EastPack Antidote Tour - Alexisonfire, Anti-Flag + More [Live] @Rock City, Nottingham

October 10th 2009 - Plus Four Year Strong & Ghost Of A Thousand

October 13, 2009, 01:50 PM

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To kick off this evenings punk / metal / emo mish-mash was the first British band to sign to the legendary Epitaph label, The Ghost of a Thousand. For a 6pm kick-off The Ghost of a Thousand do a bang-up job of getting the crowd moving. Their powerful entrance wakes the sleepy head's at Rock City like a splash of cold water in your ear hole (ever tried that one to wake your mates up? Its amazing).

Their punchy rhythm section and fast paced approach to the Punk Rock scene creates a solid first impression to onlookers who are only here for Alexisonfire. Tom Lacey makes his mark by rushing straight into the front of the crowd screaming his lungs out for pretty much every song. This sends the littl'ens crazy and gives them an excuse to change their nappies.



I had my scepticism ears tuned in as soon as I came, due to Flood Of Red playing the Basement venue right here the previous Saturday. The sound was tragic, and the levels were all over the place (see review for details). Tonight though they have got it just right, filling the whole room with a wall of aggressive sound to compliment The Ghost of a Thousand's unique crunchy sound. The stage presence was alive and kicking, each band member is moving like a trooper and play their parts to the full. A short set for the Brighton five piece, but it was short and sweet. The only criticism throughout the whole set was the material. It was hard to distinguish between tracks and you could hear the same riff from 'Bright Lights.'



The synth pop punk rockers Four Year Strong came up with the goods as the second band to play. The energy was in abundance and the crowd were lapping it up. Their use of punk material added with an extra dose of keyboard gave everyone a run for the their money.



You couldn't help but get moving and bopping along to the happy pop hardcore sounds. When you look at the members they look as if the music is going to be the most brutal screamo to hit your ears, but no this is clearly not the case. No matter what image they have achieved and show off they are a great act live. The Synth player Josh Lyford was the craziest of them all running into the front row every five minutes and grabbing the mic to scream his knackers off. Next to hit the stage would be oldies Anti-flag.




Anit-flag are one of those old school punk rock bands that should have been a top priority to check out, but I felt nothing when listening to their set. These guys have been around for so long, even when I was still in nappies. Their years of stage experience pays off tonight and keeps everyone moving. This however is not my cup of tea, the music sounds the same and there seems to be no diversity in what they are doing at all.



Justin Geever's strained punk vocal fits in well alongside the fast paced beats and power chords. Drummer Pat Thetic (not sure if thats his real name due to obvious reasons) scares the shit out of you with his mental peroxide blonde hair and strange tongue waggles. Anti-flag then mix it up a little with a cool version of The Clash's 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' that sounds awesome.



Personally I would like to sit down and listen to their back catalogue to make a full opinion, but you can clearly see their appeal.

Anticipation was to follow for the long wait for Canadian cross genre head-liners Alexisonfire. In a previous interview pre-gig with Wade from the band, he mentioned that this was the first time to play their new material off "Old Crows / Young Cardinals" and that the crowd absolutely loved every track. Tonight's gig was no exception. This was probably one of the best crowds I have seen in a while, the reception was amazing and you could feel the atmosphere around you.

The band played a mixture of old material and as promised new songs off their newest album both of which sounded amazing. Tracks like 'No Transitory' and 'This Could Be Anywhere In The World' were blasted out to perfection. Dallas Green's voice was impeccable, every note flew out into the air with not faults or off-key blunders. No wonder his City Of Colour side project is so good. Humorously Dallas had a moment of insanity and leant over the front of the stage to kiss one of the steroid infested marshals/bouncers on the top of his bold little head. A very funny moment indeed.



The new material off the new album "Old Crows / Young Cardinals" took a little while to get into at first, but when these were played live there was no dispute as to Alexisonfire being one, if not the the best Melodic / Hardcore / Screamo bands out there today. No doubt the strongest track of the night (and on the album) was title track 'Young Cardinals.' The whole crowd was singing along in an anthemic chant, it was something pretty special. They ticked all the right boxes for this show; stage presence, crowd participation, performance, musicianship, charm - the list could go on all day.

Four albums down the line and the material is growing stronger for Alexisonfire, they are truly a great band.

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