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After a long ass day and/or week at work, I was pretty fried and wasn't quite in the show going mood. My bed, which has been my main source of comfort and isolation, was beckoning me like a child's puppy, but I soldiered on and made the trek to Worcester with plenty of time to spare before Fake Problems went on.
I was damn excited about seeing them, and they seem just as excited to be playing. They had a lot of onstage energy, which I was expecting, and they sounded pretty good live, despite the terrible noise that spews through The Palladim's speakers. There was a pretty good circle pit, and a few people singing along to their non-stop anthems. They played a lot of great songs that I was hoping for, and they played a new one that was flat out amazing. They have the Against Me! thing down pat, but their songs, especially live, give off so much energy that its insane. I'm a big fan of Chris' scream.
Far more people were up front for The Briggs, ready to sing along to every word and have a great song doing so. Both The Briggs and the crowd held up their end of the bargain. The band played their tight, catchy melodic street punk anthems (out antheming Fake Problems) and the crowd replied with near constant circle pitting, sing alonging and an all around positive vibe. The band had their jumps, finger points and walks towards the crowd down to a T, making for a lot of stage movement. The drummer, with his transparent greenish kit, sang along to nearly every word, making for some good watching. I also liked how his torso stayed nearly perfectly still as his other body parts were flailing around like branches in a hurricane.
I missed part of the Street Dog's set, though I could still hear them (I was able to somewhat pay attention to "Not Without a Purpose") a little bit. I got back downstairs just in time to hear "Final Transmition" which was one of the powerful live songs that I have ever heard. Mike McColgan stated that it was a true story and had the crowd reach their hands out to the heavens. They played the song with so much emotion that shivers darted up my spine. The only other time I remember that happening was during "Let it Burn" by Ignite. I thought it was odd that they followed it up with "Toby's Got a Drinking Problem," but it was still impressive.
I had a feeling that the majority of the people at the show were mainly there to see Street Dogs, and the crowd reaction seemed to support my hypothesis. The crowd went nuts and had about as much energy as the band did onstage. The Street Dogs seemed happy to be back in Massachusetts, as they seemed to have an absolute blast during their set. A brick ton of energy was flowing around the building during their set, which flat out blew me away. And I don't think I can mention the Street Dogs without stating that McColgan has one of, if not THE, best voices in punk rock (if not music altogether). He's a true frontman, with his crowd surfing exit being one of the most unique I've seen.
The thing I noticed right off the bat about Anti Flag was that drummer Pat Thetic wasn't behind the kit. I was wondering what happened, but Justin Sane quickly stated that he couldn't make the show but would be back with them for the next one. The other guy filled in admirably for him.
I don't think I've ever actually seen Anti Flag live before, even though I've been listening to them on and off for over ten years. They were pretty fun to watch live. There was a lot of onstage movement, and they played a tight, energetic set. I really picked up on the duel/switch off vocals; something that passed me by (or at least how much they do it and how good it sounds) while listening to their albums. I was surprised to see that Chris #2 seemed to take the frontman role, doing most of the talking to the crowd.