Black Flag Kills Bugs Dead.
Black Flag - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
I’d previously seen this iteration of Black Flag, with professional skateboarder Mike Vallely on drums and founding member Greg Ginn on guitar, so I knew it would be good. Mike is intense, and his energy translates well to the Black Flag catalog. This show was also on a beautiful Saturday night, at a Detroit venue that I’d never been to before.
The Tangent Gallery is right off of I-75, practically walking distance from the iconic Fisher Building and just down the road from the Majestic Complex. This is an exceptional place for punk rock shows, both in terms of the location and the venue itself. It’s a multi-level warehouse-style building with a vintage clothing boutique (which was open during the show) that surrounds a bar and two larger rooms, each with its own stage (similar to how the Majestic Complex has the Magic Stick and also The Majestic Theatre, used depending on the bands draw). At the bar, they had two house-made varieties of ice tea (one with honey, the other with hibiscus), which was an unexpected treat for a couple of guys in my group who don’t drink alcohol. There is also a huge outdoor area, that you could bring your drinks into and enjoy a smoke, which includes a fire pit, picnic tables, artwork, and plenty of other seating. A great hangout, even when there isn’t a punk band playing (spoiler alert, they have some great upcoming shows booked that include Gorilla Biscuits/Negative Approach and Sunami/Never Ending Game/Bad Beat). My only complaint is that they didn’t have tickets at the bar for their upcoming shows, I would have bought a stack of them.
Black Flag - All photos courtesy of Paul Holstein
Remembering the “My War” tour that came through last year, I was expecting that Black Flag would be the only band playing and that they would do two sets (with a break in the middle). I wasn’t expecting them to go on as late as they did (9:15) but the venue was great so having an extra hour or so to hang out before the show turned out not to be so bad. They did two sets of 12 songs each, and both lasted over an hour. Although this iteration of Black Flag tends to slow the songs down a bit, they also played quite a few speedy classics that had a monster mosh pit going and even one brave “stage” dive off of the amplifier stack.
The first set included the classics “Nervous Breakdown," “Fix Me," “I’ve Had It," "Wasted," “Black Coffee," “Six Pack,” and "Depression.” There were also jam sessions where Greg Ginn spent a few minutes or more improvising, drum and bass solos, and Mike was having the audience sporadically chant "Fucked,” followed by "Up." The 30-minute break after that set was welcome downtime to step outside into the cool air and reset.
The final set started with “I’ve Heard It Before” and included "Revenge," “No Values," “Jealous Again," “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme," “TV Party," “Rise Above,” and fan favorite “Slip It In” (that we all sang along to). They ended with their trademark cover of Chuck Berry’s “Louie, Louie,” and then Mike Vallely hopped out into the crowd and spent a long time talking to fans and taking photos. I even saw him sign a Black Flag skateboard for a dual fan. It was a great night, and I’ll be back (to both The Tangent Gallery and Black Flag).
And don’t forget to catch Black Flag at Punk In The Park Orlando next month, where they will be tearing it up with The Vandals, Dead Kennedys, The Casualties, Teenage Bottlerocket, Against All Authority, The Dwarves and more. I’ll be flying down for that one, so I’ll see you there!
punkinthepark.com
Black Flag Upcoming Tour Dates
Aug 24 - Dallas, TX - Trees @ 8:00 PM
Aug 25 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live @ 6:30 PM
Dec 6 - Oklahoma City, OK - Beer City Music Hall @ 8:00 PM
Dec 8 - Baton Rouge, LA - Chelsea's Live @ 8:00 PM
Dec 11 - Tampa, FL - Brass Mug @ 7:45 PM
Dec 12 - Fort Myers, FL - The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon @ 7:00 PM
Dec 15 - DeLand, FL - Cafe Da Vinci @ 7:00 PM
Dec 18 - Virginia Beach, VA - The Bunker Brewpub @ 7:00 PM
Dec 19 - Gastonia, NC - The Rooster @ 7:00 PM
Dec 20 - Greensboro, NC - Hangar 1819 @ 7:00 PM
Dec 21 - Jacksonville, NC - Hooligans Pub & Music Hall @ 7:00 PM
Dec 27 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre Tempe @ 8:30 PM
Jan 2, 2025 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues @ 7:00 PM
Jan 3, 2025 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory @ 7:00 PM
Jan 4, 2025 - West Hollywood, CA - Whisky a Go Go @ 6:00 PM
Jan 5, 2025 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge @ 8:00 PM
Jan 7, 2025 - Seattle, WA - El Corazón @ 8:00 PM
Jan 8, 2025 - Vancouver, Canada - Rickshaw Theatre @ 7:00 PM
Jan 10, 2025 - Roseville, CA - Goldfield @ 8:00 PM
