White Riot
The War's End/The Challenged/The Code/Brain Failure/Against All Authority
The Knitting Factory, 4/6/06
I went to this more out of curiosity than anything, and it was a tossup betw this and Anti-Flag @ Irving, also out of curiosity. The Casualties and the AKAs were on the A-F bill, and I really want to see the AKAs. The Unseen were on that bill, also, but I saw them already. (So they're really not Unseen, now, are they?) I like Brain Failure (the band, not actual brain failure). Both Anti-Flag and Against All Authority have been around for a while, and my reasons for not checking out either band are pretty much the same.
Anti-Flag has always struck me as the Clash for The Simpsons generation. Their 1st influence listed is Joe Strummer & the Clash. (I always thought it was the Clash and Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros, but what the hell do I know). And, oooh, Anti-Flag! Won't Mom and Dad shit a brick when I come home (to my house in suburban Long Island/New Jersey/Westchester) in my bad-ass Anti-Flag shirt with their upside-down flag logo! I'm a rebel! I'm so punk rock that I'm against the flag and by extension, I'm against America!
But I thought that I could be wrong. I've never even heard an Anti-Flag song and I shouldn't jump to conclusions based on visuals and logos. After all, that ain't the punk rock way. And Intro5pect is on A-F Records. But further research revealed that Anti-Flag actually has a song called You've Been To Our Show, Now Go To A Fucking Protest (Yeah? Well, I've already been to a few fucking protests but not their fucking show) and they look like total douchebag Hot Topic punx. And besides, I don't have $15.75 to stand in the balcony of Irving Plaza for a punk rock show (whose post would've been titled Freedomhaters, Unite!) and it's Passover. (Score {another} one for the H: "Sure, war sucks, but a whole CD of war sucks! gets old fast...buy our rad CD, DVD, logo T, mouse pad, and oh yeah, war sucks...a retread of the Reagan-is-Satan '80s hardcore but w/online merch...C-")
The AAA show is $10, however, and The Challenged, who I always keep missing, are on that bill. I have the same rationale about Against All Authority. Anarchy roolz! Authority sucks! Their logo apes the Triple A logo, and it's so punk rock to goof on a corporate logo. And The Code, who for some reason sound familiar, sounded potentially cool, with their influences from many unlikely sources, they say, like ska and political rap groups. Politically and socially conscious, and all that good stuff.
For someone who was only mildly curious about AAA, I was definitely twitchy before the show, jumping up and standing in the hallway, fidgeting, unable to concentrate on the Onion, going back to the bar, going to the bathroom, loitering in the hallway, checking my watch. There was a jocky guy in a Straight Edge shirt that said Hold your beer while I kiss your girl. (Oh, and with the mandatory Xs.) At least he's being honest that he hopes his belief system will help him score with chicks. Wow, I feel so much less threatened already. I guess this approach isn't helping, because his cologne was knocking me out.
The War's End was added to the bill later and though the drummer was sporting a big mohawk and padlock, their singer, with his curly, shoulder-length hair, looked like the kind of guy who could be in, say, a metal band or a jam band depending on what he was wearing. And his rock-guy-onstage moves seemed a bit scripted. S/E Guy was flailing around, his backpack still on, again almost knocking me out. Fer crying out loud, put the damn thing down. This isn't recess where someone's gonna pick it up and play keep-away. The Challenged say they're Brooklyn's last pop-punk band, and at least they didn't keep mining the traumas of adolescence for material, whoa-oh-oh, like many pop-punk bands do.
