Canadian Fans Understand And Embrace Anti-Flag

Pittsburgh punk band Anti-Flag are hitting the Trans-Canada Highway this week as part of a tour with Billy Talent, Rise Against and Moneen, and the band will be well-prepared.

"As soon I get off the phone with you, I'm gonna go get a good winter coat so I can be in the snow and not freeze my ass off," Anti-Flag drummer Pat Thetic told ChartAttack last week before the tour kicked off.

The nearly three-week tour is pretty extensive, making stops in a variety of cities right across the country.

"It's fun for us to play to people we haven't played to before," says Thetic.

"We like to get different points of view and talk to different types of people. I think playing in different parts of Canada sort of fits into that also, where somebody in Toronto is going to have a very different opinion on something than somebody in Calgary, or Winnipeg for that matter."

What you could call a "political" punk band, Anti-Flag go much further than the typical "end the war" and "impeach Bush" approach. While they pull no punches with their lyrics or beliefs, Thetic says this can also lead to misconceptions of their patriotism. But one thing that most Canadian fans seem to share is a generally more open-minded view of Anti-Flag's messages, as opposed to those in the States and other places in the world.

"If we're gonna talk in stereotypes, I'd say Canadians are a little bit more accepting and a little bit more peaceful," explains Thetic. "We've had problems with some skinheads in the past, and just general dudes who love America.

"And it doesn't have to be in the States, it could be in any part of the world. People who think that their ideas are better than yours and you shouldn't have the ability to express your ideas. That happens in a lot of different places, but when we're in Canada people seem to be more accepting of our ideas."

Here are Anti-Flag's tour dates with Billy Talent, Moneen and Rise Against:

Jan. 24 Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Saddledome
Jan. 25 Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Jan. 27 Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
Jan. 29 Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Jan. 30 Thunder Bay, ON @ Thunder Bay Community Auditorium (no Billy Talent)
Feb. 1 North Bay, ON @ The Wall (Nippissing University)
Feb. 2 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
Feb. 3 Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Civic Centre
Feb. 5 Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Feb. 6 Quebec City, QC @ Colisee Pepsi Arena
Feb. 8 London, ON @ John Labatt Centre