I haven't really been paying much attention to Anti-Flag for the last few years. I don't think I've listened to one of their albums all the way through since 2008's The Bright Lights Of America. When I pulled what I have by the band (5 CD's and a 7"), I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Anti-Flag may strive to be an anarcho-punk band, but their music is really closer to catchy pop-punk. I was also pleasantly surprised by the last minute addition of local opener The Lippies. In a relatively short period of time, these guys (and girl) have become the hottest punk band in Grand Rapids (if not the entire Midwest). Unfortunately, they moved up the start time and I missed their set. I would encourage you to check this band out. The Lippies have the potential to do some really great things.
The Intersection in downtown Grand Rapids, MI looked awfully empty when we showed up. In the end, there were probably a couple hundred people there. Not a bad turnout for a punk show, but the cavernous club can hold about five times that many. A couple dozen of us were up front when After The Fall came on. I was fairly impressed by how fast they played. The songs tended to be melodic, but none of them really grabbed me. They kind of reminded me of early Rise Against. It wasn't really my thing, but it wasn't bad.
It's worth mentioning that the show took place on June 26th, the same day that the Supreme Court handed down its decision that essentially legalized gay marriage in all 50 states. That created a certain celebratory atmosphere. The whole show was politically charged in nature. There was a booth featuring zines and various leftist literature. I picked up a copy of To Change Everything: An Anarchist Appeal. My inner teenager was thrilled.
No act was more politically charged than Derek Zanetti, AKA The Homeless Gospel Choir. For that matter, no act was more personal. Zanetti might be a solo acoustic performer, but he's no James Taylor. His music is radical and subversive, not soft rock. "This is a protest song" was his running gag between songs. The Homeless Gospel Choir sounds like a cross between The Crucifucks and Woody Guthrie. If you don't know those names, do yourself a favor and check them out. Zanetti often spoke off the mic to the people right in front of the stage. The crowd grew as his performance went on. It was compelling stuff, and I suspect he made a lot of new fans (myself included) that night.
Pretty much the entire crowd was in front of the stage when Anti-Flag opened with "The Press Corpse". Justin Sane and Chris #2 are both essentially front men, and traded back and forth on lead vocals. "Turncoat" and "Fuck Police Brutality" (as relevant now as ever) elicited the best audience response and most vicious pits. The crowd was an interesting mix of spikes and studs punks, and really normal looking dudes. About 40 minutes into their set, Anti-Flag earnestly thanked the audience and started wrapping things up.
The non-encore started with "Die For The Government". Then during the song's breakdown, something cool happened. A roadie moved the bass and snare drum to the floor in front of the stage. Pat Thetic (who's a dead ringer for The Offspring's Dexter Holland) finished the show drumming among the crowd. Chris #2 came down and stood on the bass drum to sing "Drink Drank Punk". We were about two feet away from him. Justin Sane finished things up from the stage with "1 Trillion Dollars". It was an enjoyable ending to a solid but brief night of punk rock. Anti-Flag was on for less than an hour, and the whole show was over just after 10 pm. That was OK with me, as this was my third show that week and I was able to get a decent night's sleep for once.