Most disappointing concert of my life
by NYRdave on 1/24/10The Music Box at the Fonda - HollywoodAnd I'm 42, so there've been a lot of concerts to compare it with. I've been a fan of Anti-Flag for years, but somehow the timing was never right the previous times they'd come to town. I was extremely excited to attend this, my first Anti-Flag concert. And man, did it suck. Lead singer and founding member, Justin Sane, wasn't even in the house. He can't be faulted for that; a family member had been severely injured in some kind of accident, and Justin did the right thing to join his family under the circumstances. But it wasn't until the band took the stage that any of us in the audience learned that the band's central figure wouldn't be there. We were assured by Chris #2, the bassist and part time front man who took over the lead role on this night, that canceling the show was never a consideration, what with all the respect and appreciation he and his band-mates had for us fans. Personally, I thought that respect and appreciation might better be represented in an apology and a refund, but no, said #2, there was still a lot of fun to be had this night. How much fun? Well, the initial set lasted all of a half-hour. Few of the bands classics were played, although to be fair, few of the band's SONGS were played. When one of my favorites, "Death of a Nation," kicked in, I was happy. But mid-way through the song, the band stopped playing so that #2 could dedicate a few minutes to order a couple of guys in the front row to kiss each other on the lips or get the hell out of there. I assume they'd been fighting, although that was never explained, so most of us in the audience had absolutely no idea what was going on. What was clear was that these guys did not want to kiss each other on the lips, so drummer Pat Thetic actually got up from behind his kit, walked to the front of the stage, and kissed a guy himself. Twice. Finally, order was restored, but Death of a Nation was not. They'd already moved on to the next song. After about the fourth song, #2 started thanking the audience from the bottom of his heart. Another song played, he thanked us again. After the next tune, he thanked us even more and then walked off the stage with his band-mates in tow. Was that really all they had for us? No, no. They came back on stage for the encore, which consisted of two-and-a-half Clash songs (Guns of Brixton didn't merit a full playing, apparently), followed by one last Anti-Flag number, "Power to the Peaceful." And that was it. Oh, and opening acts The Cancer Bats and Aiden are awful, talentless bands whose names I hope never to hear again.