Agnostic Front at Mama Roux's, Birmingham - review
I can remember seeing Agnostic Front play a show in the late-90s and wondering just how long these New York hardcore trailblazers would still be around for.
Having formed a the start of the previous decade they had already outlived the majority of their peers, and at the time there was suggestions that their return after a brief sabbatical may be short-lived.
There was certainly no indication that they would still be tearing it up in 2019.
But here they are, touring the world on the back of the 35the anniversary of their classic debut album Victim in Pain and a great new record in the Nuclear Blast-released Get Loud!
The key players are still present and correct, with founding guitarist Vinnie Stigma joined by his brother-in-arms Roger Miret – who has been there pretty much from the start, alongside former Leeway drummer Pokey Mo, long-standing bassist Mike Gallo and ex-Slapshot guitarist Craig Silverman.
They were welcomed to Mama Roux's – a venue they last played two years ago – by a boisterous crowd who wisely decided to sack off the listless election debate on the TV.
The band's set plunders a fair few tracks off Victim in Pain, including the title track, Blind Justice and Fascist Attitudes, while the likes of the incendiary Spray Painted Walls and the nostalgia-soaked I Remember, both from the new album, draw a great response from the crowd.
While Miret is the classic hardcore frontman, dominating the front of the stage with his call-and-response to the crowd, it is hard to take your eyes off Stigma.
The man belies his advancing years with his frankly ridiculous energy levels. He's part guitarist, part showman, elaborately mopping his brow with a towel between songs and wise-cracking with the crowd.
He's actually in the crowd for Your Mistake, spinning around with his guitar in the centre of the venue while Miret orchestrates the circle-pit from the stage.
Agnostic Front play a mixture of the old and the new, with every voice in the place singing along to Old New York from 2015's The American Dream Died and Gotta Go.
When all is said and done, the band proves once again that they are far more than just a nostalgia kick.
