According to some boring ol’ cliché, variety is the spice of life. That maxim certainly held true March 9, when the “War Sucks, Let’s Party” tour came to the Theatre of Living Arts. Consisting of Set Your Goals (pop punk/hardcore), Big D and The Kids Table (ska/punk), Alexisonfire (screamo) and Anti-Flag (punk, straight up and simple), the tour enveloped all gathered in a sweet, sweaty layer of punky awesomeness.
Up-and-coming act Set Your Goals opened the show with a resounding dosage of energy and sheer, unadulterated glee. With a sound that bridges Gorilla Biscuits and New Found Glory, or, more simply, brings Set Your Goals-era CIV to the masses, SYG burst forth with the triumphant “This Very Moment.” For the next half hour, the band entertained the crowd with a mix of songs from both their full-length, the stellar Mutiny!, and their EP, Reset (which Collegian’s Eric Jaen highly approved of in the April 26, 2006 issue).
While the show was most likely the first time most of the crusty punks in attendance had heard of/from Set Your Goals, the band managed to win over a lot of converts with catchy numbers like “This Song is Definitely Not About a Girl” and “Flight of the Navigator.” Frontmen Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown kept the crowd moving with their own bits of jumping, yelping and general rocking. Set Your Goals further appealed to the crowd with an Operation Ivy cover (“Jaded”), revealing the group’s strengths with cover songs as well as original material. After closing with the oddly appropriate “To Be Continued,” Set Your Goals bowed out and made room for Big D and The Kids Table.
Having already released a bevy of brilliant ska albums, such as How It Goes, Good Luck and The Gypsy Hill EP, Big D and The Kids Table have established themselves as one of the best members of the umpteenth ska wave. While the band’s new album, Strictly Rude, won’t be released until later in March, fans got a taste of the work. The first half of Big D’s set consisted of new material, and it was all amazing. After playing a few peppy songs which incorporated ska and punk elements with great results, Big D slowed things down with “Strictly Rude,” a jammed-out reggae track that featured more of that delicious melodica, courtesy of frontman David McWane. Also played from the upcoming album was “Noise Complaint,” which has been a Big D live staple for over a year now.
The second half of Big D’s set delivered older songs, thereby allowing the crowd to actually sing along. “Girls Against Drunk Bitches” and “The Checklist” caused skanking to erupt all over the TLA’s floor. “LAX,” which has pretty much been the band’s official set closer since the release of How It Goes in 2004, united all assembled in a mutual, punk rock hatred of wealthy jerks. This was yet another great Philly set from Big D and The Kids Table; hopefully, they’ll finally headline the TLA (or another venue) once Strictly Rude comes out.
Third up was Alexisonfire (yes, it’s one word. There’s been several pronunciations. I prefer “Alexi Sonf Ire.”). While the eclecticism of the bill for “War Sucks, Let’s Party” had thus far been a boon, the screaming emotional hardcore (ya know… “screamo”) of Alexisonfire tested the crowd’s patience. While applause was generally polite, one annoyed fan let the band know that they “f------ suck,” to which frontman George Pettit replied, “Ha ha, you wish buddy, we’re awesome!” Unfortunately, Pettit was wrong. They were not awesome.
Luckily, Alexisonfire’s set eventually ended, and politi-punks Anti-Flag took to the stage. Anti-Flag have often been flagged for writing cookie cutter lyrics and oversimplifying politics, especially when compared to smarter bands like, say, Propagandhi. But what Anti-Flag lack in depth, they more than make up for with heart and cajones.
Opening with “War Sucks, Let’s Party!” from For Blood and Empire, Anti-Flag set the crowd of 14-year-old Misfits lovin’ pseudo-crusties and older, less violent punks ablaze. Songs such as “Underground Network,” “You Can Kill The Protester, But You Can’t Kill The Protest” and “Smash It to Pieces” left a ripple effect on the crowd, forcing the entire floor to mosh, pogo or get knocked the hell over. The band tempered down such fervent movement, though, with impassioned speeches every few songs, reminding fans to maintain an international social awareness while at the same time looking out for their own personal communities. However, Anti-Flag didn’t just preach solidarity; they practiced it as well.
About halfway through the group’s set, the TLA’s soundman asked Anti-Flag to stop playing, as someone in the building was having an asthma attack. Frontman Justin Sane removed his guitar and quickly walked offstage, only to reemerge a few minutes later. Turns out Sane is an asthmatic, and he lent his inhaler to TLA security to give to that one stricken individual.
Anti-Flag kept on rocking their tuneful brand of punk rock once everything was taken care of, providing more angry tracks like “Turncoat,” “No Borders, No Nations” and “Confessions of an Economic Hitman.” The Flag fans on the floor followed suit, never flagging but always moving and singing. The communal aura between the band and the crowd seemed genuine and passionate, as well as hell bent on taking down The Man ASAP. After Sane, Chris Head, Chris #2 and Pat Thetic provided a stellar encore of “You’ve Got To Die For The Government,” the night finally ended.
The “War Sucks, Let’s Party” tour was a great show. Alexisonfire aside, the bill was tight and rocking, providing a diverse array of tunes. Set Your Goals and Big D and The Kids Table are both slated to have good runs in 2007, and need to return to Philadelphia as quickly and as often as possible. As for Anti-Flag, the sincerity and passion in every note and line invigorated and then devastated the crowd, leaving throats raw and bodies sore. That’s quite a party.
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