Interview for bombshellzine.com

There’s no way you can interview Anti-Flag without talking politics, especially with the US election just around the bend. But these Pittsburgh punks have taken a step back this time around, with no Rock Against Bush to be seen – “We’re not as involved in the election process as before…the election is not what’s important, what’s important is the mobilisation that has occurred because of George W. Bush,” says bassist Chris #2.

It may seem like a step down from their usual in-your-face political ferocity, but the truth is that, 20 years after they first formed, Anti-Flag are growing up and making a lot of changes. Their eighth album, The Bright Lights of America, was released in April this year – and they’ve never felt so fresh.

“Unless you start throwing some curveballs and making people scratch their heads and wonder what you’re doing as a band, you can become stagnant and stale, and people can lose interest,” Chris says.

Produced by Tony Visconti, the man behind 30 years of David Bowie’s career, The Bright Lights sees Anti-Flag break further out of their comfort zone by incorporating never-before-used elements in their music, including strings and child choirs: “I think that with each record we’ve either expanded the sounds or the textures of the records…this is making it a challenge for us to make a record, making it a challenge for the people who think they know what Anti-Flag is.” But you won’t see the strings used in the live show, as the band believes that listening to the album and going to the show should be wholly separate experiences so that fans can appreciate versatility in performance modes.

The Bright Lights is the band’s second release on major label RCA Records and whilst critics may pan them for ‘selling out’, they have no regrets: “Any time that you step outside of someone else’s comfort zone, they’re going to call you a sellout and say that you’re doing it for the wrong reasons, because that’s something that they don’t understand, something they wouldn’t do… do I like working with a major label and aiding the capitalist system more than I have to? Not at all. But the reality is we’re a band that sells records… we’ve certainly gotten more press and been pushed into a bigger spotlight than ever before.”

Their two-record deal with RCA has ended with the release of The Bright Lights, and it’s uncertain as of yet if they’ll continue their work with RCA for the next release, move back to their own label A-F Records, or sign with a different major – but for now, they’re just focusing on spreading the love. And the love is coming back here soon.

Anti-Flag will be returning to Australian shores in December for the second time this year, having played the Big Day Out in January, which Chris calls “an honour… the respect that we were given was beyond believable and I couldn’t believe how big and how ferocious those rock shows were for us. It really reinstils my faith in humanity”.

The guys look forward to coming back and playing for all their new fans and spreading their message loud and clear, no matter where they are: “I think that the thing I love about our band is that our messages are not exclusively American, or Australian, or German, or anything. That is exactly what Anti-Flag means. It’s about breaking down the barriers between people and nationality.”

Photo: Alan Zeino

It is a rare gift to be able to move an audience to tears when the language you speak is not theirs – or anybody else’s, for that matter. Anyone else singing in gibberish might be dismissed as a lunatic, but when it is done with such ardour, such passion, the voice ceases to be just a voice and becomes a vessel. Everything that is known about music is forgotten as a whole new world blossoms under the fingertips of Icelandic quartet Sigur Rós.

Ranging from ghostly to apocalyptic, the band’s Hordern Pavilion performance last night was testament to the fact that there is no such thing as musical boundary. Opening with the stirring wraithlike ‘Svefn-g-englar’, the four modest musicians invited the audience to revel in a two hour set, conjuring emotions soaring from elation to loneliness to a quaint mixture of both.

Joined occasionally by four friends in white on brass, Sigur Rós and their companions showed an unprecedented level of creativity as they each showcased their abilities on multiple instruments, from piano to glockenspiel to the accompanying tuba. Singer Jónsi Birgisson’s voice performed acrobatics as he moved from sawing on the guitar with a cello bow, to tinkering away at a wooden toy piano; bassist Georg Hólm redefined slap bass on ‘Hafsól’, hammering at his instrument with a drumstick. The result of marrying such unlikely elements was dazzlingly surreal, a far cry from the perfunctory sounds of today’s chart music.

Sigur Rós paid tribute to their early career, playing songs reaching back to 1997’s Von, as well as showcasing their latest effort, með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust. ‘Hoppipolla’, perhaps one of the band’s best known songs, resonated through the pavilion, the audience singing along to its hauntingly playful tones; six thousand voices rang out, singing words they did not understand, did not need to understand. When musicians this heartfelt share their stories, words are redundant.

But the most enchanting moment came near the very end, when Jónsi told the audience that he would be needing their help with the next song. Enter ‘Gobbledigook’, the opener from the latest album – a mischievous tune complete with ‘la, la, la’ singalongs and childlike hand claps. When the instruments stopped at the song’s climax, confetti rained down into the crowd and it was a moment of infinity. Smiles bloomed like springtime from sullen faces, couples squeezed hands tighter and tears were sure to form in the eyes of even the most hardened cynics. Six thousand strangers stood in a room whilst eight musicians grinned on stage, and it felt, in those few seconds, like we had known each other all along.

It is a rare gift to be blessed with to realise that despite being mortal, otherworldly experiences can still be claimed whilst alive. When it feels like the world is crashing down and being created all at once, when tears can roll freely down cheeks, when your heart feels bigger than it ever has – it is a rare gift to know that your life as you know it has changed forever, and all it took was two hours.

Set:

Svefn-g-Englar
Glosoli
Se Lest
Ny Batteri
við spilum endalaust
Hoppípolla
Með Bloðnasir
Festival
Fljótavík
Saeglopur
Inni Mer Syngur Vitleysingur
Hafsól
Gobbledigook
—
Popplagið
—
All Alright