The Code were next and then I had to wonder where the cool band I thought I was going to see was. Singer Marcdefiant's shirt had an anti-W logo (You're against Bush, too? OMG! Which way to the merch table?) with a drippy, spraypainted red circle and that was pretty cool because I've never seen one like that before. So I was expecting a band in motion--dancing/rocking out motion. Their site seemed promising enough, though when he was going on and on about their many, many influences on their style that never name one band, and quoting themselves, I was thinking, Fer cryin out loud, just say the Clash and shut up already and Isn't this is the part that the band writes? Stop acting like you're giving an interview/sound bites. "Will remind all fans of the genre why they fell in love with punk rock in the 1st place." Maybe it was just me, because even though I was able to avoid the pit and later the surfers and divers, I was still bleeding pretty badly at the end of the nite. "No facades, no pretentions, undying punk spirit, keeping the spirit of 77 alive w/o succumbing to polished and vapid trends...." Okay, yes, I get it. I'm there. But where were the "catchy and memorable songs"? Where's the rap influences? One of their T-shirts has a big boom box on it. I thought it was just very angry young white man. Maybe the CDs are better and it was just Marcdefiant's delivery that I had a problem with. Their ska-ish songs were the ones I liked best. At times Marcdefiant crouched down at the front of the stage, all the boys huddling together at his feet, grabbing onto him, raising fists in his face, and singing along. He asked who there has seen The Code before and the guys all cheered, and Marcdefiant (yes, it's getting annoying to keep writing that nom de punk) mentioned that they played NYC opening for the Dead Kennedys. Oh, right, I knew I saw that name someplace. And the guys at his feet all cheered. They're the type of band that would get compared to the Clash and/or called a political punk band and then turn around and complain about it because they're so much more than that. One interesting thing, tho: Their drummer quit in the middle of the tour so they had AAA's drummer filling in. "Alert, Aware, Involved may very well become a primary influence for countless bands to come." Give me a fucking break. Aren't you still writing that part, trying to make it sound like your press release, or that you have a PR agent writing that, even tho having a PR agent isn't punk rock? And if that album is going to become a primary influence for countless bands, we're all screwed.
"I love this band more than life!" said The War's End's drummer, taking his place in front of the stage. Marcd said that Brain Failure puts a smile on his face because he likes seeing new faces at shows. (What, Asian kids instead of the usual whiteboys at your own shows?) They had a much bigger pit and a better reception than the last time around that I saw them. So that put a smile on my face because it was nice to see.
They're from Miami and they've been around since 1992, but I don't know if Against All Authority can be considered a ska band in the usual sense because they need way more members to be a ska band in the traditional (read: commerical) sense, like a full horn section, not just the occaisonal trumpet. So it sounded more hardcore with ska overtones, which was good for stage diving. Kinda fun, not terrible.
Still.
"It made me miss The Spunk Lads."
"They had a reunion?" While I was trying to figure out what the hell Xris was talking about, he continued: "I didn't get an email about that."
"Oh. No, they didn't have a reunion. I meant it made me miss The Spunk Lads as a band in general. If they did have a reunion I wouldn't be here."
The Knitting Factory, 4/6/06
I went to this more out of curiosity than anything, and it was a tossup betw this and Anti-Flag @ Irving, also out of curiosity. The Casualties and the AKAs were on the A-F bill, and I really want to see the AKAs. The Unseen were on that bill, also, but I saw them already. (So they're really not Unseen, now, are they?) I like Brain Failure (the band, not actual brain failure). Both Anti-Flag and Against All Authority have been around for a while, and my reasons for not checking out either band are pretty much the same.
Anti-Flag has always struck me as the Clash for The Simpsons generation. Their 1st influence listed is Joe Strummer & the Clash. (I always thought it was the Clash and Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros, but what the hell do I know). And, oooh, Anti-Flag! Won't Mom and Dad shit a brick when I come home (to my house in suburban Long Island/New Jersey/Westchester) in my bad-ass Anti-Flag shirt with their upside-down flag logo! I'm a rebel! I'm so punk rock that I'm against the flag and by extension, I'm against America!
But I thought that I could be wrong. I've never even heard an Anti-Flag song and I shouldn't jump to conclusions based on visuals and logos. After all, that ain't the punk rock way. And Intro5pect is on A-F Records. But further research revealed that Anti-Flag actually has a song called You've Been To Our Show, Now Go To A Fucking Protest (Yeah? Well, I've already been to a few fucking protests but not their fucking show) and they look like total douchebag Hot Topic punx. And besides, I don't have $15.75 to stand in the balcony of Irving Plaza for a punk rock show (whose post would've been titled Freedomhaters, Unite!) and it's Passover. (Score {another} one for the H: "Sure, war sucks, but a whole CD of war sucks! gets old fast...buy our rad CD, DVD, logo T, mouse pad, and oh yeah, war sucks...a retread of the Reagan-is-Satan '80s hardcore but w/online merch...C-")
The AAA show is $10, however, and The Challenged, who I always keep missing, are on that bill. I have the same rationale about Against All Authority. Anarchy roolz! Authority sucks! Their logo apes the Triple A logo, and it's so punk rock to goof on a corporate logo. And The Code, who for some reason sound familiar, sounded potentially cool, with their influences from many unlikely sources, they say, like ska and political rap groups. Politically and socially conscious, and all that good stuff.
