| « Outdanced Makes Wednesdays Worth Staying Home | Yesterday's Tomorrow Revisited » |
Concert Tue Apr 01 2008
The Filth and the Fatuous
Depending on who you ask, the Anti-Nowhere League were either one of the best bands of the post-Sex Pistols second wave of early '80s UK punk, or one of the absolute worst fucking bands to have ever walked the face of the planet.
From the outset, the group was roundly despised by the British independent music press, reviled as a outfit of troglodytic riff-raff who'd misunderstood punk's ethos and attitude and were hi-jacking the music for their own cretinous purposes. League songs like "I Hate People" and the vilely misogynistic "Woman" didn't do much to endear them to the establishment, and the lyrics to many of their earliest tunes resulted in the band's records being banned throughout the UK.
Granted, being seen as an act of no artistic merits within a scene that was unanimously regarded as having, uh, no artistic merits is something of a dubious achievement. Whatever the case, the group's 1982 debut EP and 1984's We Are…The League became immediate classics, if not templates for much of the bellowing, anthemic punk that has followed over the years. Not only that, but a few of their songs have been taken in the repertoires of various metal acts – most notably Metallica's cover of the League's "So What?"
As much as some would've liked for the League disappear, they never have for long. They continued to release increasingly weak albums throughout the 1980s; and have reformed to record and tour a number of times since. Through numerous break-ups and line-up changes, the only consistent member has been (former codpiece-wearing, axe-wielding) frontman and vocalist Animal. And although recent material proves that the League's become even more cartoonish and one-dimensional than ever, that doesn't seem to stop the online punk forums from buzzing every time the band hits the road.
Punk fans both young and old will have a chance to see the Anti-Nowhere League giving it another go next Tuesday night at Reggie's Rock Club. So if you're looking to wax nostalgic over hardcore punk's golden era (or to have some cynical, "I can't believe I used to listen to this crap" chuckles at your own expense), now's your opportunity to catch the League in all their snarling, yobbish, meat-headed glory. Flatfoot 56 and Everybody Out! open. The ruckus gets underway at 8pm, tickets are $13 in advance and $15 the day of the show. Ages 17 and up. 2109 S. State Street.
[video]: Anti-Nowhere League – "Streets of London" (1982)
[video]: Anti-Nowhere League – "Mother…You're a Lair" (2007)
