Those that are in need of a political voice during what they perceive to be dark times can always count on Anti Flag to be out on the road and letting you know that you are not alone. That’s just what they did when the rolled through Atlanta on their Silence=Violence tour last week.
It was a pretty packed house at the Masquerade for a Tuesday night. As Anti Flag took the stage strewn with imagery that included a backdrop of a skull made of stacks of cash and their name stretched across their back line, you got the sense that this was a band that has been bringing about their political message for over 20 years and through 3 separate presidents so far.
They kicked off their set with a song off their most recent LP American Fall entitled “When the Wall Falls”, a ska/reggae tinged song reminiscent of later era Clash with the signature punk hook that has made Anti Flag stand the test of time after all these years.
From there, they jumped around their entire discography, cherry picking crowd favorites, as well as songs that may be older but have been brought back to the forefront of relevance thanks to our current political climate.
The crowd was fully invested in the show; knowing the words of just about every song. It kind of turned into an ear worm type situation, where you realize you know the words to so many of their songs without even realizing it. Their catalog is so deep that you forget how many hits they’ve put out through the years. Whether it be “Turncoat”, “Police Brutality” or “The Press Corpse” they had the crowd hanging on their every word.
Anti Flag closed out the night starting with “Brandenburg Gate” off American Spring, another catchy sing along. But the real moment came from their encore of their classic “Power to the Peaceful” off their certified classic LP The Terror State. The band promised to be back, as it is made quite obvious to them that our political reality will not be changing anytime soon and it may be something that is felt for many years to come. I cannot wait.
Written and shot by Peter Sigmund. Check out more of Peter’s photos from the show:
