Black Flag and Good For You Zydeco Birmingham, AL 8/29/13

If you have ever listened to Punk rock music, then you know exactly who Black Flag is. You may not know any of their songs, but you know who they are. If you do not know who they are, then you are not a true fan of the Punk genre. That is a simple fact. Black Flag is hands down one of the most influential bands of the Punk Rock Movement and they represent what true Punk Rock stands for. They are not a force that should be reckoned with, because it simply will not work. It was a few weeks before I started college when I found out that this legendary band was coming to Birmingham. I did not get too excited because I figured it was Birmingham, England. Not Alabama. I was actually on a boat when I found out and I almost flipped it because I was freaking out. This would be the second show that I would go to since I started college and it was a much needed break.

The opening band was called Good For You. All of the current members of Black Flag are in that band except for Ron Reyes. Their singer is Mike Vallely. I actually did not know what to think about them at first. Some of their songs seemed like one long song because they all ran together and sounded the same, but some of them sounded different than others. They played

I'd Rather Die

Hanging Around

Knife in the Face

Stupid Me (I liked this song the best.)

Good Sport

Blaze of Glory (I do not know why this is relevant but I heard the drummer say "Humpty Dumpty mother fucker" during this song)

True Companion

The crowd for the night consisted of mostly guys and they had a hard time containing themselves, which I thought was funny. They were basically fan girling over this old school punk band which is not an every day occurrence. If I were in the front of that venue, I probably would have been injured because people were flying all over the place. It was freaking awesome. They played

Revenge

I've Had It

Nervous Breakdown

Fix Me

The Chase

Blood and Ashes

Depression

No Values

Now Is the Time

Six Pack

TV Party

It's Not My Time to Go Go

I'm Sick

Black Coffee

Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie (HUGE crowd response!!!)

Police Story

Wallow in Despair

Down in the Dirt

Can't Decide

Rise Above

Jealous Again

Louie Louie (Richard Berry cover)

As I type this, I am still deaf in my right ear and I had in ear plugs. Let that be a lesson to you if you ever attend a Black Flag show.