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I nearly laughed after reading an Email stating that Propagandhi's van broke down near Philly and were running late to the show, but should make it. I had the insight to drive to Kentucky to see them one night, but Josh, a huge fan, would probably have shed a tear had they cancelled. I was confident they'd play to a sold out and excited crowd, but the thought of a down and out Josh made me chuckle slightly.
We missed the first band and walked in to a spacious room (though the 21+ area was packed) a couple minutes before No Trigger took the stage. They (along with their label, Nitro) seemed to have disappeared over the years (the singer talked about getting real jobs and him being a real estate agent), but I was glad to see them again.
Their bassist looked like a hardcore lumberjack, complete with a black and red flannel zip up hoodie (fashion trends are getting more eccentric by the idea), and the singer, keeping his head warm in his beanie cap, talked about the last time Propagandhi was supposed to play this area (2001 with Avail-a bummer of a night despite Avail owning the stage), and expressed utter joy to a) see them play, and b) play with them (he made it a point for everyone to feel his excitement).
Though they weren't as fast as I remember them, No Trgger still sounded decent. I liked the new song, especially the sing along quality. The singer had a lot of charisma, and the band backed him up solidly. The crowd didn't go crazy, but they got people to pay attention.
Its hard for me to write anything about Paint it Black without sounding like a 12 year female fanboy, but they bring out that spark in me (though my facial reactions and body language isn't much more than some leg tapping and fhead bobbing-hiding the intensity like a rainbow's gold).
It seemed to take them awhile to hit the stage, but they were a tornado of energy once they actually did. Dan Yemin, who looked like he's been hitting the gym extra hard to make up for my lack of exercising, was more intense than I have ever seen him, and the band seemed to play every song twice as fast, matching his on stage mojo.
While they played a good mix of songs from all three albums (burning through a ton of songs in just under a half hour), they played two new songs that will get extra attention. The first was a super fast and short song that immediately sparked a circle pit and made me want to listen to American Nightmare. The second song was slower and powerful, a tribute to fallen biker punks. This was probably one of the most heartfelt hardcore songs I've heard, once again proving that Paint it Black are at the top of the hardcore heap.
Bummed that they didn't have a hoodie in my size, I put my head down and made my way to the railing that Matt and Cynthia had claimed, patiently waiting for Propagandhi to take the stage, along with the now wall to wall, sweaty crowd.
They opened with "A Speculative Fiction," which I happily watched. The second they launched into "...And We Thought That Nation-States Were a Bad Idea," I found myself in the pit, running around and singing along like a deprived child tasting candy for the first time. I felt like I had gone through a time machine and was 17 again, which seemed to coincide with the rest of the people in the pit. It seemed like most of the people in the pit, who would normally sit at the bar happily attending to their buzz while enjoying the band from afar, couldn't contain themselves, as this was their first taste of Propagandhi live (I'm sure a good amount of them were heartbroken when they cancelled with Avail-a topic that Chris Hannah brought up numerous times, making fun of Jord for having diarrhea, which he denied).
They played for an hour and 15 minutes, which seemed to go by like a Christmas second. They weren't that preachy onstage, which was different from their Kentucky performance. Instead, they were in a joking mood, making fun of the people for yelling out stupid things, talking hockey, and mentioning their struggle getting to the club (which somehow involved the tossing of dogshit). They played a super tight set, and it was especially fun watching Jord fly through the drumset like a six armed alien. My jaw would have been dragging on the floor at his performance had I not been singing so much.
While I didn't write down the actual order, these are the songs they played (one or two may be missing or incorrect): "Anti Manifesto," "Haillie Sallasse, Up Your Ass" (the heavier version from Where Quality Job is Number One), "Apparently, I'm a P.C. Facist," "Nation States," "Less Talk, More Rock," "Mate Ka Moris Ukun Rasik An," "Fuck the Border" (with guest vocalist Dan Yemin), "Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes," "Back to the Motor League," "Purina Hall of Fame," "A Speculative Fiction," "Die Jugend Marchiert," "Supporting Caste," "Dear Coaches Corner," and "Tertium Non Datur."
I can't remember the last time I had so much fun, in general. I had a forgotten about adrenaline rush that prevented me from sleeping when I got home but kept my energy level high all day. Watching Propagandhi live seemed akin to getting the opportunity to see Haley's Comet, and its a show I'm going to remember with great joy.