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.

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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:

  1.  Die For The Government
  2.  I Came. I Saw. I Believed.
  3.  Broken Bones
  4.  Racists
  5.  Fuck Police Brutality
  6.  1 Trillion Dollar$
  7.  Turncoat
  8.  All of the Poison, All of the Pain
  9.  This Is The End(For You My Friend)
  10.  American Attraction
  11.  The Press Corpse
  12.  Cities Burn
  13.  Brandenburg Gate

Fans can find ANTI-FLAG at the following locations:

www.facebook.com/anti.flag.official

www.anti-flag.com

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