GOING LIVE: Anti-Flag

© Jeff Parsons

WHO: Anti-Flag
WHERE: Sneaky Dee’s, Toronto
WHEN: September 19 2010

Packed with bystanders sporting patched jeans, spiked hair and leather (or for some, pleather) jackets, the eclectic crowd stashed in the upper level of Toronto’s Sneaky Dee’s was beyond anxious. While some may have considered the Sunday night audience slightly smaller than that of shows in the past, it didn’t deteriorate the thrill of what was to come in the next hour. As soon as the Pittsburgh punk quartet hit the stage, the wooden floors began to shake under the weight of a hundred punk kids moshing, dancing and carelessly singing along. The group treated their followers to favourites both new (“Modern Rome Burning”) and old (“Drink, Drank, Punk”, “Underground Network”), including the thrash-heavy “Sodom, Gommorah, Washington D.C.”, which was dedicated to the G20 Summit aftermath.

Keeping with tradition, Anti-Flag fired off their prolonged encore with a tune considered to be the Lord’s Prayer for punks: a cover of The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go”. The classic Anti-Flag ending then ensued, with drummer Pat Thetic moved his kit to the middle of the pit. Fans and bandmates alike then joined in to close out the evening of sweat, tears and politically-charged punk rock that miraculously still kept the creaky floor intact, keeping the nacho and beer enthusiasts below oblivious and safe.

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