Black Flag tonight is puzzling. There’s no support, they’re playing two sets. Two guys wander onstage, one takes a bass out of a case, the other sits behind the drum kit and fiddles with it. They seem nervous, like a support band playing their first gig. Ginn comes out and tunes up his guitar. Maybe they only did a line check beforehand? Then a girl comes onstage and stands at the mic. This new band is really young. Maybe even young enough to be Ginn’s grandchildren. They all look a bit nervous, even Ginn, who smiles at them all reassuringly as they get ready. The mentor. David Rodriguez starts with the opening bass of Can’t Decide for several bars, Bryce Weston (drums) follows. Then Ginn eventually joins with some noise. Max Zanelly comes in with vocals and they kick off. They sound good. The band can play.
Nervous Breakdown is next. Max is giving it her all and she’s brilliant. I had expected to stay for the first three songs and then want to leave, but I stay, partly because I’m enjoying it and partly out of curiosity. They’re a really good band, but there’s something missing. The heft, power and menace of Black Flag just isn’t there. There’s a sense that Ginn picked the cream from a music college. The weight of experience and confidence is really needed for a hardcore band of Black Flags history and calibre to work.
Alongside bands still playing like Cromags or Circle Jerks, there’s just no comparison. The press release on the official website says “BLACK FLAG is officially turning the page and beginning a bold new chapter”. I’m not sure that this is the way to do it. Maybe some new material could help, or calling the band something like Black Flag Project instead, but I don’t think so. Not to denigrate the newcomers, the band is more like a tribute act that just happens to have the original guitarist. A really good tribute act—but it just isn’t Black Flag.
Blackflag photos:
Photos & words Cormac Figgis @themasterswitch