Anti-Flag Teach The Punks

Black Lungs were originally supposed to be on the bill for this show, but main man Wade MacNeil was apparently ill, so they had to pull out. Toronto's Delinquints (so called because there's five of them — ha-ha) were added as their replacement.

The group's sound isn't too interesting, but guitarist Beardo Belligerent is quite a talented player. He's left-handed, but plays a right-handed guitar turned upside down a la Jimi Hendrix. I don't think it was restrung like Hendrix's axe, though, which meant it must have been pretty hard to play. I was in the back near the railing, though, so I could just be blind. The crowd didn't seem too into their set, aside from a few eager fans who started a pit on their own.

When Philadelphia's The A.K.A.s came on stage, the place still wasn't as full as it could have been. A circle pit started as the band ran through their songs. Halfway through their set, vocalist Mike Ski had to deal with some jeerers who flipped him off and yelled that he sucked. "That's what I said to your mom last night!" he replied.

"My mom's dead!" one of them yelled.

"That's pretty much the only appropriate comeback to that," Ski replied.

He had to deal with the three guys throughout the rest of the set and made some more mom jokes. If not for the banter, this set would have been very boring. Ski kind of reminds me of Billy Talent's Ben Kowalewicz, even though his band sound nothing like the Mississauga, Ont. quartet. He has the same high-pitched yelp when he talks, though, and he bounds around stage in a similar way.

The Creepshow have come a long way since they played the Chart/Horsehoe Canadian Music Week showcase in March. When they came on stage on Sunday, they were armed with massive banners that recreated the cover of their new Run For Your Life album. The Creepshow have greatly improved their performance over the last six months — so much so that they're almost an entirely different band: one that's more polished, professional and that rocks much harder.

The crowd probably wasn't moving as much as it should have been, though. This was a source of consternation for frontwoman Sarah Sin, who asked audience members if they'd been to church that day, "'cause if you've gone and confessed and everything, there's no reason for you not to be dancing." By the time their set ended, one couldn't help but think that The Creepshow are going to be the next big punk band if they can keep this kind of momentum going.

That Anti-Flag are touring during American and Canadian election campaigns makes their message even more poignant. After blowing the top off the room with their first two songs, the band launched into "The Bright Lights Of America" before running through "Underground Network" from their 2001 album of the same name and "The Press Corpse" from 2006's For Blood And Empire.

But it was during the singalong to "Turncoat" — which has a chorus of "Turncoat! Killer! Liar! Fake!" — and their later rendition of "The Smartest Bomb" that Anti-Flag showed they're masters of crowd control. The other bands on the bill clearly have some things to learn in this department and should have been watching the four guys from Pittsburgh very closely.

Everyone in the building shouted along to "Turncoat" and bassist/vocalist Chris #2 stopped things during this song and others to insist that the entire Opera House join him in counting in their songs as loud as they possibly could. He halted things again during "The Smartest Bomb" to instruct the entire floor area to make a circle pit when the song started back up, and everyone by the stage complied. The entire area was a teeming sea of kids running around in a circle at top speed and occasionally slamming into each other for a mosh.

Things could have wound down from there, but they didn't. The crowd only got a short respite before "Fuck Police Brutality" tore the roof off again. "Death Of A Nation, "Rank-N-File" and "This Is The End (For You My Friend)" were followed by their set-ending "The Modern Rome Burning." Before they launched into that song, though, vocalist/guitarist Justin Sane took the time to remind everyone that "true change doesn't come from any politician, but comes from the people" — something especially important to remember during an election year.

I never thought timpani and orchestral drums could be punk, but Anti-Flag proved me wrong during "The Modern Rome Burning." Chris #2 thwacked the shit out of his orchestral bass drum while screaming into his mic during the song. At the end he picked it up, jabbed his sticks through the skin and started tossing it all over the stage. Ladies and gentlemen, forget destroying your guitar at your next performance: smash an orchestral bass drum to bits instead.

An encore that included "You've Got To Die For The Government" from their 1996 Die For The Government debut followed before the band were done.

Anti-Flag are punk rock veterans by now and have a lot to teach other bands. That their message hasn't been watered down and has remained consistent even after they signed to a major label is something other acts should use as a benchmark.