deep. Anti-Flag should really stop touring their pre-pubescent-esque "fuck government" slogans and try reading up for once.

Anonymous (October 14, 2004)

Could someone please kick tom morello in the face or curb him or something? Just get back in RATM. Audioslave is so cliche and boring. And the Nightwatchman? It's the diarreah of Bob Dylan.

princessdanarchy (October 13, 2004)

Hey ZDP, yes that was me. Nice review. It made me regret leaving. It would've been cool as hell to see that cover of this land is your land. Anyways, The D4 show was awesome, despite my losing lots of money on it. did you come?