Lagwagon, Club Academy, Manchester
For many, the Tony Hawks Pro Skater soundtrack was their first real taste of alternative music, and whilst I was personally raised on the likes of Deep Purple and Alice Cooper from an early age, the light and breezy ska-punk of Goldfinger's 'Superman' or the brooding bassy rumbles of 'Police Truck' by Dead Kennedys appealed to me in such a way that punk, in all its guises, rapidly became my favourite genre. A little more than a year later, the second game in the series came out, and with it a host of new tracks, amongst them, 'May 16th' by Lagwagon. It was a band I'd never heard of, but immediately loved fell in love with, restarting the game until it cycled through the tracks, and still to this day play the album it's taken from on the eponymous date in May.
It's with all that in mind, then, that I approach tonight's show with a kind of nostalgic giddiness brought about trough a cocktail of anticipation and Chinese lager. Before Lagwagon however, there's The Flatliners to attend to, a band who in no uncertain terms could easily pull a crowd at Club Academy themselves. As it stands the venue isn't full, but nor is the crowd fledgling and many, if t-shirts were an indicator of alliance, do seem to have turned out for the support. Whilst the sound is somewhat muddy, the energy and aggression with which the band conduct themselves is impressive, and it's easy to see why the band seem to inspire such dedication in their fans; many of which are front and centre, yelling back every lyric like it's their last. It's a set that's over all too soon, but despite their second-on-the-bill status (the opening slot falling to Western Addiction) they tear through their songs as if they were headlining, setting the bar high for Lagwagon shortly after by ending with fan-favourite 'Eulogy'.
A little sooner than anticipated actually, and it soon becomes apparent why. With a set list that takes in tracks from each of the band's eight albums, plus a light smattering of miscellany, the band know they obviously have a lot of catching up to do (2014's Hang being their first record in nine years), and though the aforementioned does make up the bulk of the set, the classics are thrown in with expert timing, and though the riff-laden newer inclusions fit perfectly with the more established tracks, it's the older favourites such as 'Violins' and 'Coffee and Cigarettes' which get the crowd of not quite ageing punks going.
Then it happens, the opening notes of 'May 16th' ring out and the crowd lose its collective shit. Obviously it isn't just me that can base their entire taste of music on the soundtrack to a video game franchise. Had it been an awful rendition of the track, it wouldn't have nattered, but fortunately it's one of the evening's strongest tracks, made even more impressive given the fact that their hiatus shows no signs of having slowed them down.
With an encore comprised of 'Mr. Coffee', 'Sleep' and 'Razor Burn' they're quite clearly a band who refuse to be summed up by one track, and though all three songs provide a more than ample conclusion, personally I'd have been happy even without an encore, having finally heard live the track which opened up further doors, turning me on to a whole host of other skate punk bands in turn. As it happens though the three track encore proves perfect, and the buzz felt as the house lights flick on and we file towards the doors is one which doesn't subside until a couple of days after.
