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Rating: The Agnostic Front concert held at the Koko Club in Castelletto Cervo was actually a mini hardcore festival that saw four other bands take the stage before the historic New York band. Initially scheduled in Milan and then moved to the Biella area, it took Biella back at least ten/fifteen years, when stumbling upon concerts of this kind was an almost weekly occurrence at the historic Babylonia venue. It was at Babylonia where I last saw Stigma and company, during the times of albums like Somethings gotta give and Riot Riot upstart, records filled with street punk/Oi. Now, Agnostic Front are fresh off an album like Warriors which nods to thrashmetal/core especially in its production, and this was evident in tonight's live performance with the two-guitar lineup.
Opening the evening at nine in a still semi-empty venue were the Germans Crushing Caspars, a quartet devoted to fun punk/core and Oktoberfest-style, well-known at home, albeit less so here, featuring the massive singer Snoopy as a friendly master of ceremonies of fun, who will later be revealed as the roadie for AF.
As Koko slowly fills up, reaching its peak only with the headliner's performance, the Floridians Call to Preserve take the stage, honestly the band I liked the least, maybe due to the lack of personality of the members or the poor sound, they didn't particularly convince me with their old school Hc.
Taking the stage third were the Turin-based Concrete Block, a new project featuring Saverio ex Woptime on vocals. Anyone who knows Saverio knows his professionalism (it's not difficult to spot him doing pre-concert stretching exercises around the venue) and his total dedication to the hardcore spirit that sometimes might be mistaken for arrogance or rudeness, but which ultimately delivers results. By the end of the evening, Concrete Block will be the only band among the four openers to elicit reactions from the audience, thanks to both Saverio's attitude and voice and his band's music, a mix of Thrashmetal/core heavily influenced by bay area thrash in the solos of the talented guitarist, surely from a metal school, and bands like Merauder and Fury of Five.
Last, before the eagerly awaited Agnostic Front, were This is Hell, New Yorkers, creators of a classic NY hardcore sound with the handsome yet reckless singer Travis, sporting a uniform and a nearly Emocore haircut, with a denim jacket featuring a Gallagher bros (Oasis) image on the back and a guitarist with moves and splits in full Scott Ian of Anthrax style.
When Agnostic Front took the stage, the venue was packed, and from the first note following the intro, a complete frenzy broke out that lasted until the end of the concert. For those who've never seen a hardcore concert, this was the chance to see all the characteristics and attitude concentrated behind a style that for many is not just musical, but a way of life. They would have seen what it means to involve the audience in the event with Roger Miret, still in good shape, calling on the audience to join in furious circle pits or endless stage diving performed by both petite young girls and much heavier, more dangerous guys. A nice moment featured a very young fan (barely ten years old) spotted in the crowd by Vinnie Stigma and invited to watch the entire concert from a spot on the side of the stage.
Coming to the musical part, as I said, I found a five-piece band with the new drummer Pokey Mo and guitarist Joseph James reinforcing the sound of the always amusing Stigma's guitar, founder of the group. Completing the lineup is bassist Mike Gallo, now with the group for years.
The setlist covered almost their entire career, going from a very old "United Blood" and "Victim in Pain" from their 1984 debut, passing through the anthemic "Crucified", touching with "New Jack" the underrated "One Voice" that marked their return to the scene after Miret's imprisonment. Cheered for "Gotta Go" which has truly become their new anthem and witnessed the total stage invasion by fans, "Riot Riot Upstart" and the quick "Police State" (rant against then New York Mayor Giuliani) from "Rio Riot Upstart", a 1999 album, and the more recent "All is Not Forgotten" and "For My Family" extracted from the latest Warriors.
Forty-five minutes of set and a sweat-drenched Miret were enough for these icons of American punk, demonstrating once again that certain music and certain ideals do not fade with age (remember Agnostic Front have been around for about thirty years now) but rather strengthen and amplify, gaining new followers.
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