cANcER bATS and ANTI-FLAg form a punk alliance.
CANCER BATS
Contrasting faces of punk rock square up beside the Thames
IT’S A fAIRlY lopsided co-headliner bill that rocks up to Heaven tonight. Even though there are some more traditionally-minded punk rock fans here tonight, fairly uneasy with the lack of melody and size of the riffs that
CAnCeR BATS are dishing out, the Canadians dominate proceedings from the moment they set foot on Heaven’s stage. The band have obviously been revitalised by the reaction to this year’s brilliant The Spark That Moves album and, at this point in their career, they have a back catalogue of unmatchable grooving hardcore anthems, most of which get an airing this evening. The fact that they can sling out songs like Hail Destroyer, Gatekeeper or RATS so early on is a mouthwatering proposition for what is left in the CB arsenal later in the set. It also does them no harm whatsoever that frontman Liam Cormier is one of the most inspiring, personable and hilarious personalities in our scene. He gets his top off halfway through the second song of the evening, before delivering a monologue explaining that his t-shirt accidentally came off with his hoodie and twisting his yarn into a message for body positivity.
It’s genuinely funny and honest, and whether Liam is preaching a message of tolerance to his fellow man or offering out Frank Carter, with his tongue firmly lodged in his cheek, he’s a pleasure to listen to.
By the time Cancer Bats vacate the stage, having just slapped us with Lucifer’s Rocking Chair, Sabotage and Bricks And Mortar, they have left an almost impossible hurdle for their co-headliners to leap over.
AnTI-flAG frankly never stand a chance. But, even if they did, they aren’t going to do much to tackle the debris left from Cancer Bats with a performance such as this one.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the Pittsburgh band’s material, but there seems to be a level of showmanship here that feels somewhat disingenuous. Bassist Chris#2 spends far more of his time preening, posturing and making choreographed-looking leaps from his bass amp than he does actually playing his songs, and overall Anti-Flag look more like a band put together in the meeting room of an advertising agency for their latest ‘Extreme’ shampoo than a band born organically from a hatred of corporate America. That being said, songs like opener Die For Your Government and Fuck Police Brutality are enjoyable punk rock anthems. It’s just the package surrounding them doesn’t quite feel right on the night.
STEPHEN HILL