Antagonist AD
15th September 2018
Whammy! Bar, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Kate Taylor. Digital Painting by Leon Taylor.
Prodigal sons. Returning Warriors. Pioneers revisiting, to check on the empire and legacy they’ve left at home to cultivate on its own. How ever you phrase the events of the first performance by Antagonist A.D. in their Whammy Bar NZ HQ; it had the feeling of a victorious horde coming back to the village with their spoils from the wild seas and lands abroad. It’s been two years since Antagonist A.D.’s last Auckland show in 2016…it feels like five.
Born from the wide flat plains of Hamilton in 2005, “Antags” quickly became and remained the gold standard of New Zealand hardcore and metalcore thanks to the high pedigree of members of previous NZ bands that filtered in and out of the roster, such as: The Warpath, 21 Guns, Kill Me Quickly, Evil Priest, Promise of Bloodshed, Saving Grace and so many more. Hamilton is still a writhing hotbed of hardcore ire, with Seas of Conflict taking stage prior to Antagonist A.D. while Auckland’s Pale Flag and Downfall of Humanity rounded out the bill to this sold out, no-door-sales-available event. If there’s one thing this old head wants to impress upon you, it would be to echo the words of Antagonist A.D.’s forthright front-man, original member and founder Sam “SamSam” Crocker when he urged the crowd to “Go and buy the merch of the other bands on tonight, don’t worry about buying our stuff, please, go and buy their stuff. It’s up to us to enjoy these bands, come and see them, buy their merch.”
The double-edged sword of finding success in your own scene is; when a band needs to embark on a quest to connect their message with more people, leaving the nest of their local scene is a given, but does also leave a gaping wound where the bands influenced by them need to knit together to foster a refreshed, different scene. It feels like this is where we’re at now. Couple that with the loss of one of our favourite Auckland venues in The Kings Arms (yeah, yeah…I know, I thought I’d be over it too by now but I’m not); and we’ve got a really challenging landscape for local hardcore, punk and metal bands to navigate. Thank goodness Whammy Bar has continued to be that dank, underground home for us to come together in and share our thoughts and ideals.
Rather than viewing this time through the perhaps jaded eyes of the scene originals who return and linger on the fringes of the pit with a slowly thawing, grouchy disposition; let’s instead see it with the steely gaze, gritted teeth and clenched fist we used to…let’s set aside the tribulations and the worldly woes that have brought us low and make this scene a threat to injustice and bullshit once more, through our commitment to it. It felt damn good last night to hear Sam on stage spitting the truth, reminding us that if you carry any kind of prejudice you’re invited to leave; if you’re not here to respect the bodies and space of others, you’re invited to leave…because this is a safe place. Our scene upheld and reinforced these ideals long before they had a hashtag applied to them. To do and let do, to literally and figuratively pick each other up when the shit gets rough around us. It was a nice little family reunion.
Last night felt like it was still there. Wall to wall crowd surfing, enveloping roiling circle pits, high fives and stage dives, the floor greasy with sweat, bodies piling like lemmings to worship at the altar of the mic-grab, the moist embraces, the thump on the back of the head in the pit that has no malice or intent so it just jolts you into remembering you’re alive and you’re here…connecting with your community, so it feels good. Cathartic. Last night was when people filtered back into your life that you’ve not hugged or seen in a decade; when you used to see them every damn weekend when you were coming up. It was magical, it was special not just for us but for the returning sons we hold so true; even Sam’s parents were in the house witnessing the legacy their son has created, live for the very first time. Even for me and I’ve seen Antagonist A.D. play countless times here in Auckland, Hamilton and Melbourne; and it was like seeing an entirely new beast. I didn’t think it was possible for Antags to become more vital, urgent and professional and yet they have; they’re road tested and refined. Best of all they’ll be coming back to visit us again soon, they’ve been writing more odes for us to change the world to…and I can’t wait for all of our old bones to feel inspired by Antagonist A.D.’s return, to make our own new blooms.
Were you there at Whammy! Bar for this hardcore extravaganza? Or have you seen Antagonist AD perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- These Cities
- War Crimes
- Paul Allen
- This Gun
- Dogs Blood
- For Anyone
- A.P.M.D.
- Coffin Keeper
- I’m Just Not There
- Lovesick
- Nothing From No One
- Downer
- A.D.
- No Justice
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