For someone who was only mildly curious about AAA, I was definitely twitchy before the show, jumping up and standing in the hallway, fidgeting, unable to concentrate on the Onion, going back to the bar, going to the bathroom, loitering in the hallway, checking my watch. There was a jocky guy in a Straight Edge shirt that said Hold your beer while I kiss your girl. (Oh, and with the mandatory Xs.) At least he's being honest that he hopes his belief system will help him score with chicks. Wow, I feel so much less threatened already. I guess this approach isn't helping, because his cologne was knocking me out.
The War's End was added to the bill later and though the drummer was sporting a big mohawk and padlock, their singer, with his curly, shoulder-length hair, looked like the kind of guy who could be in, say, a metal band or a jam band depending on what he was wearing. And his rock-guy-onstage moves seemed a bit scripted. S/E Guy was flailing around, his backpack still on, again almost knocking me out. Fer crying out loud, put the damn thing down. This isn't recess where someone's gonna pick it up and play keep-away. The Challenged say they're Brooklyn's last pop-punk band, and at least they didn't keep mining the traumas of adolescence for material, whoa-oh-oh, like many pop-punk bands do.
The Code were next and then I had to wonder where the cool band I thought I was going to see was. Singer Marcdefiant's shirt had an anti-W logo (You're against Bush, too? OMG! Which way to the merch table?) with a drippy, spraypainted red circle and that was pretty cool because I've never seen one like that before. So I was expecting a band in motion--dancing/rocking out motion. Their site seemed promising enough, though when he was going on and on about their many, many influences on their style that never name one band, and quoting themselves, I was thinking, Fer cryin out loud, just say the Clash and shut up already and Isn't this is the part that the band writes? Stop acting like you're giving an interview/sound bites. "Will remind all fans of the genre why they fell in love with punk rock in the 1st place." Maybe it was just me, because even though I was able to avoid the pit and later the surfers and divers, I was still bleeding pretty badly at the end of the nite. "No facades, no pretentions, undying punk spirit, keeping the spirit of 77 alive w/o succumbing to polished and vapid trends...." Okay, yes, I get it. I'm there. But where were the "catchy and memorable songs"? Where's the rap influences? One of their T-shirts has a big boom box on it. I thought it was just very angry young white man. Maybe the CDs are better and it was just Marcdefiant's delivery that I had a problem with. Their ska-ish songs were the ones I liked best. At times Marcdefiant crouched down at the front of the stage, all the boys huddling together at his feet, grabbing onto him, raising fists in his face, and singing along. He asked who there has seen The Code before and the guys all cheered, and Marcdefiant (yes, it's getting annoying to keep writing that nom de punk) mentioned that they played NYC opening for the Dead Kennedys. Oh, right, I knew I saw that name someplace. And the guys at his feet all cheered. They're the type of band that would get compared to the Clash and/or called a political punk band and then turn around and complain about it because they're so much more than that. One interesting thing, tho: Their drummer quit in the middle of the tour so they had AAA's drummer filling in. "Alert, Aware, Involved may very well become a primary influence for countless bands to come." Give me a fucking break. Aren't you still writing that part, trying to make it sound like your press release, or that you have a PR agent writing that, even tho having a PR agent isn't punk rock? And if that album is going to become a primary influence for countless bands, we're all screwed.
"I love this band more than life!" said The War's End's drummer, taking his place in front of the stage. Marcd said that Brain Failure puts a smile on his face because he likes seeing new faces at shows. (What, Asian kids instead of the usual whiteboys at your own shows?) They had a much bigger pit and a better reception than the last time around that I saw them. So that put a smile on my face because it was nice to see.
They're from Miami and they've been around since 1992, but I don't know if Against All Authority can be considered a ska band in the usual sense because they need way more members to be a ska band in the traditional (read: commerical) sense, like a full horn section, not just the occaisonal trumpet. So it sounded more hardcore with ska overtones, which was good for stage diving. Kinda fun, not terrible.
Still.
"It made me miss The Spunk Lads."
"They had a reunion?" While I was trying to figure out what the hell Xris was talking about, he continued: "I didn't get an email about that."
"Oh. No, they didn't have a reunion. I meant it made me miss The Spunk Lads as a band in general. If they did have a reunion I wouldn't be here."
posted by heather @ 7:30 PM
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