It was an amazing night of music at the Anti-Fest as Anti-Flag partnered up with their good friends in Less Than Jake for an unforgettable evening of music. Less Than Jake brought the tongue-in-cheek nature to their music, whereas Anti-Flag brought a serious middle finger anti-fascist message to the night live at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey.
Anti-Flag are undoubtedly legends in the punk rock game, and while their band name certainly stirs that controversy, Anti-Flag has the straw to stir the drink of controversy with their maddening riffs, poignant political messages, and that patented punk rock snarl to the establishment, especially to Donald Trump and the Republican Party, and I would even argue towards non-progressive Democrats as well.
They kicked it off with their anthem about how the military are used as pawns in war in “Die For The Government”. The backdrop of an Anti-Nazi flag adorned the stage, which would grab anyone’s attention. Songs that bring about anti-racist messages and anti-police brutality messages were heard in the songs “Racists” and “Fuck Police Brutality”. They continued their anti-war, anti-homophobic/transphobic, and anti-racist messages.
The thing is about Anti-Flag, they live their messages and they live what they preach about on stage. I remember conversing with the drummer Pat Thetic at Warped Tour in 2017, and he said their band is about creating a dialogue and making the audience aware of the issues that are going on in this country. Anti-Flag also calls for unity, which was appropriate for the set closer “Brandenburg Gate”. The atmosphere was electric and passionate, because you can tell that Anti-Flag lives the messages in their music, and their passion was felt throughout the night.
Anti-Flag does have some European dates before their Vans Warped Tour appearance this summer. Check out the show dates below:
Thu. 4/25- Mehr! Theater in Hamburg, Germany
Fri. 4/26- Columbiahalle in Berlin, Germany
Sat. 4/27- Kulturzentrum in Wi, Germany
Sun. 4/28- Gibus Club in Paris, France
Tue. 4/30- Dachstock in Bern, Switzerland
Fri. 5/3- Tanzbrunnen Koln in Koln, Germany
Sat. 5/4- Open Air in Hannover, Germany
Wed. 5/8- La Nef in Anguoleme, France
Fri. 5/10- Saarlandhalle in Saarbrucken, Germany
Sat. 5/11- S’Oviverhalle in Wurzburg, Germany
Sun. 5/12- Messehalle in Dornbirn, Austria
Wed. 5/15- Gaswerk in Winterthur, Switzerland
Sat. 5/18- Iradier Arena in Vitoria-gasteiz, Spain
Sat. 5/25- Slam Dunk Festival in Leeds, United Kingdom
Sun. 5/26- Slam Dunk Festival in Hatfield, United Kingdom
Sat. 7/20- Vans Warped Tour in Mountain View, California
For tickets and further information on any of the shows listed above, click here.
- Photo Credit: Kim Casper at Garden State Band Connection
Set List:
- Die For The Government
- I Came. I Saw. I Believed.
- Broken Bones
- Racists
- Fuck Police Brutality
- 1 Trillion Dollar$
- Turncoat
- All of the Poison, All of the Pain
- This Is The End(For You My Friend)
- American Attraction
- The Press Corpse
- Cities Burn
- Brandenburg Gate
Fans can find ANTI-FLAG at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/anti.flag.official
