My Life in Concerts: Black Flag @ The Rockpile, Toronto, April 17th, 2023
Black Flag, who need to prove absolutely nothing, regardless proved that night why they sit atop many lists of legendary punk rock acts...
Venue
The Rockpile
5555 Dundas St. W.
The Rockpile is the platonic ideal of a dive bar. Semi-hidden away at the edge of a derelict shopping mall, it's the sort of place which bands like Black Flag would have thrived in back in their heyday; making it a more than fitting venue. There isn't much to say about the place, aside from the fact that it's grotty, run-down, but somehow feels strangely welcoming? Maybe it's the ancient, yet comfortable leather couches sitting in the merch area at the back, maybe it's the crowd of friendly punks who are just as psyched to pay homage to punk rock royalty, but something about this sketchy, burnt out little bar felt safer to me than some of the larger, cleaner clubs I've been to.
I don't know that I would recommend the place on any other occasion, however, maybe I would, for the right show.
The Show
What can I say about Black Flag? Punk Rock Royalty? Godfathers of 80s hardcore? Living legends? I could say all of those things, and they'd all be true. They're also incredibly nice, welcoming people. I know this, because my brother, Brandon (who came with me on this little excursion) and I had the life-altering opportunity to spend a few minutes hanging out with the band. Or at least, guitarist Greg Ginn and lead vocalist Mike Vallely. But I'll come back to that in a moment.
The concert was two sets, back to back, as the main conceit for the tour was for Black Flag to play their uncharacteristically sludgey 1984 album "My War" in full, from start-to-finish. This was the first set, and it was great, but let's not mince words, Black Flag are a legacy act, and when you see a legacy act, you want to hear the hits. So after a brief twenty minute intermission, the boys got back on stage, and delivered exactly that. And oh, did they deliver. After the chugging, muddy schlep through "My War", they turned the place on its ear and gave it a few kicks in the head for good measure.
Now, I'm a bit too young to have lived through the hardcore scene in the 80s, but in the immortal words of MC Ride from Death Grips: "I've Seen Footage" (slight epilepsy warning on that video), and it was damn near everything you would expect, and it was GLORIOUS.
Mosh pits!
Stage diving!
Crowd sing-a-longs!
More stage diving!
Bigger mosh pits! (seriously, the pit just kept growing)
Greg Ginn's bobblehead-like "guitar face"! (honestly it was kind of mesmerizing)
Aging punk rockers realizing the spirit may still be willing, but the knees are fifty! (Not the band, though...certainly not the band themselves, holy shit.)
Black Flag, who need to prove absolutely nothing, regardless proved that night why they sit atop many lists of legendary punk rock acts. And the fact that I got to spend that night with my brother (who, if we're being honest, is a far bigger punk rock fan than I'll ever be) made it all that more memorable of a night.
Now, as I mentioned almost off the hop, Brandon and I had the chance-of-a-lifetime good fortune to spend a few minutes hanging out with a couple of punk rock gods that night; namely, guitarist, sole remaining founding Black Flag member, and overall mastermind behind the band itself, Greg Ginn.
Greg is kind of an infamous figure in the Punk Rock pantheon. A lot of folks have some really not great things to say about him. I don't know the man personally, but what I can say is that the few minutes Brandon and I spent hanging around with him between sets, he seemed very welcoming, humble, and friendly. As my brother reminded me that night, "there are always three sides to any story", so perhaps he's mellowed out in his old age? Either way, it would seem there's more to the man than his reputation. I guess people are complex, especially when they live through the hard-knock lifestyle of the 80s hardcore scene, who knew?
Now, the one member of the band I can unequivocally say was an honest-to-goodness overall good dude, was Mike Vallely. I knew this going in though, because Brandon has a bit of history with him, and if there's one thing my little brother has always been, it's a good judge of character.
Mike was gracious, friendly, and very patient, as fans in various states of inebriation asked for autographs and pictures. Overall, he was just a gem of a guy, and I'm glad I got the chance to meet someone my brother has looked up to for a LONG time. (seriously, as an older brother, getting to watch your sibling meet their hero is an awesome experience)